Gandhi star fears India

MOVIE actor Ben Kingsley, who won an Oscar for playing Gandhi, is so concerned for his safety when he is in India that he surrounds himself with bodyguards.

Kingsley, 51, is spending the weekend in Bombay at a film festival promoting two of his films, Schindler's List and Death Of The Maiden.

'Because of the enormous success of Gandhi, everyone feels they own a piece of me. I got pushed and pulled around almost physically. There's a mob element to their enthusiasm so I feel better if I have bodyguards,' he said.

Kingsley, who was born in Yorkshire, is the son of an Indian doctor and a British actress mother.