Balham to Bollywood

Most actors would hate the idea of going to India for eight weeks to act in a Bollywood epic, but not to Chris England. He was given the part of a cricketer in a British Army team playing against a small Indian village a hundred years ago, and relates the bizarre and epic progress of the film.

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For most actors, the idea of going to India for eight weeks to act in a Bollywood epic shot in the middle of a desert would send them scurrying back to their agent asking for some other work, any other work. But not Chris England. He runs his own cricket team (an England XI), and since he was given the part of a cricketer in a British Army team playing against a small Indian village a hundred years ago, he wouldn't just be working - he would be representing his country at his favourite sport. This is a cricket tour diary with a difference, as Chris England charts the progress of the film from his audition in a London park to the film's release 18 months later. The author's ability to evoke the landscape and atmosphere of India is complemented by his skill in bringing to life the bizarre and often very funny world of film making.