Bollywood - why do they film overseas?  First posted to New Diaspora forum (Oct05) Bollywood films are increasingly using foreign locales - among them Switzerland, Canada, Britain and more recently South Africa, Australia and even Greece and France. I have wondered why the producers take the trouble to go overseas. Do they wish to introduce the Bollywood genre to a new audience or use the opportunity to develop good relations with another country? I decided to check for myself by viewing several Bolly movies in recent months. I observed that the hero or star pair (and possibly a few friends/relatives) get holed up at some posh foreign apartment or a patron's home. The hero or heroine may be studying or working abroad or preparing to get hitched there. Encounters take place at a hotel, tourist resort, airport or highway. The theme may have to conform to stereotypes - the hero as a curry chef, an illegal immigrant or considering a marriage of convenience. The mandatory song & dance routine is held on a busy street, beach or nightclub. When just the star duo dances, we see bemused locals watching curiously from a distance as it were some alien ritual. But increasingly, local young people may be invited to join in - they've obviously have been previously given a crash course in Bolly dancing. It is de rigueur for the girls to appear in the skimpiest attire. What is striking is the lack of any meaningful social interaction with the natives, any touristic exchange. Our hero is not suave or cosmopolitan enough to break the ice and make small talk with the locals. At most he manages a few stilted phrases: this happens for example when he orders a drink at a bar, or buys from a shop or makes inquiries at an airline counter. In return the bar or counter assistant is programmed to respond in a robotic manner, if there is a response at all. Shah Rukh Khan in particular is awfully ill at ease in an international setting, I think. To my mind, here is a missed opportunity to develop warm relations between host and visitor. Encounters with the locals are awkward and contrived. So what does the Bolly producer gain by filming overseas? He has to fork out a substantial sum to transport and house the actors and crew during the filming period as well as hire expensive facilities whether residential, beach or street square. If the locals are invited to take part in the Bolly routine, they have to be trained and remunerated. It is the host country that stands to gain - in tourism revenue but its citizens are still not drawn to Bolly films. All that the Bolly producers seem to get in return is a magnificent foreign backdrop - a pristine natural habitat and sparkling urban infrastructure that simply cannot be matched at home by Indian cities. The cine-viewers in India, especially in the rural areas, are bound to be gob smacked by the affluence on display overseas but that is about all. Is it worth the cost? Does the theme really warrant a foreign location? Indeed the story might have a more authentic feel in an Indian setting. Some specific films 1. Kuch Na Kaho Location - USA & India Backdrop: American skyline, the airport and a posh residence. Story - our hero (Abishek Bachhan) must rush to India. The flight is full but as luck would have it he meets with an Indian girl (Ash Rai) at the airport, also on her way home. Abishek spins a yarn and persuades her to give up her ticket and take the next flight. Soon he meets her in Bombay. Interaction with natives: none –our hero does speak to a ticket counter clerk but she turns out to be Indian. The scene shifts to Mumbai and there is no return to the US. So why film there or was the scene simulated?  2. Chalte Chalte (?) Location – Athens, Greece and India Foreign Backdrop: a few Athens villas and architectural delights. Story: Our hero (Shah Rukh) is besotted with a girl (Rani M) who is already engaged to an Indian businessman based in Athens (!). Our hero follows her there on the same flight; they dally at some intermediate point before arriving in Athens where Rani is persuaded to give up the other guy. They return to Bombay. Interaction with natives: At the intermediate stop before reaching Athens, our hero dives into a public pool to retrieve a coin, to the applause of native onlookers. He also buys a huge teddy bear, after exchanging an encouraging word from the local shopkeeper. That’s about all.  3. No Entry Location – South Africa, later Mauritius Backdrop: hotel & nightclub in South Africa; street scene; posh residence in Mauritius. Story: A mix-up about spouses. Hero Salman Khan acts as a philanderer - the role suits him. He seems to be surrounded by local beauties or greeted by them much of the time. The heroine is the sultry Bipasha who dances at a night-club to support a disabled relative. Interaction: dance in the nightclub and street, including local dancers (including Africans). 4. Ramji Londonwaley Location – London Backdrop: London streets, posh house, Indian restaurant, river Thames. [Bollywood rather likes to film the usual central London spots like Leicester Square and Westminster Council has complained that the film crew do not respect the local bylaws (on parking, dumping garbage etc)] Story: the film was made with tax breaks and support from Brit Ministry of Culture. But they seemed to have demanded a theme conforming to stereotypes about minorities. So our hero (south Indian for a change) is a curry chef recruited from India. His sponsor dies when he arrives in London. An Indian couple befriends him and lets him work at a friend’s restaurant without a work permit. So he is an illegal immigrant and the police are seen constantly hovering in the background. A marriage of convenience is arranged with an Asian girl. Our hero’s illegal status is discovered when he is discovered by the police performing a Hindu ceremony on the banks of Thames to dispose the ashes of a dead relative. Interaction: with British police and immigration officers.  5. Salaam Namaste Location – Australia Backdrop: beach resort, post apartment Story: Hero (Saif ?) is a chef of sorts while the heroine (Preity Zinta) is a radio presenter. They decide to co-habit ay a beach bungalow belonging to an Indian who has a blond live-in partner. Heroine finds herself pregnant. Hero wants the aborted, she doesn’t. In the end, our hero agrees to marry and accept the child. Interaction: dance at the beach, including locals. The doctor consulted is Indian. As for the Indian landlord, he comments in an atrocious accent and then asks his blonde partner for her opinion. The script allows her just one word: ‘Sorry?’ And he agrees with another single word: ‘Exactly.’  6. One Dollar Curry Location – Paris, France Backdrop: Paris streets in the migrant areas. No posh locations. Story: Based on a popular book of the same name. French TV supported the making of this film and apparently insisted on the usual stereotypes. So our hero (Vijay Singh) lands in Paris as a refugee without proper papers and the first persons he meets are a Black (from Haiti), a drug dealer and a fellow Asian who has a porn studio. Our hero tries his hand at curry; it is fancied by an attractive woman (half French, half Indian), who houses him and throws in a couple of parties to introduce our hero. The Haitian, who was fond of Hindu customs, dies and our hero takes his ashes to the banks of the river (Seine?) for disposal. The police apprehend him and our hero has to appear in court to explain his immigration status. Interaction: We hardly meet native Parisians, mostly blacks, Moroccans and other assorted minorities. There are a couple of dances, more classical than modern, performed by Indian women.