First he took us on a trip to the US. Now he is all set to lead us through the big, bad world of Bollywood. After his directorial debut Chalo America, adman Piyush Jha is back with his second film, King of Bollywood.

Although Jha insists it is his film that is the USP, he does bring two firsts to the big screen ? Om Puri playing a typical Bollywood superstar (with a difference, of course) and British supermodel Sophie Dahl (making her Indian film debut).

?It is not an out-and-out parody of Bollywood,? clarifies Jha. ?The film does have spoofy elements but it is essentially about this big Indian film star who is desperately trying to hold on to the last straws of his stardom. It could have been about the medical or law professions, too, but I chose to use the world of Hindi films as the backdrop.?

Jha also chooses to dismiss allegations that King of Bollywood is just another take on Nagesh Kukunoor?s Bollywood Calling. ?There are so many cop films happening around. All of them will have police stations and guns but a Khakee and an Aan are not same. Similarly, Bollywood Calling had the same backdrop as my film, but they are altogether different from each other.?

Although Jha comes from an advertising background, it is film-making that he always wanted to do. ?My grounding has been in ads and whatever I have learnt on the way is surely coming in handy. But I am more at home with the format and structure of a feature film. With advertisements, it all gets so contracted.?

The casting of Puri as the ageing star was a very conscious one, says Jha. ?Firstly, to me, he is one of the top-notch international actors in the world of cinema. And more importantly, he was the most unlikely of actors to be cast in this role of a big megastar. I narrated the story to him in 15 minutes and he said ?yes? straightaway. Had we cast a star in the role, people would have gone in to watch the film with a mental baggage, which I didn?t want.?

With Sophie though, who plays an NRI documentary film-maker in the film, Jha got lucky. ?I was looking for a foreign face in the UK for that role. My casting director in England came up with the idea of trying Sophie Dahl. We auditioned her and she was on. And she has been very good. Despite being such a big international model, she has shown no airs. In fact, she has been childlike in her giving to the role.?

King of Bollywood will release in the UK (50 to 80 theatres) and India on September 24 and Jha is already working on his new script, to get underway in the middle of October. ?This will be in Hindi. It isn?t going to be a masala film, King of Bollywood has lots anyway,? he laughs.