Bollywood offers tourists a spot in the limelight

By Nishika Patel

MUMBAI (Reuters Life!) - Bollywood may be all about glitz, glamour and all-star line-ups, but when it comes to casting foreign extras, any Western tourist will do.

Bollywood's more liberal tone and rising global recognition has prompted a demand for Westerners to fill up scenes for the increasing number of movies that are set in foreign locations.

Casting agents regularly scramble for Westerners in tourist spots across Mumbai as part of a drive to give the historically insular industry a cosmopolitan edge.

Movie, television and advertising director Aloke Gupta said there are a handful of casting agents dedicated to recruiting foreign extras, most which are tourists employed for two or three days while they pass through the city.

"The whole media industry is moving so fast now that we need to keep up with the times. Films are becoming more liberal," said Gupta, who is CEO of Open Window Media Entertainment.

With several films being shot outside India, Aloke said movie-makers find it cheaper to shoot the exterior shots abroad and use foreign extras in Mumbai for the interior shoots.

Barring a handful of foreign actors that have starred in leading roles, most Westerners feature in the backdrop as scantily dressed dancers in nightclubs or drinking at bars.

A casting agent who would only give his name as Polo said he often scoured the tourist district of Colaba for Westerners. If there were multiple film shootings taking place, he said he often struggled to find enough tourists.