Britain continues to be besotted with Bollywood. For the past few years Bollywood has gained currency to the extent that it looks like Bollywood is doing to Britain what the East Indian Company did to India!

Captalising on this new found infatuation, Bollywood makers have been increasingly shooting in London, at various locations across the city. This has given a bright idea to British film authorities who have released a new map that lists venues where recent Bollywood blockbusters were shot!

Some of the most popular locations for Indian films have been Trafalgar Square, Natural History Museum, Tower Bridge, the Royal Albert Hall, Millennium Dome, the houses of parliament, Nelson's Column and the London Eye.

This makes it doubly worthwhile to Indian visitors to England who invariably get enchanted by certain locations which they 'discovered' in the films they have seen back home or read were being shot there. With a formal map available now, they can make a neat itinerary and plan their "pilgrim's progress" accordingly.

So, the next time tourists from India go visiting, they can trip down to locations where blockbusters such as Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (Osterley Park) or Mujhse Dosti Karoge (Starford Station), to mention just two, were shot.

There have been seven movie maps before this in a series of maps designed to encourage tourists and cinema-lovers alike to go sightseeing in London as if on a running reel. It is significant that more than 40 Hindi films were shot in London last year.

Asked why London has become such an attractive proposition for filmmakers, Cheeni Kum director, Balkrishnan, told the media, "The British authorities are very clear about all aspects of the shooting procedures. They are extremely professional and don't suffer from bureaucracy. Apart from that, the huge Asian population makes you feel like home in the city."

Balki, as he is popularly known, shot the movie on common locations in London like Chelsea, South Kensington, Bath etc. as a Londoner would see his city. He has not used any as just "tourist backdrops". This, he felt, was possible only in London as it was one of the only cities apart from Paris which still retains an old world charm.

Former VJ turned actress, Amrita Arora, loves shooting in London because of its scenic beauty, even if it is just a road. Besides, she felt it was comfortable shooting there as "people in London are used to seeing shootings and don't even stand and stare like in other cities." That makes it a wholew lot easier since most of the time they have to shoot with an Asian crew and unit.

Next time, don't ask pussycat where has she been. Shw would be lying it she said to London to see the Queen, unless of course a Bollywood unit had just shot there! - (SAMPURN)