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Film and Place in an Intercultural
Perspective
The book oers an interdisciplinary overview of the lm and place relationship
from an intercultural perspective. It explores the complex domain of place and
space in cinema and the lm industry’s role in establishing cultural connections
and economic cooperation between India and Europe.
With contributions from leading international scholars, various case studies
scrutinise European and Indian contexts, exploring both the established and
emerging locations. The book extends the dominantly Britain-oriented focus
on India’s cinema presence in Europe to European countries, such as Italy,
Switzerland, Poland, Slovenia, Finland, and Sweden, where the Indian lm industry
progressively expands its presence. The chapters of this book look at Indian lm
production in Europe as a cultural bridge between India and Europe, fostering
mutual understanding of the culture and society of the two regions.
This interdisciplinary book will be of interest to researchers in lm studies,
cultural anthropology, cultural geography, tourism, economics, sociology,
and cultural studies. It will also be of interest to practitioners working in local
authorities, destination management, tourism, and creative business, all of whom
see the value of lm production in attracting visitors, investment, and creating new
networks with local economic actors. The book oers much-needed data and tools
to translate their professional goals and potentials into eective regional strategies
and activities.
Krzysztof Stachowiak, PhD, is a professor of economic geography at the
Faculty of Human Geography and Planning, Adam Mickiewicz University in
Poznań, Poland. His research focuses on the creative economy (the role of culture
and the creative sector in the economic development of cities and regions),
creative cities, economic and spatial mechanisms of the creative industries (in
particular the lm industry), knowledge-based economy (innovative regions,
clusters), the geography of lm, and audiovisual media. He is the author of
numerous publications on the creative economy and the role of the creative
sector in developing cities and regions. His latest work includes papers on
“The rise of lm production locations and specialised lm services in European
semi-peripheries” and “Innovation dynamics in the lm industry: The case of the
Soho cluster”. He is an executive editor of the journal Quaestiones Geographicae.
Hania Janta, PhD, is an associate researcher and project coordinator of the
EU-India Platform-funded “FilmInd – The Indian Film Industries as a driver
of new socio-economic connections between India and Europe” project at the
Department of Social Sciences, University of Basel. Previously, she worked as
a lecturer/senior lecturer at Bournemouth University, School of Tourism, and as
a senior lecturer at the University of Surrey, School of Hospitality and Tourism
Management. Her research interests include labour and human capital issues as
well as contemporary forms of mobility. She has published peer-reviewed papers
and co-edited special issues in a range of journals. Her latest co-edited book (with
Andriotis and Stylidis): “Tourism Planning and Development in Eastern Europe”
was published in 2022. She is an evaluator and expert Reviewer for the European
Commission and various National Science Foundation bodies.
Jani Kozina, PhD, is a research associate at the Research Centre of the Slovenian
Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU) and an assistant professor of cultural
and economic geography at the Postgraduate School ZRC SAZU. He has also been
a visiting researcher at the Cardi Metropolitan University, School of Management.
He is a holder of Diploma of Excellence for the Black Sea – Danubian Social &
Economic Innovator, Under the aegis of the European Commission – DG MARE
(2019) and a recipient of Special Mention of the Jury at the European Union Prize
for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Award (2015). He has (co)authored several
articles and books on the role of creative economy, cultural and creative industries,
and the creative class in urban and regional development. He is a member of several
editorial boards and professional associations. He was a guest editor of the Special
issue: Green creative environments at the scholarly journal Acta Geographica
Slovenica.
Therese Sunngren-Granlund holds a Master of Arts degree in Entrepreneurship
in the Arts, and currently works as a research manager at the Faculty of Arts
and Humanities at Novia University of Applied Sciences in Jakobstad, Finland.
In this capacity, she is responsible for overseeing the faculty’s project portfolio,
which encompasses about 25 EU-funded and nationally projects. Throughout her
involvement in various projects, Sunngren-Granlund has cultivated comprehensive
expertise in strategic development pertaining to the creative industries, as well as
regional development and place branding in rural areas. Most recently as principal
investigator for the research project “The impact of cultural and educational
investments in society”. Prior to her current position, Sunngren-Granlund worked
as a professional artist, participating in multiple exhibitions held in locations such
as Helsinki, Bergen, Stockholm, Ljubljana, Berlin, Montescaglioso, Como, and
Milan. Furthermore, she holds a certicate from the Artists’ Research Laboratory
XIV CSAV, where she had the opportunity to collaborate with the visiting professor
and artist Yona Friedman.
Film and Place in an
Intercultural Perspective
India-Europe Film Connections
Edited by Krzysztof Stachowiak,
Hania Janta, Jani Kozina and
Therese Sunngren-Granlund
First published 2024
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2024 selection and editorial matter, Krzysztof Stachowiak, Hania
Janta, Jani Kozina, Therese Sunngren-Granlund; individual chapters, the
contributors
The right of Krzysztof Stachowiak, Hania Janta, Jani Kozina, Therese
Sunngren-Granlund to be identied as the authors of the editorial material,
and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.
The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.
com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license. Funded by the
Polish National Science Centre (Project No. 2017/27/Z/HS4/00039), Novia
University of Applied Sciences, and the Research Center of the Slovenian
Academy of Sciences and Arts.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identication and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-032-27569-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-27571-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-29334-7 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003293347
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
List of gures viii
List of tables xi
List of contributors xii
Acknowledgements xvii
PART I
Introduction 1
1 Introduction: Film and place from an intercultural
perspective 3
KRZYSZTOF STACHOWIAK, HANIA JANTA, JANI KOZINA,
AND THERESE SUNNGREN-GRANLUND
2 From real to reel and back again: Multifaceted relations
between lm, space, and place 16
KRZYSZTOF STACHOWIAK
PART II
Experiencing place through lm 39
3 Destination Europe: The practices of mapping in
contemporary Bombay cinema 41
RANJANI MAZUMDAR
4 Portraying European landscapes in Indian lms 63
MIMI URBANC, PRIMOŽ GAŠPERIČ, AND JANI KOZINA
5 European locations in Bollywood songs: Exploring mobile
bodies and new song genres 83
SHIKHA JHINGAN
Contents
vi Contents
PART III
On location: lm production, lm policy, and place 99
6 On the Italian trail of Indian lms through the lens of media
industry studies 101
MARCO CUCCO AND MASSIMO SCAGLIONI
7 Contemporary Indian lm productions in Switzerland 118
HANIA JANTA AND METKA HERZOG
8 Slovenia as a new contender in attracting Indian lmmakers
within the context of Central and Eastern Europe 136
JANI KOZINA AND ANA JELNIKAR
9 Production culture, interpersonal relations, and the interna-
tionalisation of lmmaking industry: The case of Indian lm
productions in Poland 159
MALWINA BALCERAK, KRZYSZTOF STACHOWIAK,
AND MARCIN ADAMCZAK
10 Film productions as a part of the regional identity in rural
areas – the case of the Nordic countries 179
THERESE SUNNGREN-GRANLUND
PART IV
Beyond the screen: socio-spatial impact of lm 193
11 Beastly places: European encounters with Bollywood’s
non-human geographies 195
VEENA HARIHARAN
12 Film as a majoritarian framework of Hindu nationalism: The
case of Purab Aur Pachhim 211
PANKAJ JAIN AND AJAY RAINA
13 ‘Namastey London’: Bollywood movies and their impact
on how Indians perceive European destinations 225
BHARATH M. JOSIAM, DANIEL SPEARS, KIRTI DUTTA,
SANJUKTA A. POOKULANGARA, AND TAMMY L. KINLEY
1. Winter landscape with a red car. Nordic landscapes have
recently featured in Bollywood lms, including the blockbuster
War from 2019 1
1.1 Conceptual framework of the book 5
2.1 Nexus of relationships between lm and other media
and place/space 22
2.2 Main types of space in the lm 26
2. An aerial view of Lake Bled in Slovenia 39
3.1 A 360-panorama captured by a drone camera 43
3.2 The car chase on ice in War 46
3.3 The camera infrastructure for the snow in War 46
3.4 The bike chase in War shot in the mountains of Serra da
Estrela, Portugal 47
3.5 The bike chase in War in Praça do Comércio, Lisbon,
Portugal 48
3.6 The friends in their car travelling through Spain
in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara 50
3.7 Aerial view of the journey across the Spanish countryside
in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara 50
3.8 Arjun’s view of underwater marine life in Zindagi Na Milegi
Dobara 51
3.9 Sky diving shot in Seville, the South of Spain in Zindagi Na
Milegi Dobara 52
3.10 Aerial view of London in Fan 56
3.11 View of Dubrovnik’s Old Town architecture in Fan 57
3.12 Shahrukh Khan’s running style in Fan 58
3.13 Shahrukh Khan being chased in Darr 59
4.1 Film-selection process 66
4.2 Cloud tag generated from the lming locations 69
4.3 Share of urban and rural settings (dierences between countries) 71
4.4 Types of urban features visible in the settings 71
4.5 Types of rural features visible in the settings 72
Figures
Figures ix
4.6 Mountainous and non-mountainous elements of the setting
(dierences between countries) 73
4.7 Types of mountains visible in the settings 74
4.8 Types of water visible in the settings (dierences between
countries) 75
4.9 Types of water visible in the settings (dierences between
scene types) 75
4.10 Iconic landscapes are widely featured in Indian lms shot in
Poland, Sweden, Finland, Slovenia, and Switzerland 77
5.1 In the song ‘Tere mere hothon pe’, we see Sridevi and Rishi
Kapoor at a picturesque location in Switzerland in Chandni (1989) 84
5.2 and 5.3 On a weekend trip to Europe, Alizeh (Anoushka
Sharma) and Ayaan (Ranbir Kapoor) recreate the song from
Chandni by playing it through a boom box 84
5.4 Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit in a European location in Dil
To Pagal Hai (1997) 87
5.5 and 5.6 In Queen (2012), ‘Badra Bahar’, a background song is
used to capture Rani’s uneasy encounter with the Eiel Tower in
the city of Paris 88
5.7–5.9 In Cocktail (2012), the background songs depict the emo-
tional journey of the three protagonists in three distinct spaces 91
5.10 Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) ends with the ‘Swag’ song shot at
Mykonos, Greece with a large crew of dancers and performers 92
3. Lisbon in Portugal. Portugal features as one of the destinations
oering generous incentives 99
6.1 Map of Italian regions involved in Indian audiovisual works
(2010–2022) 109
6.2 The reasons for outsourcing Indian lm shoots 113
7.1 The iconic bridge in Saanen, outside Gstaad, where the hallmark
1995 lm Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was shot 122
7.2 One of the authors posing with the statue of Bollywood director,
Yash Chopra, in Interlaken 123
7.3 Dhoom 3 features on the marketing material of a bungee jump-
ing company located in Vercasca, Ticino 130
8.1 The analysed topics of Indian lm shooting in Slovenia 142
8.2 Film shooting for the Dhruva project at Maribor Edvard Rusjan
Airport, Slovenia 143
8.3 Film shooting for the Dhruva project in Maribor, Slovenia 144
8.4 Film shooting for the Khaidi No. 150 project at lake Bled, Slovenia 144
8.5 Film shooting in Ljubljana Old Town, Slovenia 145
8.6 Film shooting in the site of high mountain herdsmen’s villages
Velika Planina, Slovenia 145
8.7 The advertising campaign “Drive less. Film green. Film in
Slovenia” of the Slovenian Film Commission 149
x Figures
9.1 Indian and Polish lm crews during the lm shooting at the
European Solidarity Centre in Gdańsk, Poland 173
9.2 Indian lm crew during the lm shooting at the Gdańsk Lech
Walesa Airport in Poland 174
4. The statue of Bollywood director Yash Chopra (1932–2012) 193
11.1 The snow-capped Praxmar Mountains 201
11.2 Encounter between Tiger and the Wolf. He combats the wolf
single-handedly 202
11.3 A pack of wolves approach Tiger and Junior 202
13.1 Total attributes cited by country 236
13.2 Countries cited for ‘no image’ 236
5. Warsaw, with its iconic Palace of Culture and Science, is a
symbol of a modern and rapidly developing city 243
4.1 Selected lms and scenes by countries involved 67
4.2 Selected variables 67
4.3 The most common urban and rural places in selected countries 69
6.1 Indian audiovisual productions lmed in Italy (2010–2022) 106
8.1 The characteristics of the interviewees from India and Slovenia 141
13.1 Demographic prole of respondents 232
13.2 Enthusiasm and engagement with Bollywood movies 233
13.3 Top Bollywood movies inducing travel to Europe 233
13.4 Top European countries Indians want to visit induced
by Bollywood movies 234
13.5 Top ve European countries and their destination attributes as
seen by Indians 234
13.6 Bottom ve European countries and their destination attributes
as seen by Indians 235
Tables
Marcin Adamczak is an associate professor at Adam Mickiewicz University in
Poznań. He lectures also at Film School in Łódź and University of Gdańsk.
Awarded by Krzysztof Mętrak Grand Prix for young lm critics (2011). He
is the author of books (published in Polish) Global Hollywood, Europe and
Polish Cinema After 1989 (2010), Besides the Screen: Production Studies
and Social Roles of Film (2014), and Capitals of Film Industry: Hollywood,
Europe, China (2019). He is co-founder of distribution company Velvet Spoon.
He is a member of International Federation of Film Critics and Polish Film-
makers Association.
Malwina Balcerak, PhD, works at the Faculty of Human Geography and Plan-
ning, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. Her research focuses on public
art (the role of public art in urban development), geography of lm, cultural
geography, and festivalisation of urban space. She was a team member of the
international research project “FilmInd – The Indian Film Industry as a Fac-
tor for New Socio-Economic Links between India and Europe”, implemented
under the EqUIP (EU-India Platform for Social Sciences and Humanities)
initiative.
Marco Cucco is Associate Professor at the University of Bologna (Italy) and Head
of the postgraduate Master programme in Film and Audiovisual Management.
He received his PhD degree in communication at the Università della Svizzera
Italiana (Switzerland). His research interests concern mainly lm industry and
cultural policy. He wrote several articles published by international journals
(Studies in European Cinema, Film Studies, European Journal of Communi-
cation, Media, Culture & Society, Journal of Transcultural Communication,
Journal of Italian Cinema & Media Studies), and three books. Currently, he is
Vice-Chair of the Film Studies Section of ECREA.
Kirti Dutta is a TEDx speaker with over 28 years of experience and has helped
manage and build processes in institutions of higher learning. She is currently
Dean, School of Entrepreneurship, Rishihood University (RU), and Found-
ing Dean-Research at RU. Her areas of interest include brand management,
Contributors
Contributors xiii
consumer behaviour, services, digital, and neuromarketing. She is a prolic
researcher and has co-authored more than 90 publications and three research-
based textbooks. She has also conducted a number of FDPs and MDPs for
Maharatna and Multinational companies. She is Founding Editor for Interna-
tional Journal of Entrepreneurship and Startup Ventures.
Primož Gašperič, PhD, is a research associate at the Research Centre of the Slo-
venian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Anton Melik Geographical Institute. His
research activities focus mainly on the history of cartography and old maps, but
also on regional geography, landscape perception and representations in photog-
raphy and lm. He has (co-)authored several publications, including books. He
is head of the Geographical Museum, a special part of the Geogracal Institute,
a member of the editorial board of the journal Geographic Horizon and the sci-
entic book series Geography of Slovenia.
Veena Hariharan is associate professor of cinema studies at the School of Arts
and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her essays and articles on docu-
mentary, non-ction cinema and the environment have appeared in anthologies
and journals. She is currently Alexander Von Humboldt Fellow at Goethe Uni-
versity, Frankfurt, working on her project on non-human-human entanglements
in cinema and new media. Her book Embers of Reason: Contemporary Indian
Documentary and the Secular Imagination is forthcoming from Cambridge Uni-
versity Press.
Metka Herzog is a research coordinator at swisspeace, Swiss Peace Foundation,
and teaches political science at the University of Basel. Her thematic interests
are focused on highly skilled mobilities, politics of migration, and migrants’
civic engagement. Metka holds an MSc in International Development Studies
from Utrecht University and a PhD in Public Policy and Policy Analysis from
Maastricht University.
