THE exciting sights and sounds of Bollywood came to town as some of the biggest names in the business took over a local vineyard to shoot one of the most anticipated pictures of a generation.

The usual peaceful setting of Coddington Vineyard, near Ledbury, became a hive of activity as more than 100 cast and crew rolled on to the unlikely film set at the crack of dawn.

They were shooting scenes for the as yet untitled “Project 45”, which sees the industry’s biggest star, Shah Rukh Khan, teaming up with legendary director Yash Chopra, who is now aged 79 and directing his first film in eight years.

Production manager Jim Edgar said location scouts had scoured the country before deciding Coddington was the perfect location for their needs.

“We were shooting scenes set in a vineyard but they had a very specific idea of what they wanted,” he said. “That was very much the ‘traditional’ setting, with rows of vines and rolling hills in the background, but in reality very few vineyards are actually like that.

“Coddington fitted the bill perfectly.”

He described the movie, which will be released in November to coincide with Diwali, as “the most anticipated Bollywood film for years”. “Obviously in the UK not so much is known about it but there is a huge sense of buzz and anticipation,”

he said.

“The best comparison would probably be for Martin Scorsese, if he had been away from the industry for a number of years, to come back and make a film with Robert de Niro.”

Not surprisingly, the call from the film-makers was not something that vineyard owner Ann Savage was expecting.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever been asked if someone could use the vineyard for something like this but we were happy to welcome them and it was quite unique to see the place turned into a movie set for the day,” she said.