THE De Niro, Brando and Sinatra of the Indian Film industry swept into town recently.

Amitabh Bachchan with wife Jaya was at Selfridges, Trafford Centre to promote his new book 'To Be Or Not To Be'. The book is written by Khalid Mohammed with input from his wife Jaya and children Abhishek and Shweta Nanda.

He arrived fashionably late (as they always do!) but that didn't deter many who had turned up just to get a glimpse of the godfather of Bollywood. The book signing came on the back of a similar one at the London Oxford Street store where expectation and excitement reached fever pitch.

Asghar and Tahseen of Radcliffe were one of the first in the queue. Tahseen told us, "I'm such a big fan of his and my legs were shaking when I approached the table. I've seen all the films and it was a dream to meet husband and wife."

Akbar Nawaz of Preston said, "We decided to turn up early because we knew it would be busy. It's great to meet him and get my picture taken with him. He's not as tall as I thought he would be though."

Tahra of Burnley said, "It's the first time I've met him and although we had to wait for two hours I think it was worth it."

Deepesh Patel of Bolton got his book signed and had a surprise for his mum, "I got Jaya Bachchan to phone up my mum from my mobile. My mum had been waiting next to the phone for hours because I told her before hand I would try the stunt."

The book by the way would set you back nearly forty quid and tells of the life and times of the biggest Indian film actor in history.

Some bemused shoppers were asking what the fuss was all about. One shopper asked a member of the queue, "So he's big in India then is he?" Oh yes big just isn't a large enough word.