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It's nice up North

1/ 6/2002

THE North West as the setting for Bollywood spectaculars? Why not says Yash Chopra the director who launched Amitabh Bachchan and created a string of blockbuster films over the last 50 years.

The veteran whose smash hits include Lamhe has just finished a tour of the region with other directors and producers from the Indian film industry. They visited the Coronation Street set where they spoke to the soap's Asian actors including northern lass Shobna Gulati. They also visited the Tate Modern in Liverpool and the Lowry Centre and the Printworks in Manchester.

One aim of the tour was to seek possible locations for filming. Already Indian producers spend an estimated $25 million annually on overseas shooting - box office hits 'Dilwale Dulhaniye Ko Lajayenge' and 'Mohabetein' produced by Yash's son Aditya were shot in the UK for example.

Speaking at the end of the visit I asked Yash if he had spotted any good locations.

"I enjoyed the visit to the Lowry centre and the newly developed site. It was very nice. I may consider it. I like Cheshire which is beautiful and ideal for shooting a film," he said. It's not only scenery that impressed him.

"There are many good Asian actors in this country but their talent needs to be harnessed. I think in the near future we may see many British Asians working in the Indian film industry."

With Yash on the tour was director Rajat Barjatya. Rajat directed and produced one of the biggest grossing Bollywood films of the last 10 years 'Hum Aapke Hain Kaun' He said British Asians need to learn fluent Hindi before they even consider a career in Bollywood (bang goes my chance of starring alongside Shah Rukh Khan!)

"Several British Asians have been to Mumbai for screen tests but when they speak Hindi it's half mixed with English. The Hindi just sounds so foreign and people don't like that. Working on a Bollywood film is completely different to an English film. The actors need to be trained in Mumbai.

"The Coronation Street visit was interesting. We have soaps in India but not one that's run for 30 years. I was quite surprised to hear that Bollywood actors are more famous among UK Asians than British Asian actors."

Some of Rajishri's hit films include 'Maine Pyar Kiya', which launched the film career of Salman Khan, 'Hum Saath Saath Hain' and most recently 'Main Prem Ki Dewaani Hoon' starring Hrithik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor and Abishek Bachchan.

"Our films have always focused on the family. In India the family unit is very important. When a family goes to the cinema it is an outing for them so we need to produce family orientated films for an audience from four to 60 year-olds."

It was Rajat's first visit to the North. So his conclusion of Manchester and its people - "brilliant".