Raavan’s star-studded premiere in London

Mani Ratnam’s much-awaited bi-lingual film Raavan had a star-studded world premiere here, attended by Bollywood bigwigs like Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan.

Hundreds of film buffs gathered at the BFI, Southbank in London, where the premiere was held last night, and cheered the film’s star cast who had gathered for the gala event.

Ratnam alongwith the film’s stars Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and Vikram added glitter to the premiere.

The film will simultaneously be released in Tamil and Hindi tomorrow. Shah Rukh Khan and his family was invited by the senior Bachchan to the premiere and Abhishek profusely thanked him for coming.

“Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you for coming! Love you. And now waiting for you to come and fire me!” the junior Bachchan wrote on his Twitter page.

Oscar winning musician A.R. Rahman, who has composed the chart-topping tracks for Raavan, accompanied the movie’s star cast which also included.

Actors Govinda and Ravi Kishen.Aishwariya was wearing a dark green sari with her hair tied in a bun and walked the red carpet with husband and co-star Abhishek in tow who was looking dapper in a black suit.

The former Miss World was asked whether filming the movie was a taxing experience, to which she replied, “Mani Ratnam looked after our training by keeping us on our toes everyday.”“The physical demand in this film was immense not only for the actors, but also the crew and technicians. It was a challenge we tried to rise to every single day at work,” she said.

Ratnam, 54, who has made films like Roja, Dil Se, Bombay and Guru, which garnered both critical acclaim and box office success, said the film was done with spirit. “It is just a few metres away... lets see it,” was all Mani Ratnam said when asked whether Raavan was modern day Ramayana. “It has been done with spirit. We have all worked hard,” he added. Asked why he chose Aishwarya for the lead role, he said, “She was right for it. Is there any other reason?”

Bollywood stars shine at "Raavan" world premiere in London

Hundreds of screaming fans lined the red carpet at the British Film Institute with the two screen stars fully appreciating the enthusiasm and growing international popularity of Bollywood movies under a new genre of filmmakers.

"It's wonderful. Look at the reception we've got. We are feeling on top of the world and so happy that we came to London to premiere the film," Bachchan, 34, told Reuters Television. In the film Aishwarya Rai, 36, a former Miss World, plays a dancer and wife of a police inspector who is abducted by a ruthless bandit (Bachchan) and held hostage at his jungle hide-out.

The actors performed their own stunts in the film but Aishwarya Rai said the production was as taxing emotionally and creatively as it was physically. Two versions of the movie were filmed back to back - one in Hindi and one in Tamil.

"We talk about how hard it was physically but, that apart, it was creatively challenging for all of us and that's the kind of challenge actors enjoy. So we truly cherished this entire experience," she said.

Also attending the world premiere to lend some family support were Bachchan's parents, the legends of Bollywood cinema Amitabh Bachchan and his wife Jaya Bhaduri.

"I've never seen anything like this before and it just shows the love and affection that people outside of India have for our films," said Bachchan Snr.

The film also stars Tamil actor Vikram in his Bollywood debut as the police inspector. The actor said he hopes to make a mark with a new audience.

The Mumbai film industry, home to Bollywood, has been the face of commercial Indian cinema for several decades, relegating non-Hindi films to the sidelines.

"This is my first Hindi film so I'm very excited because I'm going to get a totally new audience that kind of gave me a thrill," he said.

A boost in investment in the Bollywood film industry in recent years and a new breed of filmmakers has seen Indian movies receiving much wider global distribution.

Last May the Bollywood film "Kites" had the widest ever release for any film production to date.

Director Mani Ratnam, who is to be honoured with the "Glory to the Filmmaker" award at the next Venice Film Festival, said Bollywood films had become popular in Britain first but this interest was now spreading in Europe and North America.

"I think the UK has always been open to Indian films and is getting more and more so now. It becomes a platform where we can showcase (our movies) to the rest of the world," he said.

"Raavan" opens in British cinemas on June 18.