Chelsea denies Bollywood cameos

Lampard and Terry had reportedly been lined up for walk-on parts

Chelsea FC has played down reports that football stars Frank Lampard and John Terry are to cameo in the forthcoming Bollywood movie Jhoom Barabar Jhoom.

"Unfortunately the players won't have time in their schedule to appear in the film," said a club spokesman.

"But [Chelsea ground] Stamford Bridge is the backdrop for the action, and we feel very honoured to be the first club involved in a project of this nature."

Shot in the UK, the Bollywood film is set to be released in May 2007.

Abhishek Bachchan, Lara Dutta and Preity Zinta play lead roles.

'Big compliment'

Bachchan - son of Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan - said on Monday that the Premier League is "very popular" in India.

The actor said he played "a very loyal Chelsea fan" in the film and had been given a jersey by the club with his character's name - Rikki - on the back.

It had previously been reported that Lampard and Terry would have walk-on parts in the film, along with Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

"We are delighted to be involved in a Bollywood movie," said Chelsea's business affairs director Paul Smith when the project was announced.

"We take it as a big compliment to be approached with this storyline and to be associated with this calibre of actors and actresses."