Pankaj Jain is an internationally recognized academic leader in Sustainability,
Jain Studies, Film Studies, and Diaspora Studies. He is the head of department
of Humanities & Languages and the chair of The India Centre at FLAME
University. Until 2020, he was the founding co-chair of India Initiatives Group
and Associate Professor in the Departments of Philosophy & Religion and
Anthropology at the University of North Texas, a tier-1 American university.
He holds a PhD from the University of Iowa and an M.A. from Columbia
University. His B.E. was in Computer Science from Karnatak University. Prof.
Jain has about 30 years of work experience in academia and industry. He has
coedited the Encyclopedia of Indian Religions (2022) and Indian and West-
ern Philosophical Concepts in Religion (2023). His earlier monographs are
Dharma in America: A Short History of Hindu-Jain Diaspora (2019), Dharma
and Ecology of Hindu Communities: Sustenance and Sustainability (2011),
and Science and Socio-Religious Revolution in India: Moving the Mountains
(2015).
xiv Contributors
Ana Jelnikar is research assistant at the Research Centre of Slovenian Academy
of Sciences and Arts, Institute of Anthropological and Spatial Studies. Her main
research interest revolves around the cultural and literary connections between
India and Slovenia in the wider historical context of former Yugoslavia and East-
Central Europe. She is the author of Universalist Hopes in India and Europe;
The Worlds of Rabindranath Tagore and Srečko Kosovel (Oxford University
Press, Delhi, 2016), and co-author of A Passage to India: Two Missionary Trav-
elogues, Contexts and Analyses (published in Slovene, Koper: Annales, 2021).
Shikha Jhingan is Associate Professor at the Department of Cinema Studies,
School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her research
work focuses on music and technologies of sound dispersal across diverse
media platforms. Her work brings a sound studies perspective to Bollywood
lms and their intermedial footprints. She has published articles in the jour-
nals Seminar and Bioscope: South Asian Screen Studies and Feminist Media
Histories and several book anthologies. Her most recent article has been pub-
lished in A Companion to Indian Cinema by Wiley Blackwell (2022). She is
currently working on her book manuscript on the female voice of Bombay
lm songs.
Bharath M. Josiam is recently retired as Professor of Hospitality and Tour-
ism Management from the College of Merchandising and Hospitality Man-
agement at the University of North Texas. He has been a faculty member at
leading Hospitality Management programmes in the United States for over
35 years. His research interests are in consumer behaviour and management
issues in hospitality and tourism. He has co-authored over 60 journal articles
and presented over 100 papers at international conferences. He serves on the
editorial board of various journals and on paper review committees. He serves
at universities worldwide as Evaluator and External Examiner for doctoral
dissertations.
Tammy L. Kinley is Professor in the Merchandising and Digital Retailing
Department as well as Academic Associate Dean in the College of Mer-
chandising, Hospitality and Tourism at the University of North Texas. Her
research interests include consumer behaviour, shopping behaviour, and
niche industries. She has held top leadership positions in several professional
organisations.
Ranjani Mazumdar is a professor of cinema studies at the School of Arts & Aes-
thetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her publications focus on the cinematic
city, spatial aesthetics, and techno-urbanism. She is the author of Bombay Cin-
ema: An Archive of the City (2007), co-editor with Neepa Majumdar of the
Wiley Blackwell Companion to Indian Cinema (2022), and guest editor of a spe-
cial issue of Bioscope on cinema and techno-materiality. Her current research
focuses on globalisation and lm culture, intermedial encounters, and the inter-
section of technology, travel, design, and colour in 1960s Bombay Cinema.
Contributors xv
Sanjukta A. Pookulangara earned her PhD degree from the University of
Missouri, Columbia, and is currently Professor of Merchandising and Chair in
the College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism at the University of North
Texas. Dr. Pookulangara’s research interest is designed to develop strategies for
the retail industry and create new pedagogy for students. Her research investi-
gates motivations associated with consumers as it relates to channel strategy and
use of social media. Additionally, she has also investigated emerging economies
such as India specically consumer behaviour and collaborative consumption.
Ajay Raina has produced, directed, and edited many ction shorts, documentary
lms, and TV programmes besides having written innumerable screenplays for
feature lms and an unpublished novel in English. He has won the National
Award (Rajat Kamal), the Golden Conch, IDPA Silver Trophy, and RAPA Award
for his documentary lms, many of which have screened at numerous forums,
seminars and at major international and national lm festivals. His documen-
tary lm “Between Border and the Fence. On Edge of a Map” (2011) is short-
listed among 12 best documentaries of the year 2011–2012 by the well-known
Walker Art Magazine. He has taught courses in cinema studies, lm direction,
documentary, and screenplay writing at the Film Institute Pune, University of
Pennsylvania, Srishti Institute of Design, and Flame University. Presently, he is
a professor of Film at Institute of Design, Nirma University.
Massimo Scaglioni is Full Professor of Media History and Economics at Università
Cattolica, Milan. He is the co-founder and director of Ce.R.T.A. (Research Cen-
tre for Television and Audiovisual Media) and director of the Master’s course
“Fare TV”. He is co-applicant of the Global Media and Internet Concentration
Project awarded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of
Canada and co-investigator of the project “Public Service Media in the Age of
Platforms” awarded by CHANSE. He is the author of several books on media
and broadcasting history and industry, including A European Television Fiction
Renaissance (Routledge 2021).
Daniel Spears is Associate Professor of Hospitality & Tourism at UNT and Visit-
ing and Aliate Professor of International Sustainable Tourism at CATIE in
Costa Rica. He teaches and researches tourism and service marketing, consumer
behaviour, and strategic management. Dr. Spears has published 40 academic
journal articles and book chapters and, with research presented over 80 inter-
national conferences in the tourism management and marketing disciplines. In
addition, he has worked, trained, and consulted several organisations and inter-
national governments. Dr. Spears also served in the U.S. Army as a combat
medic.
Mimi Urbanc is Senior Research Fellow and deputy director at the Research Cen-
tre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU). Her research
activities have been focused on cultural landscapes, their management, land-
scape perception, and landscape representations in literature, photography, and
xvi Contributors
lm. She has (co)authored several publications, including books. She was the
chief editor of the book series Thought, Society, Culture: Exploring Cultural
Spaces of Europe published by Peter Lang Verlag until recently and is human
geography editor of the scholarly journal Acta geographica Slovenica, pub-
lished by Založba ZRC.
The editors acknowledge funding of the FilmInd project – The Indian lm industry
as a driver of new socio-economic connections was carried out within the EU-India
Platform for Social Sciences and Humanities (EqUIP), nanced by national fund-
ing of the participating countries with Professor Walter Leimgruber, University of
Basel, as the Principal Investigator. The authors acknowledge the receipt of fund-
ing from the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia
and Slovenian Research Agency (Research programme P6–0101), Swiss National
Science Foundation (Project No. IZEQZ1_180340), Academy of Finland (69 037;
324796), Polish National Science Centre (Project No. 2017/27/Z/HS4/00039), and
the Indian Council for Social Science Research (with special thanks to Mahesh
Madhukar). The editors would also like to thank Dr. Metka Herzog for initiating
the project.
Acknowledgements
DOI: 10.4324/9781003293347-2
This chapter has been made available under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
The aim of the book
European governments, tourism ministries, and lm commissions have recently
been working towards promoting their respective countries as lmmaking desti-
nations (Cucco and Dagnino 2018; O’Regan 2018; Cucco and Richeri 2021). In
doing so, they emphasise the oer of professional services and good value for
money based on local services and incentives. Besides beneting the lm industry,
having a location featured in a lm is also meant to promote the tourism industry
(so-called lm-induced tourism [Buchmann 2010]). The link between lm loca-
tions and the tourism potential is now becoming signicantly apparent across
Europe, potentially fostering a post-pandemic recovery (Garrison et al. 2022). In
addition, the infrastructure that makes the mobilisation of foreign locations pos-
sible is a complex ecology involving event management companies, technologies,
the hotel industries, unskilled labour and trained lm personnel in the countries
where shooting is conducted. A spatial perspective is especially relevant, consider-
ing that the lm industry relies heavily on local and global production networks
(Nachum and Keeble 2003; Coe 2015). This infrastructure enables not just the
promotion of tourism, but also employment opportunities, knowledge sharing, and
country branding with long-term economic and transcultural eects.
The Indian lm industry produces over 1,500 lms annually (Dastidar and
Elliott 2020). While Indian cinema has long had a presence in certain parts of the
world linked to its diaspora, in the recent past, it has crossed over to non-South
Asian audiences (Ebrahim 2008; Hassam and Paranjape 2010; Hong 2021). This
expansion has also led to the widespread incorporation of new locations in the
production process. Despite the large number of Indian lms produced abroad,
little is known about the mobilities of the Indian crews in Europe and the various
socio-economic impacts that they have on European territory.
The book Film and Place in an Intercultural Perspective: India-Europe Film
Connections discusses the complex domain of place and space in cinema and the
role that the lm industry plays in establishing cultural connections and economic
cooperation between India and Europe. Particular emphasis is placed on under-
standing how locations shape and are shaped by lm production and circulation.
The main threads of the book aim to investigate the construction of place through
1 Introduction
Film and place from an intercultural
perspective
Krzysztof Stachowiak, Hania Janta, Jani Kozina,
and Therese Sunngren-Granlund
4 Krzysztof Stachowiak et al.
the use of European locations in Indian cinema; map the scale and analyse the spe-
cic locations across Europe where Indian cinemas are being shot (European-wide
and country-specic analyses); identify the specic nature of the infrastructure
that allows for mobility and operation of lm crews in these European locations;
investigate the role of policies supporting lm production and lm collaboration
between India and Europe; examine the cultural practices of European and Indian
lm production workers; and analyse the socioeconomic impact of the Indian lm
industry in Europe and India.
Written by both Indian and European researchers, various case studies scrutinise
European contexts, both established (Western Europe) and emerging (Central and
Eastern Europe and Northern Europe). The book extends the dominantly Britain-
oriented focus on India’s cinema presence in Europe to other countries, such as
Italy, Switzerland, Poland, Slovenia, Finland, and Sweden, where the Indian lm
industry progressively expands its presence.
The book’s intercultural perspective and interdisciplinary approach
This book proposes an intercultural perspective on studying Indian lm produc-
tions in Europe, which would help in understanding how Indian lms reect
and shape cultural interactions and exchanges between India and Europe. In
this way, the book builds on and moves forward the concept of “intercultural
lm” that has recently started to be more frequently used by scholars from dif-
ferent academic elds. The use of intercultural perspective “can be understood
as expressing a critical awareness of lmic depictions of cultural encounters,
transnational migration and cultural dierences in contemporary multicultural
societies, and the need for illustrative audio-visual representations of intercul-
tural encounters” (Jacobsson 2017, p. 54). Through the chapters of this book,
we try to look at Indian lm production in Europe as a cultural bridge between
India and Europe, fostering mutual understanding of the culture and society
of the two regions. In order to achieve that, an interdisciplinary approach was
needed. It allowed for a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the
cultural inuences and representations of Indian lms produced in Europe and
how audiences perceive them in India and Europe. It can also help by shedding
light on how Indian lmmakers see and represent European locations, cultures,
and societies in their lms.
Hence, the book oers an interdisciplinary overview of the relationship between
lm and place from an intercultural perspective by bringing together the diverse
disciplinary perspectives of lm studies, geography, and cultural and political
studies. The book contributes to broader academic debates on globalisation, trans-
nationalism, knowledge transfer, urbanism, and destination branding. Most impor-
tantly, the book explores the globalisation of the Indian lm industry further by
shedding more light on the relations between India and Europe. The book high-
lights the patterns of value chains regarding lm production and consumption as
signicant components of globalisation processes. In addition to lm tourism, the
book also aims to explore other neglected spatial and sectoral impacts related to
Introduction 5
employment opportunities, knowledge exchange, and country branding with long-
term economic and transcultural eects. The content of the book is based on the
widely researched and taught cultural and creative sectors, which include all sec-
tors whose activities are based on cultural values or other artistic individual or
collective creative expressions.
An interdisciplinary approach to studying Indian lm productions in Europe
assumes numerous topics to gain a more holistic understanding of the Indian–
European cultural exchange. We have identied three main threads that correspond
to the book’s parts and selected the topics which seemed to be essential form the
intercultural perspective (see Figure 1.1). The rst key aspect may involve explor-
ing how lms can be used as a medium for experiencing dierent places and cul-
tures, which will be covered in part II of the book. This can include studying how
Indian lms represent dierent places and spaces in Europe and how these repre-
sentations may shape the viewer’s perception and understanding of these places.
Cultural geography in general, and lm geography in particular, are the elds which
provide theories and concepts for understanding these aspects (Aitken and Zonn
1994; Aitken and Dixon 2006; Lukinbeal and Zimmermann 2006, 2008; Sharp
and Lukinbeal 2015; Lukinbeal and Sommerlad 2022). Geographical perspective
Figure 1.1 Conceptual framework of the book.
Source: Own elaboration
6 Krzysztof Stachowiak et al.
can contribute to the analysis of landscape representation in Indian lms and how
it reects the reality of the place where the lms are shot, as well as how Indian
movies represent or stereotype Europe (Slusser and Rabkin 1989; Lefebvre 2006;
Urbanc et al. 2021). Film studies is another discipline that can be applied to this
research, as it can provide insight into the formal and stylistic elements of Indian
lms that contribute to their representation of place and space. This can include
analysing how lm elements shape the viewer’s engagement with the represented
spaces and places (Gamson et al. 1992; Allen 1993). Additionally, cultural studies
and intercultural communication can be involved in this research, as it can pro-
vide insight into the cultural values and dierences that are represented in Indian
lms and how European audiences receive them. This can include analysing how
Indian lms reect or challenge cultural stereotypes and how they reect or chal-
lenge cultural norms and values in European societies (Krauss 2012; Krämer 2016;
Lourenço 2017).
The second key aspect of Indian lm production in Europe is examining lm
production and lm policy, which can provide insight into the economic and politi-
cal factors that shape the Indian lm industry’s presence in Europe (part III of the
book). As a starting point, we might consider the examination of the local lm
infrastructure in Europe, including the availability of lm production facilities,
such as studios, sound stages, and equipment rental houses, as well as the availabil-
ity of trained crews and professional services, such as casting and location scouting
(Jäckel 2003; Luther 2010; Katsarova 2014). Film incentives provided by national
and regional governments to attract international lm production were already the
subject of many studies (Olsberg and Barnes 2014; Meloni et al. 2015; Halle 2016;
Hill and Kawashima 2016). This provides insight into the challenges and opportu-
nities of Indian lm production in Europe. The incentives can provide funding, tax
breaks, and more intangible benets, such as creating a lm-friendly environment
for Indian lm production companies and can play a signicant role in attracting
Indian lm production to Europe. This can also foster studying how Indian and
European lmmakers collaborate and share ideas and techniques and how cultural
dierences may aect the collaboration process. One theme that may be central
to our book is the idea of local and regional identity in Indian lms produced in
Europe (Cresswell and Dixon 2002; Singh 2011). This can include studying how
Indian lms represent dierent regions and cities in Europe and how these repre-
sentations reect or challenge local and regional identities.
A third thread of an interdisciplinary approach to Indian lm productions in
Europe involves a theme of the socio-spatial impact of the lm, in particular top-
ics such as place branding, destination management, and lm tourism (Lehu 2007;
O’Connor et al. 2008; Horrigan 2009). These themes help to understand how
Indian lm productions are used to promote a specic image or branding of a Euro-
pean city or region and how this image is then incorporated into the marketing and
promotion of the city or region as a tourist destination (Gyimóthy 2018). Similarly,
studying lm tourism might reveal the extent to which Indian lm productions in
Europe attract tourists to specic locations and how they engage with the place
Introduction 7
they are visiting due to their connection to the lm (Frank 2016; Nanjangud and
Reijnders 2020). This thread has been explored in part IV of the book.
