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North Leeds girl is a Bollywood star maker
LEEDS lass Naila Mughal has journeyed from Moortown to Mumbai to become a top Bollywood talent scout – and she’s happy to make a song and dance about it!
The former Allerton Grange pupil, who grew up in the North of the city, is now a casting director and production manager for the world’s biggest movie industry.
She spends much of her time hanging out with the Indian film glitterati and has major Bollywoood stars on speed dial.
But she was back in her hometown this week to recruit an army of extras for a new film starring subcontinent superstars Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra.
The movie will be filmed partly in Leeds next month and will feature a cast of extras made up of up to 50 Loiners.
Naila, who is in her 30s, said her passion for Bollywood – renowned for its colour and song-and-dance spectacle – started at a young age when she would watch the latest flicks with her mum.
After being invited to meet her favourite actor Mithun Chakraborty, an 80s superstar, her Bollywood destiny was sealed.
“I really started to enjoy the buzz and was meeting big stars of the time,” she said.
An early career organising Bollywood concerts led to film work and her first-ever film credit on period epic Veer.
Naila recently scored her proudest coup – signing India’s current number one star, Shahrukh Khan, as an ambassador for her work.
She even made her own film debut in Mr Khan’s new film, a superhero flick called Ra.One, where she plays a nurse in a song and dance sequence.
“I go to Mumbai every year but I am not seduced by the glamour of it all,” she said. “I am still a down to earth Leeds girl.
“They did struggle to understand my Yorkshire accent at first and they used to take the mickey out of me about it!”.
Naila is circumspect about her Bollywood success but admits seeing her name at the end of a blockbusting film for the first time “felt good”.
“People think it’s pure glamour but it’s very hard work,” she said.
“My passion does lie in Bollywood. I am often stressed and have no sleep. But I still love it.”
As well as kick-starting many acting careers with her casting work, Naila has also launched a Bollywood acting academy.
Visit: www.nailamughalartistes.com and: www.thebollywoodacademy.com for details.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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