This gigolo is not quite happy with American filmmaking…so he is going to India instead.

Writer and director Paul Schrader has announced he is no longer working on Hollywood projects but instead signed a deal to write and direct an India-set action flick. Schrader told reporters his decision was based upon an increased frustration with American movie-making.

“I take a good look around, and what I see is a barren, barren place,” he told the media shortly after his announcement. “In terms of the financial community, in terms of audiences, in terms of distribution, it’s cold out there.”

The writer for American classics such as Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, Schrader also directed American Gigolo and The Walker. Now he hopes to work his filmmaking magic halfway around the world with Extreme City.

Schrader’s decision may be, in part, motivated by his being fired from the prequel to The Exorcist in 2005. Needing only a soundtrack to complete the film, Warner Bros. showed the popular filmmaker the door and brought Renny Harlin in his place, who produced an entirely different movie.

By shifting gears, Schrader told reporters he expects to have more creative freedom and larger audiences in India. Ironically, Extreme City may have cross-over appeal in the United States, despite its overseas production.

The Bollywood-based production is expected to have all the bells and whistles of an Indian movie, including musical numbers and dialogue in Hindi and English. However, Schrader said he will stop short, bringing every Bollywood element into the storyline –- so we will not see a movie combining action, romance, and family drama all rolled into one. “(It’s) not a Masala movie,” he reportedly said.

Produced by famed Indian director Anubhav Sinha, Extreme City is a cross-cultural tale similar to the Rush Hour series. An American man is asked by his father-in-law to help resolve a kidnapping case in India. Once he arrives, he becomes involved in a gangster plot.

Casting is underway and will involve several Bollywood stars. Sinha and Schrader are working to get picked up by a Bollywood studio, though independent production is also an option. No production date has been set.

Schrader is the latest in a series of Hollywood A-listers to hop on the Bollywood boat, including Steven Spielberg, Will Smith, Sylvester Stallone, and Snoop Dogg.