In terms of readership, the book is expected to be of great interest to two audi-
ences. The rst group of readers represents researchers, academics, and both
undergraduate and postgraduate students, particularly in the elds of lm studies,
cultural anthropology, cultural geography, tourism studies, economics, sociology,
cultural studies, cultural diplomacy, etc. These readers can learn about and discover
the nexus between lm, as one of the sub-sectors of the emerging cultural and crea-
tive industries, and urban and regional development. The second group of readers
represents local authorities, destination marketing organisations, tourism opera-
tors and creative business owners, all of whom see the value of lm production
in attracting visitors, investment and creating new networks with local economic
actors. The book oers much-needed data and tools to translate their professional
goals and potentials into eective regional strategies and activities. It is expected
for the book to be of high interest to academic and non-academic actors not only
from India and Europe as the two subcontinents in the limelight but also from other
parts of the world where the Indian lm industry has started gradually mobilis-
ing locations for lming and targeting audiences (e.g. North and South America,
Africa, Australia). The book has an interdisciplinary character and a strong inter-
national appeal.
Book structure
The edited collection oers a unique overview of empirical and theoretical stud-
ies on the mobilisations of European locations in Indian cinema. It explores the
diversity of the European landscapes utilised “on-screen”; place representations
and place images as well as the key factors “beyond the screen”, including the
infrastructure, lm policies and business and diplomatic networks that have shaped
the use of these spaces, and subsequent social, cultural and economic impacts of
consuming the cinematic experiences. The book is divided into ve parts, consist-
ing of 14 chapters. The organisation of the chapters is based on the following logic.
Part I sets the scene and provides a background to the unique context of Indian
lm productions shooting in European locations by examining the mechanisms
determining the intercultural cooperation between the two regions. The chapters
in this part review the contribution of dierent disciplinary perspectives aiming
to address some of the urgent questions important to contemporary studies of lm
production and consumption, lm policy, cultural studies, sociology, geography
and tourism. It also presents state-of-the-art theoretical debates on the relationship
between lm, space and place.
Part II focuses on the mobilisation of European locations in Indian cinema by
examining the diversity of the landscapes used and the meanings they attempt to
convey, the relationship between space and place as well as place imaginations.
The presented case studies also deepen our understanding of utilising particular
European geographical landscapes and Indian lm genres.
8 Krzysztof Stachowiak et al.
In the opening chapter of part II, Ranjani Mazumdar looks at the use of European
locations in four genre-diverse lms from Bombay cinema. The main focus is on
the practices of mapping, which relate to so-called cartographic consciousness. The
chapter also looks at the infrastructure, trade, and diplomatic networks that have
made the use of European spaces possible. Four lms are being analysed: Zindagi
Na Milegi Dobara (2011), War (2019), Fan (2016), and Tamasha (2016). All of them
involve European locations as a vital part of storytelling. The chapter establishes the
signicant role of cinematic cartography as an infrastructural, aesthetic, spatial, and
cultural practice that produces a unique imagination of Europe on screen.
In the following chapter, Mimi Urbanc, Primož Gašperič, and Jani Kozina focus
on the representation of landscapes and the depiction of landscape features in
Indian lms shot in Europe. The study is quantitative, and it is based on a sample
of 594 lm scenes from 34 Indian lms shot in ve European countries – Finland,
Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, and Switzerland. The analysis in this chapter shows the
wide variety of landscape elements depicted. For instance, urban areas are mainly
represented by historical and modern images and green and blue infrastructure. On
the other hand, the countryside is predominantly represented by forests, meadows
and grasslands, villages, mountains, and elds, and less often by vineyards and
water elements. As the authors point out, there is a clear divide in representation
between Central and Northern Europe, with the former being based on (medieval)
heritage, culture, and tradition. In contrast, Northern Europe relies more on the
modern urban fabric.
The third chapter of this part of the book by Shikha Jhingan explores the rela-
tionship between European landscape and lm songs, which intensied in the
1990s with the Bollywoodisation of Indian cinema. Based on textual analysis
and ethnographic research, the chapter traces the genealogy of lm songs shot
in European locations to highlight the transformations in their aural and visual
style along the axis of industrial practice. The author distinguishes between two
types of lm songs that have not only become commonplace in recent years but
also rely heavily on a relationship with the place they depict or in which they are
made. Thus, background songs evoke the characters’ mood, and their aective
states seem to ow from and into the locations inhabited by them. These songs
also give us an aural perspective of the European city, subtly incorporating its
sounds and musical culture. The second type of song, the dance songs, involves
many dancers and crowd managers, enabling intercultural interactions and an
embodied engagement with the European locations used for shooting. The chap-
ter also identies the main factors that have contributed to the rise in the popu-
larity of this type of lm song. The most important of these is the rise of global
dance cultures and the emergence of mobile dancing bodies no longer contained
by geographical boundaries.
Part III sheds light on the specic spatial attraction factors in Europe. Four
chapters examine push factors as well as competing pull factors, including various
organisational arrangements and institutional mechanisms that exist in dierent
territorial contexts, in both mature (Italy and Switzerland) and new destinations
Introduction 9
(Finland, Slovenia, and Sweden), in attracting the lm producers. The case studies
featured here scrutinise lm production cultures by looking at the contemporary
lm policies, developed to attract foreign lm producers to their destinations as
well as private initiatives which benet from the “runaway productions”. The ana-
lysed cases demonstrate potential large economic impacts from the cooperation
between Indian lm producers and European stakeholders.
The contribution by Marco Cucco and Massimo Scaglioni on the Italian trail of
Indian lms brings together two study traditions linked to media industry studies:
the political economy of media and production studies. The former is a useful tool
for relating companies’ actions to the public policies regulating or supporting the
media industry and for highlighting key trends in the market and corporate strategy.
At the same time, the latter is essential for understanding the production cultures
in which the companies operate and where the audiovisual products are created.
The authors theoretically identied three types of drivers for the delocalisation
of Indian lm shoots in Western countries: logistical, nancial and appeal. These
categories can be further broken down. For delocalisation in Italy, the chapter con-
rmed these three types, albeit in just some of their forms. The most relevant fac-
tors of delocalisation in the Italian context seem to be good local services, the
weather, tax incentives, and a desire for the spectacular. As their analysis shows,
Indian audiovisual productions’ choice of Italian locations is not an exceptional
phenomenon but rather a trend that has remained stable throughout the last decade.
The added value of this chapter is to represent the follow-up of research undertaken
by the two authors a decade ago on the same topic (Cucco and Scaglioni 2014). It
extends the study period (from 2010 to early 2022) and thus oers a more reliable
overview on the Indian–Italian collaboration.
The chapter by Hania Janta and Metka Herzog complements the contemporary
outlook on Indian lm productions in the Western European context by the Swiss
example. Switzerland has been an established destination in Bollywood cinema for
decades but now faces challenges in keeping its status as a lm-friendly destina-
tion. This is partly due to the sheer number of other emerging destinations globally
(see Kozina and Jelnikar in this volume). Janta and Herzog examine the attraction
factors that make Bollywood lmmakers and other Indian lm industries produc-
ers choose or return to shoot in Swiss regions, despite Switzerland’s lack of com-
petitive incentive schemes. Using qualitative data from in-depth interviews with
location stakeholders in Switzerland, this chapter explores the changing landscape
of foreign lmmaking in Switzerland. Their ndings illustrate that well-known
attributes, such as ecient business administration, proximity to high-end tourism
facilities, and specialist sta, play a key role in attracting large-scale productions.
The pristine environment and diverse linguistic and geographical landscapes create
new opportunities for lmmakers to use multilingual Switzerland as a substitute
location. However, this can lead to issues related to the authenticity of the des-
tination and displacement. This chapter contributes to the literature by exploring
globalised lm production, lm-induced tourism, lm policy, and attraction factors
of destinations.
10 Krzysztof Stachowiak et al.
Against the background of traditional Indian lmmaking in Western Europe
since the 1990s, the contribution of Jani Kozina and Ana Jelnikar portrays the
emerging trends of Indian lm production in Central and Eastern Europe. The
processes of political, economic, and social cohesion, since the expansion of the
European Union in 2004 have opened new opportunities for Indian producers
to explore “exotic” locations. Slovenia, the smallest of the countries belonging
to Central and Eastern Europe, has featured as an example thereof. This chapter
explores the processes, mechanisms and cultural contexts that have popularised
destinations in Central and Eastern Europe in general and Slovenia in particular.
As a post-socialist country that has maintained strong ties to the Western world,
Slovenia is shown to occupy a rather specic place in the context of Indian–Euro-
pean lm co-production while exhibiting tendencies that characterise the wider
region. This serves to underline both the unity and diversity of the region itself
and the problem complex at hand. The comparative advantages of Slovenia as a
destination for lmmakers are discovered to be aordable lming locations, a
great variety of landscapes displaying beautiful natural scenery as well as cul-
tural heritage, skilled technicians and talented performers. The authors conclude,
however, that Slovenia has only acted as a backdrop for Indian lmmakers so far
and that more eorts need to be made to raise its prole among lmmakers and,
consequently, the audience.
The contribution by Malwina Balcerak, Krzysztof Stachowiak, and Marcin
Adamczak examines production culture, interpersonal relations, and the inter-
nationalisation of the lmmaking industry using the case of Indian lm produc-
tions in Poland. The chapter indicates the role of interpersonal relations as an
essential element of Indian production culture and points out the role of the
individual dimension in international lm production. The chapter conceptually
refers to and discusses the concept of production culture by Caldwell (2008)
and applies it to explain interpersonal relations in collaboration with the Indian
lm industry. Using data from individual in-depth interviews with key actors
involved in Indian lm production in Poland, the chapters oer an analysis of
Indian lm production culture from the perspective of Polish lmmakers. The
authors demonstrate how the individual dimension is embedded in culture: the
individual’s actions are determined by social norms and rules, both formal and
informal. The latter seems to be no less important in international lm coopera-
tion. This is an important conclusion from the point of view of the internation-
alisation of lmmaking, as many of the activities of public authorities in support
of internationalisation are oriented towards an organisational or more formalised
dimension.
The nal chapter of this part rounds the European continent with some evi-
dence from the Nordic rural regions. Therese Sunngren-Granlund discusses how
lm productions, and especially Indian lm productions, are used to foster regional
development in rural areas of the Nordic context. Her chapter is based on an analy-
sis of current lm policy documents in the following countries: Finland, Sweden,
Norway, Denmark, and Iceland, with a deeper focus on Finland, where ten in-depth
Introduction 11
interviews with Finnish stakeholders working in the lm industry were also con-
ducted between 2020 and 2021. The author identied the Arctic landscape covered
in snow, as depicted in both Indian lm productions Wa r (2019) and Shamitabh
(2015), as one of the primary draws for foreign lmmakers to come to Finland.
Other important pull factors are the well-developed infrastructure, with ve inter-
national airports, roads across the country and national mobile phone coverage
not being an issue even in more remote locations. In addition to this, the low level
of bureaucracy and the quality of work were factors often mentioned as positive
aspects by the Finnish respondents themselves, making it comparable to the Swiss
context explored by Janta and Herzog also in this volume. The research ndings
suggest that Indian and international lm productions can be an opportunity for
the creative industries in the Nordic region, as well as a resourceful contributor to
regional development.
Part IV moves beyond the screen to the various impacts that the Indian
film production in Europe entails; from cultural impacts as part of soft pub-
lic diplomacy, to social impacts that have wider consequences for the audi-
ences and their consumption habits, both in Europe and India, to economic
impacts related to employment and knowledge sharing. The presented studies
engage in the conceptual debates on globalisation, transnationalism, knowl-
edge transfer, intercultural aspects, and the various practices related to the film
consumption.
Veena Hariharan’s contribution to this volume discusses how we can read these
geo-scapes as more than just backgrounds, and instead as complex ecologies for
extraction – of human and non-human habitats, labour, resource, and capital. Euro-
pean locations are frequently used as backdrops for song and stunt sequences in
popular Indian lms. These European locations, which are created through visually
appealing geographies of mountains, rivers, fjords, valleys, and forests teeming
with wild animals, are as much about India’s idea of Europe, as they are about
creating a “Europe” for the Indian imagination. The use of animals in lms is
implicated in the exploitative dynamic of the entertainment industrial complex
that animal activists have protested time and again in connection with the circus,
animal sports, performances, etc. Through a textual and contextual analysis of the
lm Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), one of the latest animal lms shot in Europe – featur-
ing wild wolves and superstar Salman Khan, Hariharan shows the entanglements
of screenwriters, producers, directors, actors, production crew, and VFX artists
with wranglers, animal trainers, and performing animals to produce the lm’s non-
human geographies.
The chapter by Pankaj Jain and Ajay Raina sheds light on how the lm Purab
Aur Pachhim, the East and the West, by Manoj Kumar, brought Indian immigrants
to the screen for the rst time. Despite its non-formulaic and unconventional sub-
ject, PAP emerged as the fourth highest-grossing Hindi lm in 1970, beating many
other lms with established plotlines, actors, and directors. The lm’s underly-
ing message, articulated through its songs and unique narrative, makes it relevant
for research even though 50 years have passed since its release. Discussing a few
12 Krzysztof Stachowiak et al.
examples from the lm, the authors explore how it, with its conscious and uncon-
scious biases, presents an exclusive image of India rooted in the fundamental
tenets of Hindu nationalism. Yet there is no evidence that Purab Aur Pachhim
was produced with the sole aim of promoting Hindu nationalism. What is undeni-
able, according to the authors, is that the rise of Hindu nationalism over the past
100 years has had an impact on Indian art as well as on Indian artists.
In the nal chapter of this part, Bharath M. Josiam et al. analyse the percep-
tion of European destinations through the eyes of Bollywood lm viewers to
determine how perception is inuenced by what is seen in lms by collecting
and analysing 670 surveys from Indian lm consumers. The results indicate that
Bollywood lms strongly inuence the perceived destination image of European
countries among a large segment of the Indian population. European destinations
were divided into the top ve and bottom ve destinations for Indian tourists, and
the data was then compared to world tourism statistics. The ndings show dier-
ences in destination preference among Bollywood viewers and worldwide tourist
trends. According to the research, prominently featuring a landscape in Bolly-
wood movies can signicantly impact Indians’ perception on the destination’s
image. European countries frequently portrayed in lms have higher marks in
multiple perception categories than those not featured in blockbuster Bollywood
lms. As demonstrated by Hudson and Ritchie (2006), if destinations proactively
engage in eorts with movie producers and studios to lm at their location, it can
result in successful lm tourism. As Bollywood lms seem to have such a sig-
nicant inuence on the perceived image and travel intentions of Indian viewers,
destination marketers must concern themselves with Bollywood lms to tap into
an auent emergent market of Indian tourists.
Part V provides a summary of the collection; it reviews the various discipli-
nary approaches (geography, lm studies, media studies), themes (attraction fac-
tors, meanings and imaginary, regional development), European location contexts
(Finland, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Poland), and methodologies (in-depth
interviews, surveys, textual analysis, ethnographic research or cinematic analy-
sis) applied by the researchers. The chapter ends by outlining directions for future
research, focusing on the changing character of the lm industry, including the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, lm policy as well as technological and envi-
ronmental challenges and opportunities.
Acknowledgement
FilmInd project – The Indian lm industry as a driver of new socio-economic con-
nections was carried out within the EU-India Platform for Social Sciences and
Humanities (EqUIP) and nanced by national funding from the participating coun-
tries. The authors acknowledge the receipt of funding from the Ministry of Educa-
tion, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia and Slovenian Research Agency
(Research programme P6–0101), Swiss National Science Foundation (Project No.
Introduction 13
IZEQZ1_180340), Academy of Finland, Polish National Science Centre (project
no. 2017/27/Z/HS4/00039).
