Most of our audience... are very poor. They could never afford to come to Switzerland to see these riches

Director, Krishnan Subaash

The medieval town of Berne, which is the Swiss capital and the country's fourth largest city, is the latest Helvetian mascot to find itself with a starring role in an Indian film.

This time it is not for Bollywood but for Mollywood - the prolific film industry of Madras which makes about 125 films a year in the Tamil language.

According to director Krishnan Subaash, with its sandstone buildings, its beautiful fountains and the splendid Gothic cathedral with its 100-metre spire, Berne simply represents "fairyland" for the Indian audience back home.

"This is where Tamil-speaking people would like to be in their dreams," he says.

Western audiences may find the sequences confusing

"Most of our audience come from South India and Sri Lanka and most of them are very poor. They could never afford to come to Switzerland to see these riches, but they do dream of such things. So with this film, we make their dreams come true."

A Western audience however, may be excused for finding the dream sequences a little confusing.

Song and dance routine

The lead actor, Barna Aji, is currently on his second film.

He's dressed in a blue shiny shell suit and trainers and he waits patiently while his face is patted by an extra, in an attempt to absorb some of the make up, caked several inches deep, which is slowly dripping down his face in the stifling 32 degree heat.

A heavy gold medallion hangs from his neck and the signet rings on his fingers flash against the lens of the cameras.

He looks like Ali G.

Western films - what are they really? Bedroom scene after bedroom scene

Krishnan Subaash

"ACTION!" shouts the director and suddenly, against the eternal clanging of Berne's trams, the market place is filled with Indian music and Aji begins to writhe and twist as startled Swiss shoppers gawp.

"I'm dancing because I'm in love," he explains afterwards.

"My Tamil audience will understand this - they will see these amazing buildings, and me in my Western dress which shows I am rich, and they will understand that I am in heaven."

He's dancing outside McDonalds.

Popular appeal

Subaash's film is a remake in the Tamil language of a popular Hindi film called Love and Marriage.

Like most Tamil films, it's a mixture of song, dance and dream sequences and centres on the relationship between a hero and heroine who decide to marry.

"Mollywood films are much better than Western films," says Subaash. "Western films are over-categorised. You call your films a comedy or a thriller or a love story.

Indian stars have a huge following among expatriates

"We have all of these elements in every film. Western films - what are they really? Bedroom scene after bedroom scene. Look at our films - we don't allow our actors to kiss one another but we show real love in our Tamil films. Indian girls love them."

Aji is busy signing autographs for a crowd of female Japanese tourists who have crowded around the film crew.

"Who is he?" one of them asks as she elbows her friend out of the way "Is he a pop star?"

Star's hopes

But Aji is confident that one day he will be as big as Mollywood's two main stars Kamal Hasan and Rajnikant.

"This film is beautifully shot," he says.

"If it makes girls happy, it will mean it will be my big break. We don't just show Tamil films in India, but also in Sri Lanka, Canada, USA and Malaysia. There are also Tamils in Berne and Zurich so maybe we could release it here in Switzerland too."

So if the Tamil version of Love and Marriage succeeds when its released later this year, does this mean Aji could become the Tamil version of Brad Pitt?

The make up cracks as Aji screws up his forehead in puzzlement. "Brad Pitt?" he asks. " Is he a pop star?"