A dentist forced to stand down from the drill during lockdown ended up with a jaw-dropping part in the latest Bollywood blockbuster.
Seema Luthra had only signed up as an extra for the movie Bellbottom, which has just hit the screens worldwide.
But the Buddie ended up with a talking scene with the main actor himself, Indian superstar Akshay Kumar.
And Seema,34, said: “It was certainly an amazing change from looking after my patients’ teeth.
“I have always loved Bollywood and this has been like a dream for me.
“Perhaps surprisingly to people, the filming was actually the first time in my life that I have worn a sari.
“To wear one opposite Akshay was quite something!”
In fact Seema’s acting potential had been spotted by eagle-eyed producers while she acted in extra scenes for a Bellbottom chess tournament, filmed at a Springburn warehouse.
She was stunned to be cast as a flight check-in girl during hijack filming at Prestwick Airport last September.
And she revealed: “I only found out my scenes had made it into the movie when the postmaster at my local Paisley post office told my parents he had just watched me on the big screen.
“It was a real shock, I thought my big moment may have ended up on the cutting room floor.”
Seema watched herself on the big screen at Cineworld in Silverburn on Tuesday night, where she was recognised by film-goers.
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Of the 20 Scots Asian girls in the film - which is in cinemas now - Seema was the only one with a speaking part.
Akshay Kumar,53, has built a fortune estimated at £237 million after appearing in more than 100 Bollywood films.
Seema is one of five dentists at the Kelburne Dental Surgery in Paisley's Glasgow Road and has practised there since 2012.
She grew up in Craw Road, in Paisley, where her now retired parents Jagdeep and Rekha still live.
Rekha had her own catering business and Jagdeep was a psychiatrist who worked at hospitals including Dykebar.
Mum Rekha said: “Akshay Kumar is a real megastar and I am thrilled at the experience Seema has had.
“She was just sick and tired of sitting at home during lockdown . . . and I knew she always wanted to be in a film.
“Although she was born and brought up in Paisley, luckily she speaks Hindi fluently and this helped land the part opposite Akshay.
“It is the first Bollywood blockbuster to hit screens in India since lockdown.”
Akshay plays the role of an Indian James Bond-style spy brought in as a hijacked plane is diverted to Amritsar Airport, which Prestwick doubled for.
The hostage thriller is based on real-life events during Sikh unrest in the 1980s when three Indian Airlines flights were hijacked by separatists.
Seema revealed Akshay was great with her, as she played the airline check-in girl trying to deal with frantic relatives of passengers.
She said: “It was a great experience. I got my hair and make-up done, and was opposite a very famous Bollywood actor.
“I will never forget the day and I would love to do more acting work
“I have joined an agency and am always getting offers for adverts, but because I work so hard at Kelburne I can rarely do it.
“I have always been very studious and career driven, so to do something like this in my thirties is a bit of a showbusiness dream for me.”
As a child Seema spent three years in Delhi, but continued to go to a British international school.
She added: “I think I got the Bollywood bug then, everything always seemed so glamorous.
“I was very starstruck in my scene with Akshay and I had to repeat it several times because I froze.
“He was so close to me, I could not believe it.
“Akshar was very supportive and he told me I was doing a great job. When I froze the first time he said ‘You can do it, you can do it.
“Just relax and you will be fine. He was so nice.”
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