'Lock, stock and two smoking bhajis' ... The Staffordshire location shoot for Don't Stop Dreaming. Photograph: Fabio De Paola
Scenes of gentle chaos are unfolding in the manicured grounds of a Tudor mansion. An Indian film crew has descended on the Grade II-listed Thornbury Hall, deep in the heart of the Staffordshire countryside, to shoot some scenes for a movie that is neither Bollywood nor Hollywood. The optimistically titled Don't Stop Dreaming features two Indian A-listers, an ever-changing roster of British actors and a baffling plot.
There is uncertainty about the storyline but, loosely, it revolves around a group of young people who want to start a band and nearly give up when their parents disapprove of the idea. A bank heist is also involved, although nobody seems to understand quite how this ties into the main plot.
For Asian audiences the big draws are Rishi Kapoor, who hails from an acting dynasty that makes the Fondas look like wannabes, and be-stubbled action hero pin-up Sunil Shetty. Non-Asians will recognise Richard Blackwood and Michelle Collins.
Junior Simpson, a black man who plays an Indian, is dressed in hues of Dairy Milk purple. He is wearing a turban. He looks fetching, if confused. "Think Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Bhajis. They tell me what to do and I keep nodding and smiling. I've no idea what's going on. It's a good film, different to what I've done before. Bollywood for me is all saris, waterfalls and dancing round trees. You feel a bit detached. I've never worked with an Indian film crew. They make their films like they run their restaurants. Everyone is involved."
On set there is the usual roll-call of personnel plus a barefoot chai wallah and an imam, who recites Qur'anic verses before the first scene is shot. Instructions are flung around in triplicate, sometimes in Hindi, sometimes in English.
The producer is Birmingham businessman Munir Ahmed. He has no driving passion for cinema, and sees the film as a business venture. His electronics business has a turnover of £20m and he drives a Bentley. He says: "Money is never enough, it doesn't matter how you make it." He prefers old-style Indian films from the black and white era and doesn't watch modern films.
Don't Stop Dreaming is being filmed in England - and in English. The director Aditya Raj Kapoor - Rishi's first cousin and the son of actor Shammi Kapoor - says Indian filmmakers are getting serious. "The time of three-hour films is dying. There is more realism. Plots are getting darker, the comedy is more subtle. Villains will be the heroes."
Everything is behind schedule. Star of the show Rishi is four hours late, but when he arrives he inspires activity and veneration. Downplaying the Kapoors' status in Indian cinema is impossible as they have monopolised the industry for six decades. As filming starts, onlookers are disappointed that his scenes are devoid of the colour and spectacle that made him and his ancestors so famous.
One woman says: "Indian producers want to make Bollywood films more Western, but Asian audiences don't want that. We want escapism and fantasy. That's what Bollywood is built on."
