Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Perfect setting for Bollywood dramas

S. Anil Radhakrishnan

PROMOTING KERALA: Amitabh Bachchan addressing a press conference at Munnar. Photo: Mahesh Harilal

Thiruvananthapuram: Fabulous locales close to one another, immense cultural and artistic wealth, a wide repertoire of art forms and festivals, diversity in look and feel, locations unique in style and character and architecture of different styles and eras. What else do one need for a shooting locale?

Every slice of this beauteous land, whether captured on canvas, paper or screen, goes beyond the medium to entice the onlooker. And the world had a sampling of it in the films Bombay, Dil Se, Mistress of Spices, Nishabdh, Cotton Mary, and many more.

Superstar Amitabh Bachchan and Aiswarya Rai were in Munnar recently for the shooting of Nishabdh and Guru, respectively. Kerala, not a favourite locale among Bollywood filmmakers so far, is slowly emerging as a much sought-after destination for the Hindi film industry. Enthused by the interest shown to the destination, Kerala Tourism has chalked out plans to woo the industry. A top Kerala Tourism official said that already, brochures and CDs focussing on Kerala as a shooting locale had been sent to Bollywood filmmakers. The CDs have information such as the time of sunrise, sunset and the best time for shooting at a particular destination.

Thekkady and Munnar were featured in Mani Ratnam's Dil Se. Ram Gopal Varma's Nishabdh was extensively shot in Munnar. Gurinder Chadha's Mistress of Spices was partly shot in Munnar, and Fort Kochi offered the right ambience for Ismail Merchant's Cotton Mary. Kerala offers a variety of moods, predominantly through its diverse architectural styles — British, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and more — that evokes its age-old ties with other countries. Fort Kochi, the ideal backdrop for the Merchant-Ivory Productions' film Cotton Mary, takes one several centuries back in time.

Filmmakers say Munnar, for instance, has the charm of Scotland, the beautiful waterways of Alappuzha beat the visual splendour of Venice and that the waterfalls of Athirapally have the ferocity of the Niagara. What is, perhaps, remarkable for the State as a shooting location is the fact that all major destinations are within an hour or two from each other?

At least 25 places have been identified and included in the CD.

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