Welcome to Bollywood, a whole new world of colour, music, dance and glamour whose stars now grace Madame Tussauds, its Indian film roots reverberating around the globe.

New musical Bring On Bollywood gives us the chance to peer into this fantastic world and embrace the heady aroma of English, Hindi and Punjabi culture.

At the centre of this heartfelt tale of finding love is new star Nisha Aliya who dazzles on stage every night with her beguiling moves and convincing portrayal of Katrina, a headstrong heroine, who returns to her parents’ home to attend her brother’s wedding.

Which makes it even more incredible is that Nisha is not only an unknown, but was an amateur until spotted by Bring On Bollywood director Samir Bhamra at the auditions, where she was teaching dance.

Nisha was obviously so captivating that she was asked to audition herself, and after several recalls, got the lead part.

“I’m as surprised as anyone else,” she grins. “But I am loving every single minute of it. This part is a dream come true. And while being a professional dancer helps with all the dancing in the show, and the many typical Bollywood numbers, I am not an actress, until now that is,” she grins.

Jacking in her job in IT and jumping on the tour bus, Nisha explains how the whole sequence came about. “Samir gave me a script and a song to learn and told me to come back in 20 minutes, which I did.

“I did tell him, ‘this is not what I do, this is not my thing’ and that I’d never sung or acted before, but I’m so pleased I went for it because I got the job anyway.”

Which does beg the question about why Nisha hasn’t found her vocation earlier? “I first started dancing 10 years ago, because I love Bollywood so much and watched every film I could, but I never thought I could have a career in it, even though I come from an Asian background.

“Because you don’t see many creatives in the industry - Dev Patel maybe, but very few Brits enter Bollywood so there were very few examples to follow. I didn’t think there would be a future in it for me.”

Instead Nisha went to university and got a job in IT. “Life happened. To be honest I didn’t know I had it in me to do this, until now, until I discovered this passion.

“So people keep asking what took me so long but it’s better late than never “ she shrugs. “I’m 27 now and I hope when I’m 60 or 70 I’ll be able to talk about how I followed my dream.”

With rehearsals in April and the full tour beginning in May, Nisha was then thrown in at the deep-end and began travelling around the country and performing daily. “I didn’t know what digs were. I’ve never lived away from home before because I went to St Mary’s University and lived with my parents in London Bridge, so being on tour is great fun.

“The cast look after me and teach me stuff, and I teach them some new dance moves. We are like a family now.

“And the UK is so beautiful. I never realised before because I’ve lived in London my whole life so had no idea what the UK landscape looked like or how green it all is.”

Has she been to Oxford? “Yes, years ago on a school trip, but I can’t really remember it.”

As for the show itself, Nisha is equally as enthusiastic: “It is pure Hollywood cheese,” she grins, “but it’s story-line is still relevant. Katrina comes back from India to London to find her mother has sorted out all these suitors for her and is being very over-bearing. Katrina spends her time avoiding getting palmed off .

“So yes it’s cliched because there are the usual Bollywood love triangles to deal with but the writers spoke to a lot of young British Asians beforehand and that’s what makes the show so accessible because it’s not patronising. Plus it’s a lot of fun.”

And are the audience as eclectic as the cast? “80 per cent are non-Asians which was a real surprise to me. It’s a great mix and nice to see because lots of people have never seen Bollywood before and this is their way in.

“So if this is their first Bollywood experience then that makes me happy. And lets face it, it’s a great introduction.”

And what of the reality. How is it being up there on stage, leading the cast? “Obviously the singing and acting is new to me so my challenge is to get it right, but I think I’ve done a good job. When I speak to the audience after the performance and all say they love it.

“So yes it is a different craft, but while I may never have acted before, I can dance, which has really helped me on this journey.

“I didn’t know what to expect but the whole experience has been quite amazing. This is certainly what I want to do with my life.”

* Bring on the Bollywood is at the Oxford Playhouse from August 15-19. Go to oxfordplayhouse.com