Picturesque Scotland may soon host the first permanent Bollywood studios in Europe.

With its picture-postcard lakes, rivers, mountains and hills, the province is a particular favourite of Bollywood veteran Dev Anand, who is planning to shoot his next film in Scotland, a newspaper reported Saturday.

Dev told The Times he is looking for an office and studio on the outskirts of Inverness, the main town on the northern reaches of Scotland that is known as the Highlands.

He said the Highlands would become a permanent hub for the Indian film industry, adding: "I discovered Scotland for Bollywood when I went there 10 years ago. Others will follow me.

"Scotland is beautiful even when it rains," he said.

Eight Bollywood films were shot in Scotland between 2000 and 2003, after Dev wrote the script for "Main Solah Baras Ki" in the small Scottish town of Pitlochry in 1998.

Dev, who considers Edinburgh, Scotland, to be the prettiest city in the world, plans to film a romance in the Highlands early next year.

The veteran actor-director told The Times the main characters in the film will be a father and his son, and that he is scouring Britain for an "innocent-looking 18- or 19-year-old" to play the other lead part.

Scotland is known in Britain for its multi-ethnic society, love of culture and hospitality.