JOHN MCEACHRAN , News.scotsman.com

A bid to cash in on the Bollywood bonanza has been launched by one of Scotland’s most spectacular stately homes.

Hopetoun House wants to attract Bombay movie-makers to West Lothian for location shots.

Spokeswoman Pamela McMahon said: "We are ideally placed for the Indian film industry. Not only do we have one of the most magnificent buildings in the country, dating back 300 years, but we also have a unique collection of artefacts from the subcontinent which were brought back by the 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow, who was viceroy and governor-general of India from 1936 to 1943."

McMahon has targeted location-finding agencies and Bombay film directors to persuade them to take a look at the house and estate, which overlook the Forth road and rail bridges.

The bid to bring the Bollywood glamour to Scotland follows a campaign by the British Tourist Authority to attract Indian film-makers to the UK.

BTA spokesman Seren Welch said: "Britain as a Bollywood backdrop has become increasingly popular over the last decade, raising the profile of Britain as a holiday destination."

Indian movies have already been shot in Scotland, including the blockbuster Pyaar Ishq aur Mohabbat (Love, Love and Love). Several Indian directors have used Glasgow’s Botanic Gardens as an outside location for filming.

Bollywood is bigger than Hollywood when it comes to the number of movies made.

The Indians turn out about 800 a year and employ more than 2.5 million people.

Their favourite overseas location for shooting is currently Switzerland.

But McMahon added: "I am sure we can beat the Swiss for almost anything. We have already had film crews here, so we know what they want."

The latest filming at Hopetoun House was for a forthcoming television series, on great heroes.

The house, designed by Sir William Bruce and built in 1699, can offer film-makers everything from spartan below-stairs kitchens to luxurious 18th-century apartments.