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This chapter has been made available under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Introduction: space and place in geography and lm
It is commonly assumed that places have a kind of instrumental role, that is, they
serve as a backdrop to events or are presented in a certain way. This is generally
true, but the essence of the relationship between lm and place has a much more
profound implication. In this chapter, we will try to show that places are not so
much shown as produced or created by the lm. A key concept in understanding the
relationship of lm to space and place is the concept of representation, which – in
the face of technological shifts – is changing. Representation does not just mean
portrayal or depiction. Thanks to specic means of expression and lm techniques,
as well as the active role of the audience in the reception of the lm, it also concerns
the creation of places in a cultural sense. As a consequence, the space-lm relation-
ship also changes. Just as, according to classical concepts, space is socially pro-
duced (Lefebvre 1974/1991), so places can be culturally produced. This happens
by giving new meanings to dierent elements of space and “familiarising” them in
this way, which leads to the transformation of space into place. We will try to show
how the mechanism of creating a place through lm occurs. On the one hand, lmic
means of expression are used for this, and on the other, the spatiality of lm itself
inuences the cultural production of places. The latter aspect has been missing in
lm geography, and this chapter tries to ll this gap. By considering this spatiality
of lm, it is possible to discover that what we see on the screen is paradoxically not
the only element that allows the spatial dimension of lm to be constructed. The
space beyond the screen, or more broadly, the space of the entire presented world,
is crucial here. It seems that the so-called spatial turn in the humanities and in
reection on lm can be an interesting source of inspiration (Jones 2015).
The relationship between lm and space and place will be explored by combin-
ing ideas from human geography, particularly the geography of culture and lm
geography as well as lm studies. Place is a central concept in human geography.
Generally, a place is a geographical location of any size or conguration, compa-
rable to the equally general meanings of such concepts as area, region, or location.
However, in human geography, and more broadly in the humanities, place is often
given more importance (Cresswell 2004). A fundamental characteristic of the place
is that it has meaning. Relph (1976), Tuan (1977), and many others who followed
2 From real to reel and back again
Multifaceted relations between lm,
space, and place
Krzysztof Stachowiak
From real to reel and back again 17
them treated the place as a subjectively felt and experienced phenomenon. Human-
istic geographers regarded the place as an irreducible component of human experi-
ence, without which human experience could not be created or interpreted. Such
experiences included perception of place, sense of place, or memories associated
with the place.
On the one hand, places were understood as shaping the unique experiences of
individuals and, on the other, as specic to dierent cultures. In this way, places
reected and articulated cultural customs or cultural dierences in modes of per-
ception. With the emergence of the “new” cultural geography in the 1980s, particu-
lar attention was paid to how places are represented in various cultural forms such
as art, lm, literature, and maps (Mitchell 2000).
As Tuan (1977, p. 6) notes:
in experience, the meaning of space often merges with that of place. “Space”
is more abstract than “place”. What begins as undierentiated space becomes
place as we get to know it better and endow it with value. . . . The ideas
“space” and “place” require each other for denition. From the security and
stability of place we are aware of the openness, freedom, and threat of space,
and vice versa. Furthermore, if we think of space as that which allows move-
ment, then place is pause; each pause in movement makes it possible for
location to be transformed into place.
Space, as opposed to a place, has been seen as a meaningless sphere, an element
that, like time, creates fundamental dimensions for human life. When people give
meaning to a part of space and then attach themselves to it – for example, by nam-
ing it – it becomes a place. As Cresswell (2004, p. 10) notes:
although this basic dualism of space and place runs through much of human
geography since the 1970s, it is confused somewhat by the idea of social
space – or socially produced space – which, in many ways, plays the same
role as place.
Film geography tries to apply the concepts of place and space in various types of
analyses, such as the image of the place and the ways of presenting the place in
the lm (Hirsch and O’Rourke 2017), researching lm and place/space relations
through the city (Hallam et al. 2008; Hallam 2010; Hallam and Roberts 2014),
examining the crossover of cinematic spaces in architecture (Koeck 2013) (Cairns
2013) or understanding urban phenomena through the moving image (Penz and Lu
2011). Based on the ideas of lm geography, we can argue that, in the case of lm,
we are dealing with a culturally produced space which, in the process of creation
and then reception of the lm, becomes meaningful and thus turn into a place.
Films, as well as novels, often evoke a sense of place – a feeling that the viewer
or reader knows what it is like to “be there”. A “sense of place” is a subjective and
emotional attachment people have to place (Tuan 1977). However, it is important
18 Krzysztof Stachowiak
to remember that places are not like chairs or automobiles and do not come out of
a factory as nished products. Places are very much in process (Pred 1984) and are
created by cultural practices, such as literature, lm, and music (Aitken and Zonn
1994; Leyshon et al. 1998; Cresswell and Dixon 2002).
Our experience of real space can easily be transferred, on an isomorphic basis,
to the experience of the spatiality of lm. Moreover, this simple extension of our
experience to lm has been a slowing factor in the development of geographical
reection on the lm. As Aitken and Zonn (1994, p. 5) speculated, geographers
have been slow to make a serious study of lm because of “the geographer’s tradi-
tional emphasis on the material conditions of social life wherein representation is
subsidiary to ‘physical reality’ ”. The traditional distinction between lm location
(where lms are shot) and lm setting (where the action of the lm takes place)
was thus founded on the assumption that one is an extension of the other. Mean-
while, these categories correspond to specic types of space. Drawing on the con-
tributions of lm geography, media geography, lm studies, and visual culture and
media studies, the chapter will map the lmic territory, propose a typology of lm
spaces, and reect on their relationship to real-world spaces and places. The chap-
ter thus discusses the spatiality of lm and its consequences for geographical space.
The main consequences are not only the negotiation of meanings and the taming of
space but also the creation of spatial orientation skills in a “parallel” world, that is,
the one created by the lm.
Depicted, represented, or created: how do we see what is
on the screen?
At the heart of most lm theories was the explicit or tacitly accepted assumption
that every object depicted on screen must be in front of the camera at the right time
and in the right place (Thompson and Bordwell 2003; Villarejo 2007; Bordwell
and Thompson 2008). Disputes only concerned the question of whether “depict”
meant: to reproduce, reect, or merely to signify (Allen 1993). This, however,
concerned the question of the relationship between the real object and the depicted
object and did not compromise the essence of the principle of representation itself.
Nevertheless, there has always been the question of a fundamental dierence
related to the fact of the heterogeneous status of what can be represented in a lm.
It has always been considered specic to the cinema to represent by means of a
reection of what actually exists in the material world around us, regardless of the
intentions of the artist, who only intervenes in this world by the simple fact of lm-
ing it. It was no less obvious to represent a world that had previously been created
for the cinema, either in a studio or, much later, by means of digital techniques
(Giralt 2010).
Although in both cases, we are dealing with the representation of a world previ-
ously non-existent in the reality in which we too live, the dierence concerning
the status of representation is fundamental (Cosgrove 2008). The interference of
digital techniques in the world of cinema, whose ontology has hitherto been deter-
mined by photographic reproduction, brings about a revolutionary change. In fact,
From real to reel and back again 19
we are no longer dealing with representation in the sense of Renaissance concepts
(see more, especially with a reference to landscape, in Cosgrove 2008), which the
cinema did not cancel, but only took over and modied, replacing the dexterity of
the painter’s hand with the eciency of the camera. This was undoubtedly a sig-
nicant breakthrough, but not as radical as that brought about by digital techniques.
Although classical techniques of recording moving images attempted to invade
the region of the representation of the world, they left at the centre an unchanging
relationship between a real object and its representation. In contemporary cinema,
which continues to and successfully simulate the existence of the worlds it depicts,
we are increasingly confronted with entirely new situations. What previously never
and nowhere existed appears on the screen. What has never existed anywhere
before, which has no prototype, appears on the screen. The dinosaurs in Steven
Spielberg’s Jurassic Park (1993) come out of nowhere. Baudrillard’s (1994) obser-
vation that the image is prior to what it depicts is not just a showy metaphor but
a fact. Therefore in cinema, we are no longer dealing with a represented world.
The cinema still presents quasi-real worlds, possible or probable, regardless of the
techniques it uses to do so. However, the ontological foundation of representation
has changed: representation remains as the act of bringing into existence something
that functions on the laws of reality (Hall 2013).
The concept of representation, however, is not just an ontological problem for
cinema, raising doubts mentioned earlier. It is also the foundation for bringing into
existence a world or worlds that are autonomous from the world in which we also
live. At the same time, however, they are “similar” enough to enable us to men-
tally and emotionally connect with them, to experience what “happens” in these
worlds as probable or even real. Real in the sense that what is said about human
aairs – psychological, moral, and social – can, by transposition, also apply to our
reality. The concept of the represented world most often refers to the cinema of
ction, to the feature lm, although other types of cinematic expression, such as
documentaries, also “represent”. They represent, by all means, “our” world, people
who live in a particular time and place, and what we watch on screen happens to
them or has really happened to them. In a ctional lm, the actors we watch there
also “really” exist, and their lives may take place in the real Paris or Tokyo. Nev-
ertheless, these actors are inscribed within the ction and thus become “ctional”
people, and what surrounds them (objects, landscapes, architecture) also belongs
only to this ctional story, nowhere else. What the ctional lm presents is a made-
up story, taking place in a made-up world. The degree of resemblance of this world
to our reality may vary greatly, but this does not change its status in any way – it
is always a ctional world, even if its authors claim to be reporting real events that
involve real people.
To describe the world depicted in an action lm, the French aesthetician Éti-
enne Souriau (Souriau 1951, 1953), introduced a special term: diegesis. Diegesis
is the universe of cinematic ction constituted by a system of means of expres-
sion (scenes, shots, editing, sound, music, light, set design, etc.), and thus the only
component of the lm’s structure that is a real object, available in perception to
the spectator. This universe is intentionally delineated by the author and implied
20 Krzysztof Stachowiak
and constructed, through perceptual and cognitive processes and structures, by the
viewer. In other words, diegesis consists of time and space, processes, events, states
of aairs, people and objects, otherwise, it is the world presented, both in physi-
cal terms (objects physically visible on the screen) and in references (what is not
visible on the screen but we know exists) (see more in Bordwell 1985, pp. 14–26).
The exposure to the represented world of a lm triggers a particular attitude in
the viewer, characterised by a duality. On the one hand, the viewer easily enters this
world, especially if the lm in question does not violate his or her perceptual habits,
does not disappoint expectations, remaining in harmony with the common-sense
experience of reality perception. On the other hand, the viewer is able to distance
himself from this world, accept its conventionality, and open up to what is new and
unexpected. Crucial in dening the relationship between lm and place is the role
of the viewer in interacting with the cinematic world. Initially, a passive role was
assumed for the viewer, who assimilated what he or she saw on the screen accord-
ing to the author’s intentions, or according to the laws of perception, both general
and culturally conditioned. It is worth recalling the conviction of early semiotic
theorists that the viewer merely “decodes” the meaning of lm texts according
to assimilated codes (Metz 1974). Newer lm theorists, however, emphasise the
active participation of the viewer in the creation of meaning, and even a kind of co-
authorship by the viewer, resulting from both the function of the viewer’s mind and
the “opening up” of the text itself. The active role of the spectator is mainly empha-
sised by cognitive approaches (Banaji 2006; Shimamura 2013). In their view, the
lm merely provides the viewer with signals through which he or she constructs
what is presented. The reception of a lm is a ow of hypotheses that are constantly
revised as a result of the inux of new information. Also, proponents of the phe-
nomenological orientation maintain that a lm can only be understood due to the
intentional nature of the viewer’s consciousness, which models its representation.
Others still strongly emphasise the role of interpretation (Gaut 2010).
The active role of the spectator has consequences in expanding the meaning of
representation. The lm ceases to be just a depicted “image of reality” (whether
we are dealing with a reality whose existence is conrmed by our knowledge and
memory or with a fake “reality” from an atelier or a computer). It becomes a cul-
tural artefact, a metaphor for a reality that no longer shows (depicts) it but only
represents it. Replacing the notion of depiction with that of representation frees
us from the whole complex of concepts and problems associated with showing,
reproducing or recreating. Representations merely refer to the world, delimiting
some possible area of its meanings while at the same time suggesting the exist-
ence of an extensive context beyond this area. Film photography no longer certies
reality. For it creates what it supposedly only shows. According to Flusser (2011),
contemporary media produce “technical images” that, although they look as if they
were images of objectively existing reality, by conveying the illusion of reality,
in fact, present only themselves. If cinema, like other media, is able to produce
images that have no necessary relationship to reality, which at one time seemed
to be its ontological foundation, even a condition of existence, then the concept of
representation gains a new meaning. If the viewer is not constrained either by the
From real to reel and back again 21
perceptual experience gained from the reception of the real world, or by the system
of compulsions determined by the codes or specic narrative strategies of the text,
and can freely traverse the areas of the text, then certain possibilities open up for
a departure towards a previously unrepresented world that represents only itself.
From real to reel? The winding roads of the relationship between
space and lm
In order to present the complex nexus of relations between lm and other media
and place, we propose in this section a model that combines the geographic under-
standing of space with the perspective of lm studies. It highlights two things.
First, it allows us to draw attention to the fact that the presence of spaces in cultural
texts is not limited to visual representation, but may have a dierent character. Sec-
ond, the model proposes a typology of space resulting from the weaving of the rela-
tionship between the lm and the place. This weave leads to the creation of three
types of space: real, mediated, and imaginary. This distinction will be important
for understanding the typology of space in the lm presented in the next section.
The space of the real world, the one that surrounds us and from which we draw
our experiences, is often the basis of lm registration. It is the one that appears on
screen, either representing itself or playing the role of other spaces. Tuan (1974)
introduced the term topophilia to describe people’s aective bond with a place.
Topophilia consists of sensual, aesthetic, intellectual feelings and a sense of belong-
ing. The familiarity of a place is determined by three interrelated components: the
physical surroundings of the object, the activities of the people and the meanings
(Ellard 2015). Art and its various forms are recognised as one way of taming space,
both through making meanings and through artistic practices that take place in a
specic space or that involve space (e.g. space can become material in site-specic
art) (Kwon 2002; Fleming 2007). Film is one such activity that has wide-ranging
eects, primarily on the image of place (Kim and Richardson 2003; Mercille 2005;
O’Connor et al. 2008; Hudson et al. 2011). Places can be “assimilated” not only by
lm but also by other types of art, such as literature, painting, or photography. All
these cultural forms inuence how we may think and feel about dierent places.
Thus, both generic spaces and specic places are represented by dierent
forms of culture. This representation can be of two kinds: verbal or visual (see
Figure 2.1). To the former, we can mainly include literature, to the others the visual
arts, that is, painting, photography, or lm. Film is quite unique in that it uses
both types of communication to depict events. Through dialogues or monologues
delivered by characters, spaces, and places can be described, while at the same
time, the visual sphere of the lm depicts the space on the screen to us. This visu-
ality is of great importance here, and in the case of cinema, it can be a source of
pleasure (Mulvey 1999). The description of a space or place in literature explains,
as it were, its qualities through the prism of narrative. The space represents the
author’s vision of the world, expressed in verbal language. Reproducing this
space requires the audience to “translate” it into their spatial codes (Terentowicz-
Fotyga 2018). In general terms, we would say that the viewers have to use their
22 Krzysztof Stachowiak
imagination to visualise the space described in the text. As a result, the space has
an imaginary rather than a mediated character.
Literature often involves the depiction of spaces and places that are either c-
tional or based on real-world locations, and in order to fully understand and engage
with these depictions, readers must use their imagination to visualise the spaces
and places described in the text. This process of using imagination to conjure up a
mental image of the spaces and places depicted in literature is an important aspect
of reading and can help to enrich the reading experience. It is worth noting, how-
ever, that the extent to which readers rely on their imagination to visualise the
spaces and places depicted in literature can vary. Some texts may provide very
detailed descriptions of the physical features and characteristics of the spaces and
places depicted, while others may be more abstract or symbolic in their depiction
of these elements. In these cases, readers may need to draw on their own personal
experiences and cultural knowledge in order to construct a mental image of the
spaces and places depicted in the text. Nevertheless, this type of space is imagined
or imaginary (see Figure 2.1).
