The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Penchant for shooting films abroad

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Penchant for shooting films abroad

By Suresh Krishnamoorthy

HYDERABAD: How often has a film buff substituted the dancing images on screen with one of himself or herself in those exotic locales abroad?

The charm of shooting abroad has always been there and will be. Be it the Alpine ranges, in Austria or Switzerland or anywhere else in Europe, in New Zealand or Australia. The camera frame looks at life differently, capturing nature in all its splendour.

Tirol offers free location counselling, including free board and lodge for three persons. Besides assisting in visa procedure at the Austrian embassy in Delhi, Tirol helps find local partners too, says Johannes Koeck of Cine Tirol Film Corporation. This year, Cine Tirol hopes to attract 10 Indian film productions this year.

Search for locales

The Telugu film industry appears to be smitten with the prospect of going `foreign'. Every other film has a minimum of one song shot in New Zealand, Germany or Australia. About 25 films were shot amidst the picturesque glory of Tirol in Austria in recent times. Now producers are exploring locations in Armenia, Uzbekistan and other places. Greece too is in their list.

Movie moghul D. Rama Naidu says shoots abroad are more professional. "Unit creativity becomes focused and no one thinks of anything else except the shoot. We would need only about 20 people in the unit, be it for a song or for an action sequence when we shoot in foreign locales. The same would mean an 80-member unit when we shoot at home. With everyone being cost-conscious, it becomes a very productive trip."

M. Shyamprasad Reddy says shooting abroad in general and the US in particular means more discipline and more planning. "In the US, one would need a work permit, which means planning three months in advance. "

Currently Y.V.S. Choudhary is on a 25-day shooting schedule in the US and Ashwini Dutt is expected to leave on May 25 with Chiranjeevi for his movie. It's not just aesthetics and foreign tag that drive them abroad. "It makes economic sense too. We can make two songs there by spending the amount we incur on one song here," says Sravanthi Ravikishore who shot songs in Tirol, Germany and New Zealand.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh