5 destinations that brought Hollywood to India
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So we have drooled enough over the panoramic aerial shots and dance sequences in Bollywood movies depicting the beauty of foreign locations like Switzerland, France, London, Scotland, Rome etc. The list of Bollywood movies shot in foreign locations is very long but what is interesting to know, is that the list of Hollywood movies shot in India is also not short. After all, India is a land of cultures, colours, geographical diversity, architecture and in a nutshell, a perfect place. Its time we take some pride in our own country’s magnificence and have a look at the list of destinations that brought Hollywood to India.
- Rajasthan: Yes, this doesn’t come as a surprise at all. With its magnificent forts and vibrant environs, Rajasthan has always attracted foreigners. So when Christopher Nolan was in India he was so enamoured by Rajasthan and its beautiful locations that when he started working on ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, he chose to shoot the jail escape scene of Batman at the Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur.
Another Hollywood film shot in Rajasthan is Michael Winterbottom film ‘Trishna’ which was based on Thomas Hardy’s novel about a young peasant girl.
The 1983 James Bond movie ‘ Octopussy’ too had a couple of scenes shot in India. Roger Moore, playing Bond, was shown infiltrating a palace and this scene was shot at a splendid palace in Udaipur.
- Pune & Mumbai: A mighty heart was a movie based on the kidnapping and assassination of Daniel Pearl – the Wall Street Journal journalist killed by Al Qaida. His widow, Martane Pearl, wrote a book about it which was adapted into a movie, with Angelina Jolie playing her. Although the depicted location in the movie is Karachi, Pakistan, India was gracious enough to let the crew shoot at similar locations in Pune & Mumbai.
‘Mission Impossible 4’ was also shot in India. The by-lanes of Bora Bazaar, Mumbai were used to shoot the climax. Besides that, a couple of scenes were also shot in the Sun TV office, Bengaluru.
- Chandigarh: The Oscar nominated movie Zero Dark 30, based on the capture of Osama Bin Laden was shot in Chandigarh, where they re-created the market place of the Pakistani town, Abbottabad quite similar to Chandigarh. The shooting locations in Chandigarh were the Punjab Engineering College premises in Sector 12 as well as the DAV College canteen in Sector 10.
- Haryana : Based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s novel, the movie Eat Pray Love, starring Julia Roberts was shot at the Ashram Hari Mandir in Pataudi, Haryana and some scenes were also shot at the Pataudi palace in Haryana. In the movie the protagonist goes to Italy, India and Indonesia and as the title suggests she eats, explores spirituality and love. The part about exploring spirituality was based in India.
- Goa: The Bourne Supremacy had a lot of sequences shot in the picturesque beach state of India, Goa. Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) goes there with his girlfriend after the events of the first movie. One of the most enthralling scenes in the movie is when we get to see a high-speed chase through the lanes of a Goan town.
Well, to Hollywood all we can say is that you have only explored an ounce of the magical land called India. For every movie sequence possible, this country will always have a perfect location.
