BBC Radio 4 to air programme 25 Years of Indian filmmaking in Scotland

BBC Radio 4 will air a special programme ‘Bonnie Bollywood: 25 Years of Indian Filmmaking in Scotland’.

Broadcaster Ravi Sagoo celebrates the 25th anniversary of Bollywood and Indian Cinema using Scotland as a filming location backdrop and embarks on his own ‘filmi’ journey reflecting the glitz and glamour of Bollywood in Scotland.

Ravi tells the story of why the world’s biggest film industry uses Scotland and its vista as their number one location shooting hotspot outside of Mumbai’s Film City.

The programme airs on BBC Radio 4 & BBC Sounds on Sunday 2nd June at 19:15.

Ravi speaks with Bollywood experts including broadcaster Raj Dhanda and Glasgow born Bollywood actor Feryna Wazhier who both give us a further insight into Scotland’s contribution as a prime filming backdrop used by Indian filmmakers alongside Scotland’s cultural history with Indian cinema which dates to the first waves of South Asian immigration in the 50s and 60s.

With now over 100 Indian films shot in Scotland across varying Indian regional languages including Hindi, Punjabi and Tamil, Ravi also speaks with UK based Bollywood Line producers Parag Sankhe, Deeksha Bhatia (Big Elephant Productions) and Adil Khan (Scotwood Productions) who tell him about the growth of providing location services which is on a massive upward trajectory.

Ravi Sagoo is a regular presenter for BBC Radio Scotland across music, arts & culture strands and documentaries. Ravi co-produced the archive on 4 programme ‘The Great British Bhangra Explosion’ for BBC Radio 4 (April 2023) and presented the Demus’s TV highlights programme ‘The Glasgow Mela 2022’ which was nominated for ‘Best Music Programme’ at the Broadcast Awards 2023.