A combination of both the recession-hit show business industry in the UK and an increasing demand for white skinned performers in Bollywood have spurred an estimated 1,000 white British actors and dancers to move to Mumbai in the past three years, according to casting directors.
British actresses in Mumbai can earn £1,000 a day and say opportunities are plentiful as compared with struggling for auditions and waiting tables to survive in London. While the traditional roles filled by white women in Bollywood were as the exotic backing dancer, prepared to show off bare skin, actresses are now moving to Mumbai to establish serious film careers.
Even well known actors such as Sylvester Stallone are trying their hand at Bollywood, he is starring in the upcoming film Kambakkht Ishq - Incredible Love.
This marks the first Indian production to be shot at Hollywood's Universal Studios and will have the largest budget of any Bollywood movie - reportedly over $21 million. It will co-star Bollywood stars Ashkay Kumar (another big Bollywood star, termed the hit machine for his films becoming such successes) and Kareena Kapoor and tells the story of an Indian stuntman who takes Hollywood by storm, but can't find true love.
It isn't only actors who are moving to Bollywood, thanks to the success of Danny Boyles Slumdog Millionaire, Producers and Directors are also heading over to India to try and make their mark in Bollywood.
