Priory is jewel in Bollywood crown
A rural Stirlingshire beauty spot has become a favourite stop off for fans of an iconic Bollywood film.
Inchmahome Priory at Lake of Menteith near Aberfoyle features in the film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.
Now VisitScotland has produced a downloadable trip planner and map for fans of the film, featuring that and several other Scottish locations used in the 1998 box office hit.
Inchmahome Prior is among locations such as Eilean Donan Castle, Bass Rock and Glen Coe to take centre stage during the performance of the film’s title song.
New figures recently revealed the total amount of spend by visitors from India to Scotland has risen by 60 per cent in the past 10 years – to £17.6 million.
India’s luxury travellers and the fast-growing middle-class traveller market have a propensity to travel outside of the main visitor season.
Earlier this year, VisitScotland embarked on its first ever social media campaign in India, targeting 25-55 year olds in key cities including Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.
The online campaign reached more than 10 million people and saw more than 15,000 visits to a special Kuch Kuch Hota Hai page hosted on visitscotland.com. Bollywood is the Hindilanguage film industry based in Mumbai, India and one of the biggest film industries of the world.
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai tells the story of two love triangles set several years apart and was the highest grossing Indian film of 1998 and the first Bollywood film to enter the UK cinema top 10.
Twenty years on it is still a firm favourite and, along with numerous other Bollywood movies subsequently shot in Scotland, continues to drive visitors here.
Jenni Steele , of VisitScotland, said: “Bollywood has an enduring love affair with Scotland’s cities, castles, lochs and glens with more than 20 filmmakers using our wonderful landscapes as a backdrop since 1998.
“The number of Indian visitors to Scotland is continuing to grow and the 20th anniversary of the popular Bollywood classic Kuch Kuch Hota Hai presents a great opportunity for the Scottish tourism industry to engage with this key market.”
Anju Ranjan, Consul General of India, added: “Bollywood is the lifeblood of every Indian and entertains 1.3 billion Indians from birth to death, and produces more than 1000 movies – three times more movies than Hollywood – every year.
“It showcases evolving Indian social values, emotions, drama and message for life.”