MORE than a quarter of a century after he was feted for playing Mahatma Gandhi, Ben Kingsley has returned to his Indian roots to become the first Oscar-winning actor to star in a Bollywood movie.

Kingsley, 65, who was propelled to fame for his depiction of the Indian independence leader, has just completed filming the role of a maths professor in Teen Patti, a thriller set against a backdrop of high-stakes gambling.

The film, whose English translation means “three cards”, will have its world premiere in Mumbai in August, but Kingsley was promoting the project yesterday at the Cannes film festival.

Teen Patti, which also stars Amitabh Bachchan, the veteran Bollywood actor, and Saira Mohan, the Canadian-born model, was shot in India and Britain and uses Hindi and English dialogue. It hopes to follow the success of Slumdog Millionaire, the Danny Boyle-directed hit that picked up eight Oscars.

Although Kingsley filmed all his scenes for Teen Patti in the UK, he said the movie provided “a reconnection with a country I feel very deeply about”.

Kingsley was born in Yorkshire in 1943 as Krishna Bhanji to an Indian father and an English mother. His father — though he came to England from Zanzibar — had his own family roots in Gujarat, western India. The actor adopted his British name at drama school.

“Making Gandhi meant an enormous amount to me,” said Kingsley of the eponymous epic which was directed by Sir Richard Attenborough. “I remember one villager coming up to us when we were filming and saying, ‘It’s wonderful to see him again,’ — by which he meant Gandhi.”

The movie went on to win eight Oscars in 1982, including best actor for Kingsley — who had starved himself for some of his scenes — best picture and best director. By coincidence Kingsley first met Bachchan at the Indian premiere of Gandhi.

The British actor, whose other films include Schindler’s List and Sexy Beast, says that in recent years his passion for India has grown stronger. “When making Gandhi it was very much an active participation and I then found it quite hard going back there afterwards as a tourist.”

Yesterday, he spoke glowingly of a country which he points out has never turned against its former colonial ruler and which is now an economic superpower in its own right. “I just get India,” said Kingsley. “There’s something spiritual, something about connection.”

He praised Slumdog Millionaire, which has grossed £226m worldwide, as a “wonderfully truthful and original film”. The actor has two projects lined up in India with his own production company. One film will tell the love story behind the building of the Taj Mahal, while another is about an American youngster in India.

“In the short time since making Teen Patti, I’ve also had offers to act in other Indian films,” said Kingsley, whose next Hollywood film is Shutter Island, directed by Martin Scorsese. “I’d love to return to India to film there,” he added.

While Kingsley is the most distinguished western actor to feature in an Indian film, other Hollywood stars, including Sylvester Stallone and Mickey Rourke, are also set to appear in Bollywood productions.

“However, Indian film-making is not just about song and dance movies,” said Ambika Hinduja, whose film company Serendipity made Teen Patti.

The producer, who is the daughter of Ashok Hinduja, one of four billionaire businessmen brothers, went to film school in Britain in 2001.

“India, of course, makes more films than any other country,” she said. “Most, though, are for our home market. We are now keen to make films — dramas and thrillers — which have a worldwide market.”

Reliance Entertainment, owned by Mumbai-based Anil Ambani, one of the world’s richest men with an estimated £6.66 billion fortune, recently invested heavily in Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks studios.

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