Sir Ben Kingsley, the Oscar winning star of Sir Richard Atttenborough's film 'Gandhi', has spoken out about his fears for India following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Speaking to Radio 5 live’s Sunday Weekend News, Sir Ben, who has close family ties with India, expressed his deep sorrow at the “chaotic and horrifying circumstances” in Mumbai. He was also cautiously optimistic about the country’s future survival in the wake of terrorism.

Sir Ben, speaking at the British Independent Film Awards, praised India’s resilience, rich history, emerging economy and a cultural mindset free of cynicism which he hoped would carry on, but warned twice that the country must now “watch her back”. He confirmed that he knew the Taj and Oberoi hotels which were targeted in the attacks “quite well”, and that he would be checking on friends who were staying there.

Speaking from the red carpet at the awards, the veteran actor also spoke of his involvement in two future Indian film projects which would now be affected, including a film about Buddha due to commence filming in the next few months. He added that it will now be “very interesting” to see how Bollywood and the film industry reacts to the attacks.

Asked by Sunday Weekend News presenter Colin Paterson, Sir Ben said "India, it’s such a great emerging economy. Such a beautifully ancient civilisation and culture. I’m sure that they are in shock. They don’t have the mindset that other nations have of saying to themselves it could happen today, they just don’t. And I hope they never have that cynical mindset, but they’ve got to be careful. They’ve got to watch their backs. "

"I really hope India can shake this off, because so many people want to be there and invest there and enjoy their industry and their economy" he added "It’s a horrible way to grow up, but it happened in 1993 and it’s happened again. They are a very resilient nation."

About Sir Ben Kingsley

Kingsley was born Krishna Bhanji in Snainton, near Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, the son of Annalyna Mary (née Goodman), an actress and model, and Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji, a medical doctor. Kingsley's father, an Ismaili Muslim, was born in Kenya of Indian Khoja Gujarati descent, as Kingsley's paternal grandfather was a spice trader who had moved from India to Zanzibar, where Kingsley's father lived until moving to England at the age of fourteen.

Four times married, Sir Ben Kingsley has four children and currently lives in Oxfordshire, England.