Literature and the lm often depict imaginary spaces or worlds that do not exist
in the real world. These imaginary spaces can be as simple as a single room or as
complex as an entire universe, and they can be created for a variety of purposes,
such as to tell a story, explore an idea, or evoke an emotion. One of the key features
of imaginary spaces in literature and lm is that they allow for creating environ-
ments and situations that would not be possible or practical in the real world. This
can give writers and lmmakers the freedom to explore a wide range of themes and
Figure 2.1 Nexus of relationships between lm and other media and place/space.
Source: Own elaboration
From real to reel and back again 23
ideas in a way that is not limited by the constraints of reality. At the same time,
however, imaginary spaces in literature and lm can also be used to comment on or
reect aspects of the real world. For example, the imaginary world of Middle-earth
in The Lord of the Rings novels and lms can be seen as a metaphor for the real
world and can be used to explore themes such as power, conict, and redemption
(Mathijs 2006). In this way, imaginary spaces in literature and lm can serve as a
way to engage with and understand the complexities of the real world in a more
imaginative and creative way.
Many imaginary spaces in literature and lm are inspired by real-world spaces
and can incorporate real-world geography, architecture, and culture elements. This
can be especially true in cases where the imaginary space is intended to be a c-
tionalised version of a real place or to serve as a metaphor for a real-world issue or
theme. For example, the imaginary world of Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings
novels and lms is inspired by the landscapes and cultures of Europe, particularly
those of the Anglo-Saxon and Norse traditions (Garth 2020). Similarly, the city of
Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series is inspired by the architecture and culture of
medieval Europe (Whited 2002). In these cases, the use of real-world elements in
the creation of the imaginary space can help to make the space feel more grounded
and believable to the audience and can also provide a sense of familiarity and reso-
nance with the real world. At the same time, however, it is important to note that the
imaginary spaces depicted in literature and lm are ultimately ctional creations
and despite they should not be confused with the real world, the phenomenon of
fandom shows it is not always the case (see for instance Bell 2015 for a study of
Harry Potter fandom).
The visual arts, on the other hand, operate with images, which, with the pri-
macy of the sense of sight in human perception – just to mention that sight is the
most valued sense (Enoch et al. 2019) and we are living in an era of visual culture
(Howells 2003) – makes elds such as photography or lm play a key role in cul-
ture today. Even a two-dimensional image is thus a more “rich” representation of
the real-world space than a verbal description. Through visual representations, the
experience of real places becomes mediated and they themselves become part of
the media. In this case, we can speak of mediated space.
Visual representations of real places, such as photographs, videos, and maps,
can be seen as a form of mediation, because they provide a ltered or interpreted
version of the real place. These visual representations can capture certain aspects
of the real place and omit or distort others, and they often rely on the viewer’s
prior knowledge and expectations to make sense of the image. As a result, the
experience of a real place through a visual representation is necessarily dierent
from experiencing the place in person. In this sense, all forms of representation,
including visual ones, can be seen as a form of mediation, because they involve the
interpretation and communication of an experience or concept through a medium
that is separate from the original experience. This can be especially signicant in
the case of digital media, where the representation is often not only separate from
the original experience but also accessible to a potentially global audience (Brown
2018). Visual culture, which includes forms of media such as photography, lm,
24 Krzysztof Stachowiak
and television, has the power to shape and inuence our understanding and experi-
ence of spaces and places. By presenting images of these spaces and places, visual
culture can create a mediated version of these locations that is separate from the
physical reality of the place. As a result, the experience of a place through visual
culture can be limited to consuming the images of the place through the media
(Breek et al. 2018). This can be especially true in cases where the images presented
in the media are carefully curated or presented in a specic way in order to convey
a particular message or perspective (Couldry and McCarthy 2004). Visual culture
can provide a limited or biased view of a place, and it is important to consider the
context and intentions behind the images being presented in order to fully under-
stand and engage with the place depicted.
Alongside images (still and moving), one of the most important forms of visual
representation of space is the map. A map can be a form of representation of real
space, depicting a wide range of information about spaces and places, including
their geography, topography, landmarks, infrastructure, and other features. At the
same time, a map or a concept of a map can also be used to examine the spatial
dimensions of the lm. Conley (2007, p. 1) in his book “Cartographic cinema”
argues that “even if a lm does not display a map as such, by nature it bears an
implicit relation with cartography”. Conley’s argument is based on the idea that
lms depict locations and spaces, whether real or ctional and that these loca-
tions and spaces can be thought of as being mapped out within the lm. Even if a
lm does not show a physical map, it can still be considered to have an implicit
cartographic element because it represents a spatial narrative. This can be seen in
the way that characters move through and interact with dierent locations within
the lm, as well as the way that the lm itself is structured around these locations.
Films can also be used to represent and depict real-world places, either through
the use of actual locations or through the use of special eects and computer-
generated imagery. In these cases, the lm can be seen as a way of mapping out and
depicting these places in a visual and spatial way. Overall, this perspective on the
relationship between lm and cartography highlights the idea that lms can be seen
as a form of spatial representation, even if they do not show a physical map. This
view suggests that lms can be thought of as a way of mapping out and depicting the
world (also imaginary worlds) in a visual and spatial way (Penz and Koeck 2017).
Bruno (2002) argues that cartography is not necessarily a medium for mastering
space, but that it can extend subjectivity and emotion into space. Maps are not just
objective representations of the physical world, but that they can also be used to
convey subjective experiences and emotions (cf. King 1996). Therefore, maps can
be used to represent the emotional signicance of dierent places, or the way that
they can convey the subjective experiences of people who live or have lived in a
particular place. Bruno’s (2002) perspective on cartography highlights the idea that
maps are not just neutral, objective representations of the world, but that they can
also be used to convey subjective experiences and emotions. This view challenges
the traditional understanding of cartography as a purely scientic and technical dis-
cipline, and suggests that maps can be used to represent and convey a wide range
of human experiences and emotions.
From real to reel and back again 25
Mapping the lmic territory: types of space in the lm
Film space is specic; it is not simply the space we know from everyday experience,
although the sensations that ow from it help us build models of the space experi-
enced in the lm experience. Any reection on space in art begins with the funda-
mental observation that the space we experience when interacting with art is not the
same space in which we live and act. Each art form shapes it in its way, proposing
a specic take on the parameters that dene real space. The nite character of its
space, delimited and framed yet isomorphic to the innity of real space, is specic
to each artistic work. It is generally believed that lm as art is closest to being able
to depict authentic relations occurring in real space. However, the opposite claim to
this opinion seems equally convincing – lm, thanks to its means of expression,
has almost unlimited possibilities for creating space, for which the starting point is
no real system. We can therefore speak of two roles of space in the lm: represent-
ing and creating.
In the real world, but also in certain types of art, such as theatre, we deal
with a three-dimensional space in which all relationships occur between three-
dimensional gures. In the lm, however, we are dealing with the projection onto
a plane. Their play only creates the illusion of depth, giving the appearance of
a three-dimensional existence to a two-dimensional world. On the other hand, a
closer bond connects the space of the lm image with the space of the painting
image since perspective vision is the basis for the illusion of the three dimensions
of the depicted world. Nevertheless, this is where the fundamental similarities end,
as illusiveness does not entirely determine the nature of lm space, which is expe-
rienced in several ways, including through the play of sets, editing that results in
changing shots, and the non-image location of the sound. Consequently, it would
be simpler to say that the lm does not so much reproduce a real space or create
an entirely new space but that it successively marks this space with individual
images. The successive lm images are a kind of partial sign, marking a whole
space, or rather one of many spaces. As a rule, lm space (given in particular lm)
is not xed and unchanging. On the contrary, it changes with the development of
the plot, places of action, and the introduction of dierent modalities of expres-
sion. To capture this changing character of space, Figure 2.2 proposes to frame the
spatiality of the lm concerning three categories of space: prolmic, diegetic, and
virtual. This framework is an amalgam of the concepts of space and place present
in human geography and the reection on space present in lm studies. It argues
that lm creates its own space through various elements such as sets, editing, and
sound. Prolmic space refers to what is captured on lm, including studio sets and
practical locations. Diegetic space is the ctional world of the lm, represented on
screen through mise-en-scène and framing. The relationship between on-screen
and o-screen space inuences our perception of the lm space. Editing plays a
crucial role in creating cinematic space, allowing for the manipulation and conti-
nuity of space. Ultimately, lm space is a combination of what is shown and what
is imagined by the audience. These will be elaborated in the following sections of
the chapter.
26 Krzysztof Stachowiak
Prolmic space
Prolmic space is everything placed in front of the camera that is then captured on
lm and constitutes the lm image. Tuan (1990, p. 435) has once argued that
[in order] to understand human reality better, it helps to see people and their
works as compounded of realism and fantasy. The concepts captured by
these two words give us a handle to explore human nature and culture. It is,
however, a slippery handle, for although “realism” and “fantasy” have clear
and opposite meanings conceptually, their application to real-life situations
is often ambiguous and problematical. A point of view or a pattern of behav-
ior that appears realistic can seem, with a shift in perspective, fantastic, and
vice-versa.
Calling a space “real” in relation to a lm can also get bogged down in this ambigu-
ity. Particularly as the lm seeks to imitate reality, to recreate or represent it. There-
fore, instead of using “real space”, we propose the notion of “prolmic space”.
In lm studies, it is referred to as a “prolmic event”, which Kuhn and Westwell
(2020, p. 386) describe as
the slice of the world in front of the lm camera including actors or perform-
ers, lighting, sets, props and costumes, as well as the setting itself, as opposed
to what eventually appears on the cinema screen. In studio-made ction
lms, the prolmic event is a set constructed for the purpose of being lmed.
At the other extreme, in observational documentary forms like direct cinema,
lmmakers seek, as a fundamental element of their practice, to preserve the
Figure 2.2 Main types of space in the lm.
Source: Own elaboration based on Bordwell and Thompson (2008) and Kuhn and Westwell (2020)
From real to reel and back again 27
integrity of the real-life space and time of the prolmic event. Many lms
occupy a middle ground in their organisation of, or relationship with, the
prolmic event: as for example in the case of location-shot, but acted, lms.
The prolmic event utilises real-world space through the use of (a) studio space
or (b) practical locations. A studio is generally considered as a workshop for artists,
but in relation to lm a workshop or building for cinematographic, sound, or music
recording and is generally referred to as a stage, and the term studio or studios
generally means all the buildings on a lm company’s site, whatever their func-
tion. A studio or studio complex may include some or all of the following: silent
and soundstages, set preparation workshops, stores and lockups, makeup salons
and dressing rooms, wardrobe rooms and laundry, production and administration
oces, editing suites, processing laboratories, sound mixing studios, audio suites,
scoring or orchestral stage, library, special eects and model workshops, backlot,
water tank, preview screening room, and commissary.
Sets are constructed environments designed to mimic real-world locations or
create entirely ctional spaces. They allow lmmakers to have greater control over
the look and feel of the space depicted on screen, and they can be used to create a
wide range of environments and settings. Film sets are constructed environments
that are used to depict the setting of a lm. They can be built in lm studios or
on location, and they are used to create a wide range of environments and set-
tings, including city streets, natural landscapes, and historical sites. Film sets are
an important part of the lmmaking process, as they allow lmmakers to have
greater control over the look and feel of the space depicted on screen. This can be
especially useful when lming in a controlled environment, such as a lm studio,
where the lmmakers can control the lighting, camera angles, and other elements
of the set to create the desired eect. Film sets can be constructed in a variety of
ways, depending on the needs of the lm. They can be built from scratch using raw
materials, or they can be created using pre-existing structures, such as warehouses
or factories. In some cases, lmmakers may use a combination of both approaches,
building certain elements of the set while using existing structures as a foundation.
In addition to their use in lm studios, lm sets can also be built on location, in
order to take advantage of the unique characteristics and atmosphere of a particular
location. This can be especially important in historical or period lms, where the
authenticity of the setting is crucial to the overall credibility of the lm. Overall,
lm sets play a crucial role in the lmmaking process, as they allow lmmakers to
have greater control over the look and feel of the space depicted on screen, and can
be constructed in a variety of ways to meet the needs of the lm.
The second type of prolmic space is location. Location in lm industry as well
as in lm studies is understood as “any place other than a studio where a lm is
partly or wholly shot” (Kuhn and Westwell 2020, p. 292). This can be not only an
external location, such as a street or square, but also an internal location, such as
the interior of a building or structure. These real-world locations depict the setting
of a lm, such as a house, a city street, or a natural landscape. The use of practical
28 Krzysztof Stachowiak
locations can help to create a sense of realism and believability, as the audience is
able to recognise and relate to the real-world spaces depicted on screen. This can
be especially important in historical or period lms, where the authenticity of the
setting is crucial to the overall credibility of the lm (cf. Lukinbeal 2011). The use
of on-location shooting can play a signicant role in the look and feel of a lm, as it
allows lmmakers to take advantage of the unique characteristics and atmosphere
of a particular location. For example, a lm set in New York City might be lmed
on location in the city itself in order to capture the energy and diversity of the city.
In addition to its aesthetic and realism-enhancing benets, on-location shooting
can also present logistical challenges for lmmakers. These challenges can include
obtaining the necessary permits and permissions, coordinating with local residents
and businesses, and dealing with the challenges of lming in a real-world environ-
ment, such as weather and trac. Therefore, the decision to shoot a lm on location
is based on storyline, cost, and practicality (McCurdy 2011).
The use of location in lm has evolved with changes in lming techniques. The
use of location in lm has evolved with changes in lming techniques. The book
edited by Gleich and Webb (2019) provides an interesting history of the use of
location in Hollywood lms. The earliest lms were shot on location using natural
lighting, but the development of articial lighting and faster lm stock soon ena-
bled shooting to take place indoors in the more controllable environment of the
studio. The coming of synchronised sound in the late 1920s made outdoor shooting
more dicult, though scenes in action genres such as the western were routinely
shot on location, as were newsreels. With developments in lm stocks and in image
and sound recording technologies, location work has become increasingly com-
monplace in live-action ction productions.
Diegetic space
Diegesis is a term used in narratology and refers to narrated events. In cinema,
diegesis is the entire ctional world of a lm. Through contact with the work –
whether reading a book or watching a lm – the spectator recreates this ctional
world through verbal or visual information provided by the author. Therefore,
diegetic space, as described by Souriau (1951, p. 233), is “space reconstituted
in the thoughts of the spectator”. Moreover, as Kuhn and Westwell (2020,
p. 135) note:
diegetic space has a particular set of meanings (and potential complexities)
in relation to narration in cinema as opposed to, say, the novel; and in a nar-
rative lm, the diegetic world can include not only what is visible on the
screen, but also oscreen elements that are presumed to exist in the world
that the lm depicts – as long as these are part of the main story.
This relationship between what can be seen on the screen and the whole of the
depicted world is central to understanding what lm space, or more precisely,
diegetic space, is.
From real to reel and back again 29
Let us start by explaining the kind of space that is visually accessible and
appears on the screen. On-screen space or simply screen space can be identied
with mise-en-scène, that is, the contents of the lm frame, including elements of
the prolmic event such as performers, settings, costumes, and props. The term
“mise-en-scène” also refers more broadly to what the viewer sees on the screen,
such as lighting, colour, composition, and iconographic aspects of the cinematic
image, to name a few. More importantly, it also refers to the relationship between
on-screen and o-screen space created by the framing of the image and by camera
movement. A key component of lm-style screen space produces meaning, if only
at a very basic level, by providing visual information about the world of a lm’s
narrative (Martin 2014).
A lm cannot reproduce real space in a literal sense, but it can replicate its
inherent relations, creating an arrangement isomorphic to it. If the lmmaker lms
a given scene, situation, event or sequence of events, a process in a continuous
manner, without interfering with the temporal course, we get the impression of
non-interference in the presented world. The lm space reproduces a fragment
of real space that is possible to be captured by the camera. Long shots, far-ung
plans, and particular viewpoints allow us to copy the capacity of our eye to see the
particular space we are in at any given moment. Unlike the perception of the real
world, the cinematic world is subject to framing (Bordwell and Thompson 2008,
pp. 142–149).
