The heart of Indian cinema, Bollywood, is attracting more and more Russians, who crave stardom thousands of kilometres away from home. Some are lucky to find it, some are not.

A doss-house in Mumbai is packed with dreamers from all over the world who flock to India hoping to become Bollywood stars – or to have an exotic experience, something to remember when back home.

Grigory Kubatyan comes from Russia. His neighbour, George, is from the U.S. He used to be a manager, but now he is a wannabe actor in Bollywood. Grigory says it's not only stardom that makes people travel all the way to India.

“I call them white trash. They've left their homes in the U.S., in Europe and preferred to travel to Asia, to run from their businesses, from all kinds of responsibilities just to be free,” remarks Grigory.

The price for the experience is roles they have to take. Villains – that's the niche for most of the foreigners in Bollywood. For example, Russian actors may play hostile English colonisers that brave Indians fight.

“Since gaining independence, the Indians have been trying to fight the slave inside their soul, and in films you can see how hard they try. A couple of days ago they made us dress up like waiters and play servants for Indian masters,” explains Grigory.

There are, however, exceptions to the general rule. Dina Umarova  is lucky. She never had to play servants or villains. She is the Cinderella, who found her prince and successfully made her way onto Bollywood's silver screen as a princess. A Russian born in Siberia, she became a role model for Indian girls and a dream girl for millions of Indian boys. Her husband is Vindu Singh, a son of Dara Singh – an Indian legend, one of Bollywood's founders. Vindu Singh is one of the major producers there, and is venerated like a god. 

Her story seems to be a fairy tale: Dina is a happy mother and a Bollywood star now. But some Russians are happy playing other roles.

The movies Nadya, Yulya and Sergey play in are not of the classic Bollywood type. Although sex in Indian movies is completely banned, the unofficial industry of erotic films in Bollywood is thriving. This is where Russian actors are in special demand. 

They may be villains, Cinderellas or porn stars. Russians make their way onto Indian screens, adding yet more exotic twist to Bollywood movies.