Bollywood brings stars, tourists to India ka dil
From Chandni (1989) and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) in the pristine snow of Switzerland, Bollywood has since moved to desi locations. This year, especially, many films — which have released or will soon — were not only shot in India but in areas conventionally not so popular among tourists.
World Tourism Day, today, is a good time to look at how Bollywood is moving to lesser known places: PadMan was shot in Maheshwar, MP and the upcoming Loveyatri was shot in Vadodara, Gujarat.
Shree Narayan Singh, director of Batti Gul Meter Chalu, says it was challenging to shoot in Tehri than a metro. “A non-touristy place has its disadvantages but still, it was a great experience. The visuals were absolutely stunning. In fact, India has some mindblowing virgin locations.”
The upcoming Sui Dhaaga was shot in Bhopal and Chanderi, MP. Hari Ranjan Rao, MD, MP Tourism Board, says, “Years ago, Bollywood migrated to foreign locations. Now, it’s a welcome trend [to see] filmmakers returning to the mofussil. Bhopal remains the biggest attraction for filmmakers; 10 films have been shot there in 5-6 years, next month about 3-4 projects will be shot there. Jabalpur, Gwalior, Ojha are also being promoted.
Also, when movies like Stree retain the name of the place, i.e. Chanderi, where it’s shot in, it boosts the rich heritage of the place. Filmmakers like Prakash Jha and Ashutosh Gowariker have been in touch with us for upcoming projects.”
Tourism boards are cashing in on the trend. C Indhumathy, special secretary & MD, UP State Tourism Development Corporation, says, “People are bored of seeing the same old [places in films]; they look for new, untouched areas. UP has so much potential beyond Taj Mahal. We are focusing on social media campaigns. But they (filmmakers) should go to south and the Northeast, too.”
But filmmakers say it’s not easy to choose locations. “It depends on the script,” says Sharat Katariya. “You can’t place a story which belongs in Delhi or UP, somewhere else.”