New Delhi, April 3 -- It's about the towel. Anybody can look good in a bespoke tuxedo, but aspiring James Bonds traditionally have to audition by re-enacting the From Russia With Love scene where Sean Connery steps out of a hotel bathroom in his towel, finds a girl in his bed, and points his signature Walther PPK at her. That scene from the second 007 film has everything the franchise stands for-danger, sex, intrigue, Bond-girl and Bond gun-and Daniel Craig, the last man to play Bond, says he wants his audition tape destroyed.

The audition is considerably less hairy for Shah Latif, a wannabe Bond actor sipping apple juice from a crystal glass and spouting a sanctimonious monologue about the importance of Intelligence-a monologue understa...