THE team behind a major Bollywood movie being filmed in Bradford is seeking around 2,000 local extras to appear in it.

Gold – about India’s first Olympic Gold win as an independent nation in the 1948 London Olympics, the year after Partition – is shooting in Bradford and Leeds.

Mad Dog Casting, a UK-wide agency that provides supporting artists for films, TV dramas and commercials, is looking for experienced Bollywood dancers as well as walk-ons and extras of all ages to be a part of the new film. The agency has supplied background artists for major films such as Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them, Sherlock Holmes and The Legend of Tarzan.

Gold is directed by Reema Kagti, whose previous Bollywood films include Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd and Taalash, and stars Bollywood star Akshay Kumar.

Bradford City of Film director David Wilson said: “We are hugely excited that the production team behind Gold chose Bradford as their base. The Bradford Film Office has been providing support in terms of period locations, office space and help in a call out for extras.

“The city’s architecture lends itself to double for period London, and also a range of other locations needed for this historic story.

“All of this adds to recent figures about the Yorkshire region as the premier location for making films in the UK and Bradford is a big part of that.

The search for local talent follows news that Yorkshire has been named the fastest growing region for TV and film in the country.

Screen Yorkshire has released new figures revealing that the growth of the region’s film and TV industries has outstripped every other part of the UK, including London. The figures show that between 2009-2015, Yorkshire’s film and TV industries generated an annual turnover of £424million across 590 creative businesses. Mr Wilson said the district had played a key role in the success.

TV dramas and films shot in the Bradford district this year include Peaky Blinders, filmed at locations including the Midland Hotel; Funny Cow, filmed in Shipley and Saltaire; Emmerdale, filming recently at City Hall, and Gunpowder, starring Game of Thrones actor Kit Harington, filmed at Keighley’s Dalton Mills.

A spokesman for Mad Dog Casting said: “Yorkshire has a great range of locations, from stately homes and castles to beautiful countryside, lakes, coast and mountains. It also has a growing amount of studio space and a local political will, with proactive councils, film units and bodies including Screen Yorkshire and Creative England providing support for those wishing to film and promoting their regions around the world.

“With some London studios falling into the hands of developers because of the demand for housing, the future is looking very bright to the creative hubs in the North.”

Castings for Gold take place on Wednesday, June 28, to Saturday, July 1, from 11.30am to 5pm, at Xercise4Less Bradford Gym. Anyone interested is asked to visit maddogcasting.com for details.

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