BY EMMA CLAYTON

A film starring an Indian megastar, shot largely in Bradford with many local extras, is being showcased in new trailers.

Gold – the story of India’s first Olympic hockey team – was filmed at Bradford’s Midland Hotel, Lister Park, Dalton Mills, Keighley, and Odsal Stadium, where a Royal box was specially built for the shoot.

The film highlights India’s emergence from the British Empire when its men’s hockey team met the British hockey team on the field and, on August 12, 1948, won the first Olympic gold medal for India as an independent nation.

Billed as “an inspirational story of a team that fought all odds to bring their nation hope, pride and respect”, Gold stars one of Bollywood’s biggest stars, Akshay Kumar, and will be released on August 15 – the 70th anniversary of Indian Independence Day. Kumar plays Balbir Singh, regarded as one of the best hockey players of all time, who coached India’s hockey team to victory at Wembley a year after Partition. The film goes back to 1936 Berlin Olympics when Singh was a hockey player. Locations including Lister Mill and Little Germany were used for Nazi Germany scenes.

The cast and crew of Gold were in Bradford for several months last year, based in Little Germany where production offices and a prop store were set up. Bradford’s City of Film team helped with location filming.

“It was a huge production for Bradford to host,” said City of Film director David Wilson. “We helped facilitate access to a number of locations and provided options for parking the unit base, trucks and catering.

“I visited the production offices in Peckover Street on a number of occasions and even though everyone was extremely busy, it had a real family atmosphere. Some cast and crew stayed at The Midland and Jurys Inn – they occupied close to 4,000 bed nights in Bradford hotels over a three-month period. The economic impact of such a production is significant. The producers and directors had a great experience here and will be back in the future.”

Last year a call went out for extras in a crowd scene at Odsal Stadium, which appears in the Bollywood blockbuster as Wembley. “We found a lot of what we needed in Bradford. It has been a perfect venue for us,” said executive producer Shivani Saran.

Trailers for the movie are on youtu.be/gpWrT-LdMfs

The journey of a lifetime: love, life and redemption await in Karwaan

THREE lost souls find themselves on an unexpected journey of discovery in writer and director Akarsh Khurana's upcoming film Karwaan (A Group of Travellers).

Karwaan stars veteran actor Irrfan Khan (The Lunchbox) and Malayalam star Dulquer Salmaan in his Hindi debut alongside rising star Mithila Palkar.

The film depicts Avinash’s (Salmaan) journey following the death of his father in a tragic accident whilst on a pilgrimage. Upon discovering there has been a mix-up of bodies, Avinash and his friend Shaukat (Khan) set out to find his body and deliver Tanya’s (Palkar) grandmother’s body who died in the same accident. A life-changing journey awaits, where each one finds redemption, hope, love and eventually themselves.

Filmed in only 35 days, Karwaan will take you on a journey into South India, through the stunning locales of the Western Ghats, to the ancient yet modern city of Kochi.

The film’s soundtrack is set to feature a modern feel with a rap track written and composed by rapper Slow Cheeta aka Chaitanya Sharma.

With two dead bodies, one car and a road trip of a lifetime, Karwaan promises, laughs, self-discovery and heart-warming moments as the most unexpected of journeys becomes a memorable adventure.

Releases worldwide on August 3.

Akshay Kumar starts shooting for Housefull4

AKSHAY Kumar must be the busiest man in Bollywood. The Gold star is set to return with the fourth instalment in the Housefull franchise. He has started shooting for the film with Bobby Deol and Riteish Deshmukh.

Sharing a picture from the sets, Akshay tweeted, “It’s time to be a Silver Fox, break @thedeol’s funny bone and play every game under the sun with my buddy @RiteishD!! Because the Boyz are Back with 4 Times the Fun #HouseFull4.”