100 years of Bollywood

Pritpal Sembi, senior film lecturer at the University of Wolverhampton, describes the impact a UK visit can have for Bollywood stars.

Like Taz from Stereo Nation, Shin and his band DCS were also known as pioneers of British bhangra. Shin, from Birmingham, was heavily influenced by the Golden Age of Bollywood.

He spoke to Sameena Ali-Khan about his biggest influence, one of the most famous playback singers in the history of Indian Cinema - Mohammed Rafi. Last year, Shin was involved with a Rafi tribute concert by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Bollywood music was hugely popular in the UK. But it was British artists, like Taz from Stereo Nation, who pioneered a unique sound, creating an East-meets-West sound.

In fact, Bollywood liked one of his tracks so much, they reproduced it for a film without his permission.

Taz, from Coventry, has told Sameena Ali-Khan that it turned out to be a springboard for his career.

An actor from Shropshire who starred in Oscar-nominated Bollywood film Lagaan has spoken to Sameena Ali-Khan about working with Aamir Khan and what it was like working in India.

Paul Blackthorne spent three months learning Hindi before the four-month shoot in the Kutch district of the state of Gujarat in Western India.

But 12 years after the film's release, has he remembered his Hindi?

Paul talks about what it was like to work on Lagaan, his current projects and his recent experience on the Severn Valley Railway.

Mike Simpson, a senior web communications officer at the University of Leicester was one of tens of extras used in an auction scene.

Sadly, his appearance is not as prominent as he might have hoped, as he explained to Sameena Ali-Khan.

Dharminder Shoker, an assets manager at the University of Leicester, was managing the schedule for location scouts for the film Yamla Pagla Deewana 2, which was filmed across the Midlands last year.

As a result, he was offered a minor part in the film as a bank manager, in a scene with Sunny Deol.

He spoke to Sameena Ali-Khan about his experience.

An actor from Shropshire who starred in Oscar-nominated Bollywood film Lagaan says the four-month stint in India was a 'great experience'.

Paul Blackthorne told ITV News Central working with legendary actor and producer Aamir Khan in the 2001 hit was 'an extra special treat'.

Lagaan (meaning Land Tax) was filmed in the Kutch district in western India.

It was set in the time of the British Raj and told the story of poor villagers who faced ruin because their taxes were doubled by their rulers.

The solution was to challenge the British to play a Cricket match with the prospect of their taxes being cancelled if they beat them.

The film was a huge hit and just missed winning an Oscar in the Best Foreign film category in 2002.

Watch this archive report by Lee Comley as Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar and then-newcomer Anushka Sharma filmed at Trent Bridge in 2010 for Patiala House. The film told the story of an Indian boy who dreamt of playing cricket for England - despite his father's wishes.