By Nikhil Anil

Many Hollywood films are shot in India. Following are the noteworthy for film lovers

PRAVASISAMWAD.COM

The Indian film industry is known to have so many shots from outside the country. Be it the beautiful Swiss Alps, the bustling America and Singapore skylines, the Arabian and African deserts and so on. But there have also been noteworthy instances of the contrary, i.e., foreign films being shot in Indian lands. Following are the noteworthy for film lovers:

Tenet (2020); shot in Mumbai. Source: telegraphindia.com

One of the most recent examples is the Christopher Nolan blockbuster, ‘Tenet’. The movie was shot across Europe and America, but another major country involved was India. Mumbai was where the Protagonist had met with one of the main characters, played by Dimple Kapadia. But Tenet is not the only mainstream hit to have featured the subcontinent in its scenes. Here are ten of the biggest films to have been shot in India:

1. Million Dollar Arm

This biographical sports drama starring Jon Hamm covered the story of how a sports agent attempted to save his newly formed company by recruiting possible new baseball players, for which he attempted to draw similarities between the sport and India’s beloved sport, cricket. Although the movie was focused on Los Angeles and Atlanta, there were a couple of scenes shot in Mumbai, India’s film capital.

2. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

One of the highest-grossing films of its year, ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ is the first and perhaps the only movie in this list that was completely shot in India, chronicling the story of a dilapidated hotel and its residents. The movie had an ensemble cast of Dame Judi Dench, Dame Maggie Smith, Dev Patel and Tom Wilkinson, also featuring Richard Gere in its 2015 sequel, ‘The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’. While the latter also included a couple of scenes in San Diego, both movies were extensively shot in Jaipur and Udaipur.

3. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol

‘Ghost Protocol’ is the fourth instalment in one of the highest-grossing action movie franchises. Starring Tom Cruise, the movie series is known for its intense stunt sequences. Although the most talked-about scene would end up being Tom Cruise climbing up the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the movie climaxed in Mumbai with a car chase. The car involved was the BMW Vision concept vehicle, which had not even been released to the public until a few years later under the name BMW i8.

4. The Bourne Supremacy

Another much-loved action movie franchise, The Jason Bourne film series starring Matt Damon have seen him travel between various parts of the world, a secret agent attempting to regain his memory. ‘The Bourne Supremacy’ is the second movie in the franchise. The movie began with a high-intensity car chase sequence which was shot in Goa.

5. Octopussy

Speaking of beloved spy franchises, one cannot miss the iconic James Bond, a.k.a. Agent 007. Spanning across 24 films with a 25th film on the way, the British spy has been portrayed by 6 actors. ‘Octopussy’ was the thirteenth film in the franchise and was the 6th film starring Sir Roger Moore, following portrayals by Sir Sean Connery and George Lazenby. Major portions of this movie were shot in Udaipur, although the storyline indicated Delhi. The movie was not only shot in India, but it also featured Indian acting veteran Kabir Bedi in a major role.

6. Life of Pi

Who does not remember ‘Life of Pi’? This Ang Lee masterpiece was the talk of Hollywood post its release, having over 100 nominations and winning about 45 of those awards, the latter which include the Oscar Awards for Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Original Score. The movie chronicles the life of a boy who was stranded alone after a shipwreck and has to survive with a tiger stranded in his lifeboat. Although the movie was mostly filled with CGI, there were scenes shot from Pondicherry and Munnar in Kerala.

7. A Mighty Heart

‘A Mighty Heart’ is a 2007 drama starring Angelina Jolie and based on the abduction and beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was in Karachi for a report he was investigating on. The movie was shot in Mumbai, where the Pearl family was based. They also shot scenes in Pune because of how similar the terrain was to Karachi. This similarity of terrain was also the reason why the 2012 movie ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ was shot in Chandigarh. The crew of the movie designed the location in a way to make it resemble Lahore and Abbottabad, the central locations to denote the capture and execution of Osama Bin Laden.

8. Eat Pray Love

‘Eat Pray Love’, which is based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir, is a story of how she discovered herself and life’s pleasures through Italy’s cuisine (Eat), India’s spirituality (Pray) and how she found true love in Indonesia (Love). The movie starred Julia Roberts as Gilbert and is still one of the most powerful films for self-discovery. Although the sceneries in the movie were breathtakingly amazing, some critics found it hard to relate to Gilbert’s character. To show her time in India, the movie was shot in Delhi as well as Pataudi.

9. Jobs

‘Jobs’ is the 2013 biopic of the Apple Inc. founder and visionary Steve Jobs, portrayed by Ashton Kutcher. The movie has shown a partly fictionalized version of Jobs’ life story, what critics have defined as “overly sentimentalized” for TV. The movie did show a lot of chapters from his life, including his trek in India, where he delved into Indian philosophy. The movie was shot in Vrindavan and New Delhi to highlight the trek and his philosophical learnings.

10. The Darjeeling Limited

Of course, when it comes to American movies shot in India, one cannot miss this Wes Anderson masterpiece. Starring Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman, the movie is an epic chronicle of three brothers on a spiritual tour of India, rekindling their familial bond and rediscovering themselves. The movie, even though almost completely based in India, does not show the country from a tourist’s point of view, but just as a general background. This iconic movie was majorly shot in Jodhpur and Udaipur.

The Dark Knight Rises deserves Honourable Mention.

Last, but not the least, is Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, the third and final instalment in his ‘The Dark Knight Trilogy’. This movie is unique to the list as a superhero movie with arguably one of the best portrayals of Batman, and it marks Nolan’s first time shooting in India. The Christian Bale starrer was shot across the United State and Wollaton Hall in Nottingham served as Wayne Manor, but Jodhpur’s Mehrangarh Fort was the location for one of the most pivotal scenes in the movie and trilogy for Batman’s character growth, the place where he was held captive.