A splash of Bollywood colour brought Bradford to life yesterday for the start of the ninth Bite The Mango film festival.

Stars of the festival's opening gala film, Bollywood Queen, joined crowds at the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television for a special sneak preview of the movie which begins seven days of premieres, screenings and celebrity visits.

Director Jeremy Wooding said he was delighted to be showcasing his movie, a modern day Romeo and Juliet set against a British Bollywood backdrop, at Bite The Mango and hoped it would be the start of major box office success.

He said: "It's good to be here, it's an amazing museum and I'm delighted to have our British festival premiere here.

"I'm really pleased with the movie. It's both Hollywood and Bollywood combined so I hope it will appeal to a wide cross section of audience.

"I think you can really see the amazing amount of spirit and fun we had making the movie up there on the screen and I hope that reaches out and touches the audience."

The festival continues tonight with the British premiere of an acclaimed new gangster movie, Triads, Yardies and Onion Bhajees, which has been dubbed the Asian answer to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Among cast and crew expected to attend is former London gangster Dave Courtney, best known for his association with the Kray twins. He appears in a cameo role.

Festival director Irfan Ajeeb said the event promised to be one of the most exciting and wide-ranging to date. As well as holding 17 premieres, the festival will host films from 16 countries as diverse as America, Hong Kong, India, Korea and France during its seven-day run.

The festival is also set to welcome Bollywood superstar Anil Kapoor to chat about his three-decade career on Thursday.

Mr Ajeeb, said: "I'm really looking forward to it. It's going to a real spectacular. We are screening a really eclectic mix of films this year which caters for a much broader audience than in previous years.

"We're showing films from 16 countries around the world, the most Bite the Mango has ever done. But the festival also has a strong British feeling.

"We've got something for all cinema lovers, regardless of what culture, colour or creed you're from."

l See our exclusive interview with James McAvoy, rising star of Bollywood Queen and political drama State of Play, in today's Weekender supplement.