The on-screen space is bounded by a frame that separates it from the o-screen
space. The relationship between these two types of space is signicant because
what we see in the frame is always a slice (and thus a suggestion) of something
larger. A familiar gure, such as the close-up, can serve as an example: on the
screen, we see a person’s face, while outside the frame, we make up the rest. This
simple example shows that the o-screen space is the domain of the imagination. It
can be used in various ways, depending on whether the artist wants to stimulate the
viewer’s imagination. Suggestions and cues about o-screen space can be kept to
a minimum. The o-screen space can also be expanded so that what is in the frame
gives the impression of being part of a far greater whole. The o-screen space can
also be used to introduce an element of surprise. Finally, it also happens that the
proportions are reversed, and the central part of the action takes place outside the
frame.
Thus, depth, directions, areas, the camera’s location, the frame, and the relation-
ship between what is in the frame and what is out of the frame determine the basic
dimensions of the screen space. Audiences, however, rarely perceive lm space in
this way. Instead, they speak of the place where the action takes place: the forest,
the room, the city, the mountains and the like. This means they attach more impor-
tance to the space of the world presented (diegetic space) than to the screen space.
The diegetic space exists primarily in their imagination and is the result of the
reconstructions they make during the projections, combining disconnected frames
and lling in the gaps between them.
Our understanding and navigation of lm space is primarily an understanding
and navigation of diegetic space. The diegetic space is the location of the action or,
30 Krzysztof Stachowiak
more precisely, the set of locations of the action where everything relevant takes
place. We try to gure out rst and foremost, where an event takes place, where the
characters are located and whether the change of location is signicant. If there are
no sudden changes of place in the action, we perceive the space as continuous, even
though we deal with space slices.
The most important means of creating cinematic space is editing, which not
only provides numerous operations that deform the isomorphism of lm space in
relation to the real space but also enables the creation of an entirely new space that
has no equivalent in reality. The impression of the continuity of lm space, how-
ever, is a matter not only of what is presented on screen and how it is presented but
also of what is not presented. The lm image, by virtue of its mobility, seems to
transcend the frame that binds it. An implicit, imagined space exists for the viewer
outside its frame. Unlike a painting image, which cannot have any further continu-
ity beyond the frame, a lm image spills out of the frame, as it were. For example,
we are led out of the frame by the gaze of a character who turns in some direc-
tion towards something or someone we do not see but expect to see in a moment.
A sound coming from outside the frame indicates the spatial distance of a fragment
that is not visible at the moment. Although the demarcation of the cinematic image
from its surroundings seems to be equally clear (by the boundary of the screen)
as in the case of a painting, the viewer’s gaze, imagination, and attention are con-
stantly directed outside the frame in many dierent ways.
Finally, it is worth noting the relationship of diegetic space to the lm’s plot.
Usually, the space in a ctional lm serves as the location of the action and is
therefore subordinated to the plot. This subordination has serious consequences,
meaning that all the descriptive parts must be signicantly reduced. In a feature
lm, where one event usually chases another, too much time cannot be devoted
to presenting even the most interesting location, as this would distract the viewer
and slow down the pace of the lm. The presentation of space leads to a slowing
down of the rhythm and, in extreme situations, even to the complete elimination of
events. In turn, by concentrating on events, the role and importance of space must
be reduced. Hence the impression of the secondary character of space in the lm
and its instrumental character as the background of events. Meanwhile, in fact,
space is crucial to the construction of the imagery of the presented world and the
entire diegesis of the lm.
Virtual space
New communication technologies, which are also relevant to lm, are also prompt-
ing a redenition of the notion of cinematic space, as it either completely loses or
ceases to be relevant to real space. Virtual reality – articially created with the help
of digital technology – is the kind of audiovisual spectacle in which the viewer is
located inside a computer-generated space-time and can participate in the unfold-
ing events. Therefore, a particular type of lm space is virtual space, which mostly
changes onscreen space but also inuences the way lms are made, impacting pro-
lmic space. Virtual space along with computer-generated imagery (CGI) used to
From real to reel and back again 31
create this type of space have become integral parts of the lm industry, allow-
ing lmmakers to create and depict virtually anything they can imagine (Currah
2003). From fantastical creatures and alien worlds, to entirely digital sets and back-
grounds, CGI has revolutionised the way lms are made and has opened up a vast
array of creative possibilities for lmmakers.
One of the most notable ways in which CGI has impacted lm is through the
creation of entirely digital environments (Rickitt 2000; Tryon 2009). These virtual
spaces can be used to represent real-world locations that would be too expensive
or logistically dicult to lm on location, or completely ctional worlds can be
created with them. In both cases, CGI allows lmmakers to create highly detailed
and realistic environments that would be impossible to achieve using traditional
techniques. One of the earliest examples of this is the Matrix trilogy, in which the
majority of the lm takes place in a fully digital version of the real world (Isaacs
2013; Jones 2020). This allowed the lmmakers to create a wide range of futuristic
cityscapes, car chases, and ght scenes that would have been nearly impossible to
achieve with practical eects. Similarly, The Lord of the Rings trilogy made exten-
sive use of digital environments to bring Middle-earth to life, creating sweeping
landscapes and battle scenes that would have been extremely challenging to lm
in the real world (Margolis et al. 2008). The city of Pandora in the lm “Avatar”
was entirely created using CGI, as were the fantastical creatures that inhabit it.
This allows for greater exibility and creativity in storytelling, as lmmakers are
no longer limited by the constraints of reality (Brown and Ng 2012). In addition to
creating entirely digital worlds, virtual space and CGI are also frequently used to
enhance and augment real-world locations and sets. For example, lmmakers may
use CGI to add special eects or digital elements to a live-action scene, such as
explosions, re, or other destructive forces. This allows lmmakers to create more
realistic and immersive visuals without having to resort to dangerous or impractical
practical eects.
And back again: connecting reel with real
Film has the ability to alter viewers’ perceptions of place through the use of various
cinematic techniques and storytelling strategies. One way that lm can change our
perception of place is through the manipulation of time and space. Through editing,
ashbacks, and other lming techniques, lm can compress or expand the percep-
tion of time and distance, leading to a distorted sense of the geography of a place.
This can create a sense of displacement for the viewer (Bolan et al. 2011), poten-
tially altering their understanding of the location depicted. Film can also change
the perception of place through mise-en-scène, or the arrangement of elements
within the frame. The use of lighting, costume and set design can create a specic
mood or atmosphere, inuencing the viewer’s emotional response to a location.
This can lead to a perceived transformation of the depicted place, even if it is a real
location (Penz and Lu 2011).
Additionally, a lm can change our perception of place through the portrayal
of events and characters. The representation of historical events and the portrayal
32 Krzysztof Stachowiak
of attitudes and values of characters can inuence our understanding of a specic
time and place’s cultural, political, and social context. This can lead to a revision or
reinterpretation of our perception of the depicted location. Cinematography tech-
niques, such as the use of panoramic shots or aerial views, can highlight the natural
beauty or man-made landmarks of a location. This can create an image of a roman-
ticised or idealised place, potentially leading to a distorted perception of the loca-
tion in the viewer’s mind. This is especially true for the digital age (Giralt 2010).
When real spaces become mediated spaces, the experience of these places is
often shaped by the way they are represented in media. This can be especially true
in lm tourism, as people often visit locations they have seen in lms or TV shows
with the expectation that they will look and feel a certain way. For example, if a
person visits a location they have seen in a lm, they may have certain expectations
about what the place will be like based on how it was depicted. These expectations
can shape their experience of the place, and they may even feel disappointed if the
real location does not match the way it was portrayed in the lm. Beeton (2011,
p. 55) notes:
what is key here, is that these audiences have often unconsciously developed
knowledge of a place via “osmosis” through a variety of media-based expo-
sures. For example, many rst-time visitors to New York claim to “know
where they are” when they look towards the Empire State Building or visit
Times Square, as they have already experienced these places through various
forms of the moving image and storytelling. What the moving images and
their antecedents provide is a framework within which a tourist can begin to
understand the place they are visiting, and also give additional meaning (or
emotional depth) to that place.
Bolan et al. (2011) argue that what motivated lm tourist is “quest for authentic-
ity”. They found out that in relation to what inuences lm-induced tourists, scen-
ery was the dominant motivational driver but narrative/storyline and characters
were also important inuences. In addition emotion/romance and music also have
a role to play, yet their role was signicantly smaller. This points to the prominent
role of diegetic space, given that the scenery – whether natural or articially cre-
ated in the lm studio or through computer graphics – is part of the presented world
(diegetic world). Bolan et al. (2011) proposed also a typology of lm tourists:
(1) scenic/visual tourist inuenced by what they see – they seek out the actual loca-
tion, attracted to landscape (both rural and urban), (2) emotional/nostalgic tourist
inuenced by narrative and characters they identify with – driven to seek out the
lm setting connected to the story, and (3) pure lm tourist, inuenced by most
or all factors in the lm – driven to seek out both actual location and lm setting.
The search for authenticity seems paradoxical if we realise that a lm text is a
cultural convention and what we see on screen, like the whole diegetic world, is not
a reection of the real world. The real world is a kind of starting point or reference
point. One of the most extensively studied cases of the relationship between cin-
ematic space and the real is the screen adaptation of Tolkien’s novel. Through The
From real to reel and back again 33
Lord of the Rings and Hobbit lms, New Zealand’s cultural landscape was trans-
formed into the mythical world of Middle-earth by imposing layers of meaning
to create the cultural landscapes of Middle-earth. The result is that the landscape
portrayal in the lms does not provide many hints of the real cultural landscapes
of New Zealand. However, as Carl et al. (2007) suggest, the heavy use of post-
production digital modications within the lms, combined with “missing” lm
sets in situ, make it challenging for many tourists to perceive a “realistic” sense of
place. The “real” landscapes provide few features of the hyper-real landscapes in
the lms, impacting lm tourists’ experience of the former lm sites.
Film tourism is considered a way to connect real with imaginary space. Places
are essential in anchoring ctional (books, lms, video games) and artistic uni-
verses to reality. Conversely, ctional or imaginary places inuence how people
perceive real places. More recently, what reinforces these relations are geospa-
tial technologies that allow visitors practising cultural tourism to collect extensive
information about lms related to these places. Geospatial technologies contrib-
ute to developing an intermediary territory, a space between the real and fantasy
worlds (Joliveau 2009).
The link between visual media, cultural production and reproduction, and mean-
ing creation occupies a prominent place in geography, lm studies, and cultural
and social studies. With the “spatial turn” in cultural studies, the focus on visual
media and visual culture has been modied to incorporate the role of space and
place in representational theory. As Lukinbeal (2004, p. 248) puts it: “Cinematic
geography, or lm geography is a growing transdisciplinary subeld that focuses
on mapping the Baudrillardian terrain of cinema that precedes the cultural terri-
tory”. Baudrillard (1994, p. 1) referred to the changes in late 20th-century culture
with a cartographic metaphor:
The territory no longer precedes the map, nor does it survive it. It is neverthe-
less the map that precedes the territory – precession of the simulacra – that
engenders the territory, and if one must rerun to the fable, today it is the ter-
ritory whose shred slowly rot across the extent of the map. It is the real, and
not the map, whose vestiges persist here and there in the deserts that are no
longer those of the Empire, but ours.
A few decades later, it became evident that the representation of a place (the map)
can dene and shape our understanding of that place rather than the place itself
(the territory). In other words, the image can take on a life of its own and shape our
understanding of the place, rather than the other way around. This idea is relevant
to how lm and other media can shape our understanding of dierent places. When
we watch a lm or TV show set in a particular location, our understanding of that
place is often shaped by how it is depicted on screen. This can be especially true if
the lm or TV show is inuential or widely seen. If a lm depicts a city as danger-
ous or crime-ridden, this depiction can shape how people perceive and understand
that city, even if it is inaccurate. Similarly, if a lm portrays a place as being par-
ticularly beautiful or exotic, this depiction can inuence people’s desire to visit that
34 Krzysztof Stachowiak
place and shape their expectations of what it will be like. So we can subversively
say that we live in a distorted reality, and the obvious question that comes to mind
is how to assess the extent of this distortion. However, perhaps this is the wrong
question, and we should instead be thinking about how these “media lenses” allow
us to change society and space (both the physical and the social and cultural).
Concluding remarks
The relationship between lm, other media, and space is complex and multifaceted.
The proposed models in this chapter combined geographic understanding with lm
studies, shedding light on two crucial aspects. First, they emphasised that the pres-
ence of spaces in cultural texts extends beyond visual representation and can take
on dierent characteristics. Second, the model introduces a typology of space that
emerges from the interaction between lm and place.
The real world serves as the foundation for lm representation, appearing on
screen as itself or as other spaces. People’s aective bond with a place, described
as topophilia, encompasses sensual, aesthetic, intellectual, and belonging senti-
ments. Various art forms, including lm, shape space and inuence how we per-
ceive dierent places. Literature relies on verbal descriptions to evoke the qualities
of spaces, requiring readers to use their imagination to visualise them, resulting in
an imaginary character.
Imaginary spaces in literature and lm allow the creative exploration of themes
and ideas unconstrained by reality. They can serve as metaphors for the real world
and comment on real-world issues. However, it is essential to acknowledge that
despite incorporating elements from the real world, imaginary spaces remain c-
tional creations.
Visual arts, such as photography and lm, play a signicant role in contempo-
rary visual culture. They provide mediated representations of real places, ltered
through the lens of interpretation and prior knowledge. While traditionally consid-
ered objective representations, maps can also convey subjective experiences and
emotions associated with dierent places. This perspective challenges the notion
of cartography as a purely scientic discipline and highlights its potential for rep-
resenting diverse human experiences.
The interconnectedness of lm, other media, and space oer a rich tapestry of
representations and experiences, allowing us to engage with the real and the imag-
ined in compelling and thought-provoking ways. Film space is not a direct repre-
sentation of real space but rather a constructed and manipulated version shaped by
lmmakers’ artistic vision. Prolmic space encompasses everything that is cap-
tured by the camera and appears on lm. Diegetic space, on the other hand, is where
the narrative unfolds, and the action takes place. Diegetic space is constructed by
combining on-screen elements and the viewer’s imagination. The framing of the
image, camera movement, and editing techniques all contribute to the perception
and understanding of diegetic space. Therefore lm space is not static but rather
dynamic and ever-changing. It evolves throughout the lm as the plot develops,
locations change, and dierent modes of expression are introduced. Editing, in
From real to reel and back again 35
particular, plays a crucial role in shaping and manipulating the cinematic space.
Film space is a complex and multi-dimensional concept involving prolmic and
diegetic elements. It is a space that exists both within the screen’s frame and in the
viewer’s imagination, creating a rich and immersive cinematic experience.
Film profoundly impacts viewers’ perceptions of place through its use of cin-
ematic techniques and storytelling strategies. By manipulating time, space, and
mise-en-scène, lm can distort our understanding of geography, creating a sense of
displacement and transforming the depicted location. The portrayal of events, char-
acters, and cinematography techniques further inuence our perception by shaping
our understanding of a place’’s cultural, political, and social context and highlight-
ing its natural or man-made features. The experience of mediated spaces, such as
lm tourism, is heavily inuenced by how places are represented in media, leading
to expectations and emotional responses that may not align with reality. The search
for authenticity in lm-induced tourism reects the power of lm to create a frame-
work through which tourists understand and emotionally connect with the places
they visit. However, it is important to recognise that lm texts are cultural conven-
tions, and the portrayed diegetic world does not reect the real world. The relation-
ship between cinematic space and the real can be complex, as seen in cases like the
screen adaptation of Tolkien’s novel, where heavy post-production modications
and missing lm sets challenge tourists’ perception of real landscapes. Ultimately,
lm tourism bridges real and imaginary spaces, inuencing the perception of c-
tional and real places and blurring the boundaries between them. The spatial turn
in cultural studies highlights the signicance of space and place in the analysis of
visual media and visual culture, emphasising how lm and other media shape our
understanding of dierent places and contribute to the creation of meaning. Rather
than assessing the extent of distortion, it is essential to recognise the transformative
potential of these “media lenses” in shaping society, space, and culture.
