There's gold in them thar films, and we've had some of it through locations here in the north. Bradford expert on the famous Bombay studios, Irna Qureshi, tells us more about Amitabh Bachchan's London run There were cheers as well as confusion when Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan announced to his three million Twitter followers yesterday that he'd be carrying the Olympic Torch this morning, as the relay makes its way through the London Borough of Southwark. Some speculated that on the eve of the London 2012 opening ceremony, the Big B (as he's fondly known) might yet draw the biggest crowd of the torch relay, while others were left wondering why a Bollywood superstar was carrying the Olympic torch anyway.

I suspect this is a calculated move which has less to do with sport and community, and more to do with economics. If the Olympics are good for tourism, then Britain has its sights on the fastest growing outbound tourist market in the world – India. Encouraged by visitor figures in recent years, VisitBritain, the national tourism agency for marketing Britain overseas, wants to entice a greater number of Indians to choose Britain for their next holiday. With this in mind, VisitBritain is currently rolling out a £25 million marketing campaign, which involves saturating Mumbai and Delhi with huge billboard posters, 200 specially branded taxis, as well as a 60 second advert being played across 120 cinemas.

So what's this got to do with Amitabh Bachchan? Well, as many countries will testify, Bollywood is now a major player in boosting tourist flow from India. Basically, getting your country featured in the latest Bollywood blockbuster is as good as it gets, when it comes to product placement. Little wonder then that tourism agencies from around the world are actively courting Bollywood directors and heavyweight stars with all manner of incentives.
An almost full moon rises behind the Tijerflue mountain in Arosa, Switzerland. Switzerland - named a lake after Yash Chopra. Photograph: Alessandro Della Bella/EPA

You see, filming in foreign locations is a long standing Bollywood tradition, and lends the film an air of excitement, escapism, adventure and aspiration. It was award winning director, Yash Chopra, who singlehandedly put Switzerland on the Indian map by regularly featuring the snowcapped mountains and crystal clear lakes as the backdrop for his romantic song and dance sequences. So grateful were the Swiss Tourism Authority for his contribution that they even named a lake after him.

More recently, New Zealand became a popular holiday destination for Indians after the 2000 blockbuster Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai was shot there. The film's director, Rakesh Roshan, was even honoured by the New Zealand Prime Minister for his contribution to tourism. Singapore Tourism Board launched a tour package to coincide with the 2006 release of Krrish which was shot there, thanks to a massive subsidy designed to attract international film productions. And the hugely popular actor Shahrukh Khan, who also runs an award winning production house, has signed up as the honorary cultural ambassador of the Korean Tourism Organisation, specifically to raise Korea's profile among Indians.

Britain too has become a very popular screen location in Bollywood films. So much so that VisitBritain produced a Bollywood Movie Map in 2007 to encourage Indian film fans to visit the British locations shown in their favourite films. The map highlighted old and recent Bollywood productions and included the 1998 film, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, whose title track alone was filmed at Glencoe, Ross Priory and Loch Lomond in Scotland.

So you see, getting Amitabh Bachchan to carry the Olympic torch through the streets of London is an almighty coup for tourism in Britain. With 180 films under his belt and a remarkable career spanning four decades, the 69 year old actor is one of the greatest and most influential figures in the history of Indian cinema. In fact, the Big B is bigger than Bollywood. So if Britain wants Indian's undivided attention and positive regard, then handing the Olympic torch to one of India's most esteemed statesmen is definitely a step in the right direction.