The changing backdrops are making a huge difference, but there have been no exciting changes in narrative space

Sangeeta Dutta, cultural commentator

And the lions of Longleat House in Wiltshire, are to create the setting for another big budget movie being filmed this year.

Ironically, the Brits themselves are now looking to Bollywood for inspiration.

Audiences in the West End will soon be listening to a Bhangra beat, as Andrew Lloyd Webber teams up with Indian producer Shekhar Kapur to develop a Bollywood-inspired stage musical called Bombay Dreams.

Booming industry

Bollywood films are hugely popular among Indian communities around the world.

The booming industry, estimated to be worth an annual �0.75bn, turns out 600 films a year. It has overtaken Hollywood in terms of film production.

The public's thirst for more heroes, heroines and romantic settings has prompted the spread to overseas film locations, especially to the UK.

For many second and third generation Indians in Britain, Bollywood films can act as a main source of reference to Indian culture, said Nasreen Munni Kabir of Hyphen Films on BBC Two's Newsnight programme.

Modern look

Modernising the look of films and making them relevant to contemporary audiences could win over even more Bollywood enthusiasts.

Andrew Lloyd Webber is developing a Bollywood inspired musical

Productions values are rapidly improving with films becoming more sophisticated and polished, she said.

"Films are becoming more youthful. Young people are making their own life decisions, which is reflecting what's happening in India today," she added.

Indian cultural commentator Sangeeta Dutta also agrees that the changing film backdrops are having an impact on audiences, but believes that outdated stereotypes, particularly relating to women are still being endorsed.

"The changing backdrops are making a huge difference, but there have been no exciting changes in narrative space." she said.

Films which move away from the romantic Bollywood outlook, and examine Asian life in Britain are being favoured by many within the younger Indian community.

The low-budget British film, East is East, which offers an amusing look at Asian life in Britain, was nominated for numerous awards.