Acknowledgement
The research presented in this chapter was carried out under the project “FilmInd –
The Indian lm industry as a driver of new socio-economic connections between
India and Europe”, nanced by the Polish National Science Centre (Project No.
2017/27/Z/HS4/00039).
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From real to reel and back again 37
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38 Krzysztof Stachowiak
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DOI: 10.4324/9781003293347-4
Figure 2 An aerial view of Lake Bled in Slovenia. One of the emerging destinations in
Indian lming was featured in many recent lms, including Naayak (2013), Bhai
(2013), Doosukeltha (2013), Super Ranga (2014), Mungaru Male 2 (2016), Babu
Bangaram (2016), Khaidi No. 150 (2017), Vivegam (2017), Jayadev (2018), and
Yuvarathnaa (2021).
Source: zgphotography / stock.adobe.com
Part II
Experiencing place
through lm
DOI: 10.4324/9781003293347-5
This chapter has been made available under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
The selection of locations for popular Bombay lm productions tends to be eclectic
given their narrative and storytelling style. The locations can include iconic monu-
ments or landscapes that oer picturesque backdrops to stage song sequences; a
region or a part of the world that conveys a sense of familiarity; a place that looks
dramatic through aerial photography; or lavish interiors that carry historic value.
These requirements have made certain sites popular with lm crews, since they
manage to oer almost everything that a blockbuster is supposed to contain. The
use of foreign locations for the production of Hollywood’s global imaginary has
been the subject of much scholarly discussion (Hozic 2001; Govil 2015; Steinhart
2019). Locations outside of the United States have been positioned in these debates
as sites for economic, cultural, and technological transactions that are closely tied
to Hollywood’s status as a powerful, global media industry. There are others who
have explored the ways in which ideas of place and space are transformed by lm’s
encounter with a range of locations (Rhodes and Gornkel 2011; Jaikumar 2019).
In this chapter, I focus on the intertwined networks of transnational imaginaries,
bureaucratic and production infrastructures, embodied histories, and creative ener-
gies, in the cartographic imagination of Europe in Bombay cinema.
The Infrastructure of Cinematic Cartography
The use of foreign locations in Bombay cinema is not new, but the obsession with
these spaces has taken on a certain frenzy since the 1990s (Mazumdar 2007, 2011).
If established destinations proved to be expensive for shooting, the lm industry
started to tap unexplored areas and recently developed global networks dedicated
to handling the movement of nance, personnel, labour, and technology. These
networks have been strengthened by corporate structures alongside informal asso-
ciations. The governments are quick with processing permissions; they have also
approached lmmakers in India on their own to oer locations in their countries.
The India International Film Tourism Conclave (IIFTC) is an organisation
that was set up in 2013 to ease the procedural requirements for Indian lmmak-
ing in European and other international locations.1 Every year, the IIFTC holds
a location pitching event in Bombay where representatives from European lm
commissions, private production companies, and service providers from across the
3 Destination Europe
The practices of mapping in
contemporary Bombay cinema
Ranjani Mazumdar
42 Ranjani Mazumdar
world congregate to sell the visual force of their national territory to the Indian lm
industries. The conclave operates like a mini expo conducted through the display
of lush photographs, videos containing sequences shot in spectacular locations,
tourist videos, and catalogues with details of rebates, tax exemptions, and other
information about trade agreements. These negotiations tend to spill over beyond
the conclave, with line producers, executive producers, location scouts, and other
personnel across nations thinking through nancial matters, script requirements,
and permissions.2
There are many elements that govern this trade and selection of locations: rst,
a constant discussion about climate conditions, such as the length of day, when
the sun rises and sets, how cold or warm it becomes, whether the mountains are
accessible, and what kind of waterfall, riverfront, lake, or ocean can be made avail-
able for use. This pitching of natural landscape is then combined with human-
made monuments and architectural heritage, like recognisable sites of history or
opulent walls found in medieval castles, decorative churches, and so on. Finally,
there is trading in the spectacle of modern urban infrastructure – roadways, high-
ways, dams, skyscrapers, and other architectural wonders.3 This trade in the use of
locations between nations usually involves a heightened sense of space and place,
relayed through depictions in a variety of media forms. What is oered is an index-
ical promise – an encounter with the intoxicating forces of nature, history, and
architectural modernity. In an interview published by Cineport, a publication of the
IIFTC, director Imtiaz Ali referred to Portugal as the country with the best natural
light that he had ever seen. “It is very beautiful towards the second half of the day.
It’s a bohemian place, and the sea is very dynamic and cinematic”.4 Reminiscing
about Rockstar, Ali recalled how he did not want a pretty town for the lm but an
elite European location with a touch of darkness. For this reason, Prague came to
his mind. “When I went there, I realised there was a lot of darkness in the art, and
I got to know a lot of folk legends, which I wrote back into the script”.5 In both
these accounts, we can see how place is being framed by natural light and the sea
in one instance and cultural-literary associations in the other. These transactions
in “feelings”, visual cultures, a vast array of disparate experiences, histories, and
infrastructural networks have translated into a cartographic approach in the pro-
duction of Europe. In my discussion, I look at four lms: War (Siddharth Anand
2019), Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (You Only Have One Life, Zoya Akhtar 2012),
Tamasha (Performance, Imtiaz Ali 2015), and Fan (Maneesh Sharma 2016), since
these narratives have used Europe to deal with espionage, a summer vacation, a
personality disorder, and Shahrukh Khan’s transnational stardom, respectively. The
lms help to highlight the performative dimension of cinematic cartography.
Tania Rossetto has argued that the tendency to “universalise” the map and its
links with power (2019) is dissatisfying, since this marginalises the existence of
a diverse range of mapping practices and techniques (2019). The arrival of geo-
visualisation tools, along with an aesthetic inclination for maps, seems to have
created a desire for overlaps between map thinking and artistic forms (Cosgrove
2008). These intersections have been theorised in Giuliana Bruno’s and Tom Con-
ley’s historical approach to the links between lm, architecture, and cartography
Destination Europe 43
(2002, 2006). Bruno is also critical of positions where the act of mapping is viewed
only as an instrument of hegemonic control since such an approach negates the
aesthetic role of cartographic practices in cinema (2002, p. 207). For Rob Kitchin,
maps belong to the moment, created by embodied, social, and technical practices
that are context dependent. They emerge “through a mix of creative, reexive,
playful, tactile, and habitual practices” (2010, p. 9).
Dennis Cosgrove has argued that programmes like Google Earth, and their oer of
a voyage through virtual space with the aid of digital and photographic images, have
dramatically impacted “popular geographic culture” (2008, p. 171) (Figure 3.1). The
ability to access surface topography like this has made the contemporary juncture
the most “cartographically rich culture in history” (171). Nana Verhoe responds to
the proliferation of navigational tools with some pointed questions: “What does a map
look like when it is itself in movement, in ux, and when we talk about practices of
Figure 3.1 A 360-panorama captured by a drone camera.
Source: Photo by Louis Reed on Unsplash (https://unsplash.com/photos/hzp_aT02R48)
44 Ranjani Mazumdar
mapping and navigating instead of the map as an object?” (2012, p. 144). Verhoe
is clearly interested in the map as a spatial and temporal event beyond xed mathe-
matical ideas of space and measurements, foregrounding navigation as a challenge
to representational constructions of the map.
I draw on these dierent approaches to show how a performative dimension of
cartography (Verhoe 2012) operates in the four lms discussed here through a
series of strategically planned events. A map is usually a compressed articulation
of information that provides a sense of borders, overall land area, and a set of other
features depending on whether the map is about climate, vegetation, political gov-
ernance, or just a mediator of scale in relation to the world. In photographic and
cinematic renderings of place, there is a movement between the prolmic or what
is designed for capture on the camera, and the nal lmic depiction after editing.
Priya Jaikumar provides a succinct account of her own views on the prolmic in
relation to what others have said till now. She refers to Tom Gunning’s understand-
ing of the prolmic as all that is in front of the camera before capture. For many
others, it is a combination of lighting, props, costumes, actors, and setting. Broad-
ening out from these two narratives is Jaikumar’s own approach, where the pro-
lmic reveals intersecting and overlapping imaginations of place and space before
transforming into screen space (Jaikumar 2019). In a somewhat dierent account,
Debashree Mukherjee identies the prolmic as a vibrant site of practice, prac-
titioners, technologies, and nancial networks (2020). What emerges from both
accounts is an understanding of the prolmic as a major exercise in spatial, mate-
rial, and infrastructural arrangements. As I will show, this is a negotiated and cho-
reographed segment prior to the camera’s recording, where several other crucial
elements come to play a role in the construction of identiable locations on screen.
These supposedly extraneous elements that govern the encounter with European
locations are drawn into the “making of” or “behind the scenes” videos. I want to
play out the chaotic and contingent narratives available in the “making of” videos,
alongside their nal projection, as distinct threads that work together in producing
cartographic interactions with Europe on screen.
Espionage and the Performance of Risk in War
War draws on the popular visual form associated with global espionage lms (Potol-
sky 2019; Miller 2003). Its scale of movement is almost planetary, as it incorporates
into its action spectacle the sea, the sky, snow-capped vistas, mountains, rivers, and
valleys. At the same time, we are connected to a network of surveillance, track-
ing, and other gadgets, along with a constant focus on the velocity associated with
global travel (Zimmer 2015; Potolsky 2019). There is swift movement via ights,
ships, boats, and automobiles that ensures quick transnational crossings and access
to international sites. Like in any espionage lm, the central conict works on the
premise that something is amiss. This generates a climate of intrigue and secrecy
that leads to an investigation of networks of nance, geographical sites, and classi-
ed information, a form that has been identied as “the national security sublime”,
with antecedents that go back to the Cold War (Potolsky 2019). The borders can no
Destination Europe 45
longer be secured from within; they need the help of spies operating in an interna-
tional arena.6 It is this spatial discourse that informs the geographical movement
of the protagonists in Wa r.7 Given the blockbuster style of the lm, some of the
typical markers like damage to property and re explosions appear in abundance.
The protagonists go through a “trial by re” and patriotism marks their bodies as
stronger with every physical injury.
War is a major action lm with a broad storyline that focuses on two spies work-
ing for the Indian intelligence, Kabir (Hrithik Roshan) and Khalid (Tiger Shro).
Khalid is trained by Kabir, and despite initial reservations, Kabir is happy to have
him on board. The initial reservation is linked to the fact that Khalid’s father
became a traitor and was accused of treason. Khalid is determined to show his
patriotism and undo the humiliation he and his mother have endured as a result of
his father’s actions. Wa r presents a complicated narrative of suspicion, friendship,
and nal revelation involving these two protagonists, and a series of events linked
to the spies are played out across the world. The production team used the depiction
of bodies confronted with danger on screen to frame the o-screen discourse linked
to the sequences shot in European locations.
The climax of War , which was shot in the Arctic circle, spectacularised Bom-
bay cinema’s long-standing fascination with snow since the 1960s. The depiction
of snow as a site of human struggle with nature has had a long history in visual
culture. Snow can be attractive as well as inhospitable, like the vast expanses of
the desert. In the Arctic action sequence, all these dierent feelings are mobilised
creatively, along with the experience of speed, reminiscent of television coverage
of sports car races. This virtually bloodless sequence maintains the whiteness of the
snow and contrasts this with the yellow and black cars driven by the two protago-
nists (Figure 3.2). Director, Siddharth Anand, wanted an Arctic location to stage an
action on a frozen surface. While the Arctic Circle includes several countries, the
production team selected Rovaniemi, in Lapland, and drew on the services pro-
vided by Finland’s Film Commission.8 The ice sequence is the climax of the lm
and was nally executed on a frozen lake that involved changes to the equipment
to ensure the machines would not freeze; the cars were also created to operate at
freezing point. The drone camera was extensively deployed for the two main pro-
tagonists, driving the cars carefully to ensure no accident would take place during
the close shaves of the chase. These accounts frame the video’s presentation of how
this action was created.9 Paul Jennings, known for his work on several Hollywood
lms, including The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan 2008) and Game of Thrones
(David Benio and D.B. Weiss 2011–2019), was hired to choreograph this action
sequence. In several interviews with the media, Jennings said the sequence was on
par with the best, including the Mission Impossible series with Tom Cruise.10 These
statements in the media added performative value to the way the location was being
framed by the quality of the action sequence.
The location in the Arctic circle was used for the rst time in a lm – a novelty
that Siddharth Anand always highlighted during and after the release of Wa r . He
described the site as the highest point that any action sequence had been shot in.11
They took a month to make sure the ice cover on the lake was thick enough to
46 Ranjani Mazumdar
support the weight of the cars, another week to prepare, and nally a week to shoot.
The video on the making of the three-minute action sequence shows how weather
conditions and the constantly changing quality of the snow, linked to sunlight and
friction caused by the speeding cars, were issues the production team had to deal
with. While a car chase is a tried and tested spectacle in many lms, this one was
identied as a car chase on ice in minus 30 degree Celsius. The video shows how
Figure 3.3 The camera infrastructure for the snow in War .
Source: Yash Raj Films
Figure 3.2 The car chase on ice in War .
Source: Yash Raj Films
Destination Europe 47
there was constant shovelling of heaps of snow when it started to soften; ice had
to be scraped o the cars without damaging the bright paint; transporting the cars
to the site itself was no easy feat, and maintaining them through the course of the
shooting was another major task. The expanse of the snow surface and direct sun-
light falling on the lens were also highlighted as issues that required continuous
management by the cinematographer.12
In these narrative accounts of the shooting, nature’s extreme temperatures,
unpredictability, and vistas are conquered by the lm’s networked, technological,
and transnational infrastructure (Figure 3.3). This is evocative of a cartographic
impulse where, much like the American Frontier in the Hollywood Westerns, the
conquest of brutal weather conditions via infrastructural arrangements, allowed a
cinematically untapped territory to acquire a larger-than-life form on screen with
traces of historical mythology linked to European settlers, albeit in complex ways.
In War, the combination of the two yellow and black cars, captured against the
expanse of a at ice surface, and the use of operatic music, generates an aesthetic
texture that is captivating; it is dramatic, adventurous, and playful, all at once. Jen-
nings referred to the race between the cars as a duel and a dance, like a ballet in
the snow.13 The snow dust trail caused by high-speed friction against the ice can
be viewed as the triumph of technological speed over nature, evocatively staged
through the snow dust formation making the cars disappear and re-appear (Virilio).
As Tiger Shro said, they felt like they were in a video game where an entire ice-
berg was at their disposal to play with.14 The multiple layers of mythology associ-
ated with the shooting of this sequence became crucial to the lm’s publicity for
Indian audiences. The prolmic appeared in the video as the site of a negotiated
extraction where special equipment, personnel, the bodies of stars, and a director’s
obsessions would translate into the conquest of a dicult geographical terrain. The
transaction of skills between Finland, India, and the United States was the result
of a global network that made the cinematic map of this sequence possible. In the
Figure 3.4 The bike chase in War shot in the mountains of Serra da Estrela, Portugal.
Source: Yash Raj Films
48 Ranjani Mazumdar
lm’s popular reception and media reporting, the lines between space, territory,
and place became blurred; the seven other countries with land inside this icy region
became marginal, and Finland emerged as the vibrant centre of the Arctic Circle.
In another bike chase shot in Portugal, we are provided with a dierent kind of
relationship to the prolmic.15 While issues related to the temperamental nature
of the weather are part of the “making of” video, we also learn of the risky nature
of the chase shot on top of a high mountain, Serra da Estrela. The curves of the
road revealed through aerial views taken from a helicopter provide a sense of the
layout to the viewer, detailing how one wrong move by the speeding bikes could tip
them over the cli and to death (Figure 3.4). The video provides some sense of the
infrastructure, but its projection of a narrative of risk linked to bodily harm is the
primary thread, interspersed with how beautiful Portugal is, how warm the people
are, and how good the food is. The warmth of the country is evoked by the scale of
help oered by the Portugal Film Commission as their representatives welcome the
Indian production team. The helicopter used for the shooting is shown in this video,
combined with images from the nal version of the sequence in the lm. Like in the
case of the Iceland shoot, the director commissioned special equipment, ensured
complicated placement of the cameras on vehicles, and hired a cinematographer
from South Africa to micromanage the visceral experience of speed required for
this action sequence. This was clearly in line with the negotiation of velocity in
contemporary espionage lms. Serra da Estrela was the right location to take this
speedy action to another level, with its sinuous roads cutting through the mountain,
captured by drone cameras.16
This expanded vision of space changes drastically when we enter Lisbon in a
diagonal movement across Praça do Comércio, which is a beautiful square that faces
a river on one side (Figure 3.5). A popular tourist attraction, the square provided the
War production team with a at white surface for the entry of the bikes. We then move
through Bica, which is one of Lisbon’s most attractive and typical neighbourhoods,
Figure 3.5 The bike chase in War in Praça do Comércio, Lisbon, Portugal.
Source: Yash Raj Films
Destination Europe 49
with its steep, undulating roads, and tramways. The chase continues through this
architectural layout, with the bikes racing across tramlines, going down public
stairways, and ying over moving vehicles. The chase ends nally at the Dom Luis
bridge in Porto, the second most important city in Portugal. This bridge over the
river Duoro was declared a heritage site in 1982 and was shut down for two days to
provide space and time for Kabir’s daredevil jump into the river. The cartographic
narrative here, in one single sequence, combines the mountains with the city of
Lisbon and the bridge in Porto. Wa r is replete with such speed maps that engage
with the thrill of danger introduced through accelerated movement and the pro-
duction of scale. The shutting down of the bridge itself turned into an event, and,
in many of Anand’s accounts, this was seen as a major achievement, with local
residents wanting to know the reasons for a full shutdown of the city.17 Anand
always made it a point to highlight his successful management of risk to conquer
certain sites with the use of dramatic infrastructure, ecient bureaucratic process-
ing, and the support and love of the local population. The prolmic constructions
proved to be crucial for the lm’s publicity, released gradually across dierent
media spaces. In these accounts, the threat to life and the desire to work against
all odds were constantly highlighted, making risk emerge as a major performative
category. While the cartographic desire displayed in the car chase was to capture
the natural landscape of the Arctic Circle, the bike chase was structured to bring
together Portugal’s diverse signs of architectural modernity into a single sequence.
Immersive Cartography in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (You only live once, 2012) is a lm that unfolds literally
like a map. This is a road lm that introduces us to three friends – Arjun, a stock
broker living in London (Hrithik Roshan); Kabir, who runs a family construction
business in Bombay (Abhay Deol); and Imran, an advertising copywriter and poet
(Farhan Akhtar). All three decide to meet up for a bachelor vacation in Spain, fol-
lowing which Kabir is supposed to return home to get married to Natasha (Kalki
Koechlin). The vacation becomes an opportunity to confront existential concerns
related to the choices each person has made in their own lives. All three friends land
in Barcelona, and after a brief encounter with the city’s well-known monumental
architecture and its downtown, the three embark on a car journey across Spain, mak-
ing their own itineraries with paper maps (Figure 3.6). The camera often frames
road signs prominently to establish the routes being taken. Except for the opening
moment of arrival in Barcelona, no overtly recognisable physical sites have been
used in the lm. High angle views of the sinuous layout of the road with the automo-
bile making its way through a changing topography of forest foliage, wild grass, the
blue sea, and mountains on both sides are depicted to invoke a pleasurable form of
navigation for the spectator. The Mediterranean sun is dramatic and adds to the over-
all beauty of the unfolding landscape (Figure 3.7). During these automobile jour-
neys, some of the most interesting conversations, songs, and poetry recitations are
staged against the touristic vistas of expansive elds, dazzling blue skies, horses on
the run, and majestic mountains and clis. The wind-swept demeanour of the friends
50 Ranjani Mazumdar
as they drive through picturesque locations captured from a variety of camera angles
gives spectators the pleasure of a breath-taking encounter with Spain’s landscape.
Like in any road movie, Zindagi halts at particular sites during the course of the
journey. Director Zoya Akhtar and her production designer, Suzanne Merwanji,
travelled across Spain prior to the shooting to pick and select their locations.18
Akhtar felt that in a road lm, the locations become characters, but their choices
were made on the basis of events that they believed happened only in Spain.19
A colour palette was worked out, and then, as Akhtar herself has said on several
occasions, they mapped their pre-production location scouting trip onto the shoot-
ing script.20 The belief that Spaniards are people who live each day to the fullest
played an important role in how the events were connected to the lm’s texture.
Figure 3.6 The friends in their car travelling through Spain in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.
Source: Excel Entertainment
Figure 3.7 Aerial view of the journey across the Spanish countryside in Zindagi Na Milegi
Dobara.
Source: Excel Entertainment
Destination Europe 51
The “feelings” of a pre-production encounter were translated into the overall visual
design of the lm.
Akhtar planned four major immersive attractions as events and procedurally
carved them out for the production. As many have argued, immersion is a spatial
relationship between the body and the environment that has three qualities (Rog-
ers 2019). First, there should be a sense of scale so that in the act of embedding,
the environment appears larger than the body. Immersion also requires a sense
of proximity, of being close to the environment. Finally, there must be a sensory
experience of being enveloped. In Zindagi, this immersive sensibility is deployed
for all the key set-piece attractions. Of these, three were linked to risk and the
fourth to leisure. Scuba diving, sky diving, and the bull run are placed as adventure
sports, while the La Tomatina Festival is a leisure event associated with Spain
that the production team was keen to use. It is the event-oriented imagination of
these “attractions” that keeps our focus on the bodies and their relationship to the
environment. The act of staging here, as I have already indicated, was not linked
to well-known recognisable sites, but to an immersive language associated with
videos of adventure sports. Each friend introduces the others to a dangerous sport.
The friends’ involvement in each of these outdoor sports leads them to ght some
deeply held fears and phobias. Arjun is scared of swimming, and Imran is scared
of heights. On the other hand, Kabir, is far too polite and unable to reverse some of
the major decisions in his life. The production team released a “making of” video
on the use of scuba and sky diving which introduces us to the training process and
to the stars’ personal experiences of fear and wonderment.21 The prolmic account
of the actors’ own exhilarating experience added a layer to the performance on
screen, making both speak to the lm’s cartographic imagination.
The scuba diving sequence was lmed in Costa Brava, a coastal region of Cata-
lonia in north-eastern Spain. This is where the three friends meet Laila (Katrina
Kaif), a fashion designer from London who works for three months every year as a
Figure 3.8 Arjun’s view of underwater marine life in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.
Source: Excel Entertainment
52 Ranjani Mazumdar
diving instructor. She provides the initial training to the three friends, also intended
as instructions for the audience watching the lm. Having taken the plunge under
pressure from his friends, Arjun is blown away by the beauty of what he sees under
water (Figure 3.8). The combination of music and bodies moving through the den-
sity of underwater marine life turns into a colourful spectacle that appears almost
articial to the eyes. When Arjun resurfaces, he is overwhelmed by the experience
and unable to stop his tears, while the spectator is oered a haptic and mesmerising
cinematic encounter with underwater topography.
The same approach is taken in the sky diving sequence, where it is Imran’s turn
to ght his phobia. Like in the scuba diving sequence, spectators are provided a
brief account of the training all three friends undergo before they decide to dive.
When the three jump out of the aircraft, we see aerial views of the landmass made
to look like a pretty weave of carpet patchwork shown from the point of view of
the friends as well as from high above their ying bodies. Like the underwater
sequence, the sky diving is meant to instil an immersive experience of how to view
the world from this privileged point of view in the sky. The sequence was shot in
Seville, the capital of Andalucía in the south of Spain (Figure 3.9). For the bull-
run sequence, the Zindagi team went to Pamplona. This is the town with the most
famous of the bull runs in Spain, and in the lm, it is Imran’s decision to try this,
despite major opposition from his friends. The nal run to escape the bulls is the
sequence that ends the journey across Spain and becomes the climax with which
the lm ends. The closeness to danger in this controversial sport is played out as
the moment that nally gives all three, especially Kabir, the strength to take certain
crucial decisions.
Akhtar also shot the lm’s most popular song in the midst of a wild tomato
festival known as Tomatina. This sequence oers a dierent kind of sensation of
a large crowd participating in what is an annual festival held in the town of Bunol
that involves tomatoes being thrown at each other. Around 40,000 people take part
Figure 3.9 Sky diving shot in Seville, the South of Spain in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.
Source: Excel Entertainment
Destination Europe 53
in this crazy festival, with approximately 150,000 tomatoes brought for the event.
The combination of red tomatoes, hose pipes spraying water on the participants and
the wildly cheering crowd made for an unusual cinematic ambience. It was Laila’s
decision to take everyone to Bunol, and the song was staged with everyone partici-
pating in the slug fest. It was shot using two cameras and edited to oer a mesmer-
ising constellation of bodies and wild energy as the friends shed their inhibitions to
participate with gusto. None of these attractions could have been mounted without
diplomatic, trade, technological, and infrastructural networks at play. Originally
thinking of Mexico as a location, the production was shifted to Spain because of the
existence of all these adventure sports. The psychological transformation and thrill
linked to a brush with risk and danger conveyed what the production team believed
was a quality of the people of Spain – to experience life to the fullest.
The only identiable space in the lm is the Mediterranean architectural layout
associated with countries like Spain, Croatia, and Italy. The striking and distinct
look of this form has made it popular with hotels, oces, and housing blocks in
coastal areas of the world. The windows and doors are usually arched, and the roof
is covered with red-coloured clay tiles. The walls have a striking white colour that
helps to deect the sharp sun. The outdoor sensibility enabled by good weather is
structurally drawn into the architectural form as courtyards, gardens, and patios
that sometimes include stone carvings, and ornate detailing on the doors and win-
dow frames. In Zindagi, the audience gets a fair sense of both the interior and the
exterior of this distinctive architectural form.
As is obvious from the range of cinematic attractions oered by Zindagi, the
spectator was clearly invited to a touristic encounter with a major European coun-
try.22 The lm combines car travel, walking, ying, and various outdoor sports to
introduce Spain’s landscape, distinctive architecture, cultural traditions, and daz-
zling sun. In the garb of a coming-of-age story, Zindagi invites spectators into an
immersive experience of travel, embedded rmly in the tourism structure of the
narrative (Bruno 2002; Ruo 2006).
Mapping Inner Turmoil in Tamasha
In some ways, Tamasha (Imtiaz Ali 2015) is also a coming-of-age story, but with
a twist. The European segment, however, is only a part of the lm and, unlike
Zindagi, it highlights heritage sites. Tamasha is about Ved (Ranbir Kapoor), a man
with a personality disorder, and Tara (Deepika Padukone), a woman he meets in
Corsica, France, for the rst time. The two decide to engage in a performance and
not share details of who they are. “What happens in Corsica stays in Corsica” was a
tagline created for the lm. The couple enter into a deeply intimate and psychologi-
cal relationship in a foreign location and call each other Don and Mona (names of
popular villains from Bombay cinema). Following the vacation, the two return to
their routine jobs in India, but having realised she is in love, Tara tracks down Ved
only to realise that his personality is now quite dierent from the persona she fell in
love with in Corsica. After various ups and downs and a break up, the couple make
peace with their inner selves and the romance returns with renewed understanding.
54 Ranjani Mazumdar
The romantic encounter in Corsica is the segment that allows Ved to become
someone diametrically opposed to who he is in his mundane corporate job. The
intensity of this transformation required a location that could hold together psycho-
logical forays, performances, and the power of romance. A typical and well-known
location would not have served the purpose, so Corsica, as a part of France, was
selected for this experiment with the personal experiences of the characters. Imtiaz
Ali deployed spatial navigation deliberately to generate a mental map of inner tur-
moil, romantic attraction, and a desperate desire for freedom.
We arrive in Corsica, literally by sea, as the camera glides over blue-coloured
water against amber-coloured buildings. Tara and Ved have just met for the rst
time. We then move to a procession of people in traditional costume making their
way through the streets as the camera sculpts the walls of the ancient town to reveal
the large numbers of local residents participating in the procession. This is intercut
with Tara, now making her way through the town as well. This new, dierent, and
lively foreign location is introduced with a combined focus on the crowd in the
streets and Tara’s solitary navigation. Tara has her second meeting with Ved at
the city square café, where they begin drinking. This leads up to one of the lm’s
most spectacular songs, staged at the Place du Donjon. At least four “Making of”
videos were made about the shooting of Tamasha, and inevitably, most of them
focus overwhelmingly on the picturisation of “Matargashti”, the song located in
the city square.
A public square connected by several streets to other buildings and spots, Place
du Donjon is an architectural treat for visitors. The song was shot in this location
to ensure the cinematic capture of the buildings, the sea view, the alleyways, and
cafes. We notice a festive air, a sunny disposition, and a constant highlighting of
colonial-style windows, a stone staircase, and the uniqueness of the buildings
with their attached balconies. As the two protagonists perform in the midst of
a lively crowd, they use an edgy, unconventional style of dancing to convey a
rebellious spirit. Ved climbs on to a lamppost and then makes his way from the
window to a balcony. All these movements are choreographed to both showcase
the stars as well as the physical texture of the location. Low-angle views of the
balcony reveal the dramatic quality of the amber-coloured buildings. We also
see vegetables and typical French bread being sold, along with people sitting in
outdoor cafes.
The song literally turns Place du Donjon into a stage, using the site’s unique
architectural form to create a spectacular performance. The Palace of Governors,
located in the square, also houses the Bastia Museum of History. We also get sea-
side views of the village cluster against the Corsican coast and skyline. The song
concludes with the well-known King of Aragon’s staircase, a structure carved into
a limestone cli that looks almost like a naturally covered walkway. It is a popular
site for photographs and legend has it that the 187 steps were rst created in 1420
but have seen changes over a period of time. In mobilising these unusual sites for
the song, Imtiaz Ali was mapping a psychological tale in spatial terms. Ali wanted
uncharted territory for the couple’s meeting, and this song, a major highlight of the
lm, draws on local music, performances, and costume extravaganza, along with
Destination Europe 55
the two stars as the centre piece. In this sequence, local French culture is drawn
upon but re-carved to take over the public square. In one of the “making of” videos
of Tamasha, Ali says:
I read about Corsica in Asterix in Corsica, the comic book. It was fascinating.
Then some of my friends told me about Corsica. I was looking for a place
which was not really explored by tourism that much, but which had the capac-
ity to be very popular as a destination in the years to come. I was also looking
for a place that was not only touristy but cultural. And the great thing about
Corsica is that every 25 kilometres, the geography changes completely . . .
and now I understand why it is called the Isle of beauty. I am really fascinated
by the structure, the sea, the hills, the mountains, the Shepherd culture, the
music, the food.23
The song is followed literally by conversations of made-up stories that unfold
across walks through the charming streets, the staircase in the hotel that the two
protagonists check into, and the room with windows looking out at the mountains
in the distance. The next day, Ved and Tara travel by road in a green convert-
ible, continuing with their performance. This is where Corsica’s rocky interiors
are revealed alongside the sea on one side. We have long sequences of silence
with music as the camera ies with our protagonists in their exploration of foli-
age, streams, and streetscapes. Imtiaz Ali maps the physical texture of Corsica’s
landscape and Mediterranean architecture with a visual and emotional intensity to
stage mind games and intimate psychological forays. The language of performative
interiority required the use of a relatively unknown location where a break from
routine would help to open doors to a magical experience.
Spatialising Shahrukh Khan’s Stardom in Fan
One of India’s most well-known actors, Shahrukh Khan plays a double role in
Maneesh Sharma’s Fan: one as a super star and the other as a fan. The lm intro-
duces us rst to the world of popular fandom via Gaurav (played by Shahrukh
Khan), a boy from Delhi whose obsession with Aryan Khanna (also played by
Shahrukh Khan) takes him to Bombay in search of his idol. But events go astray
and soon Gaurav plots an elaborate revenge plan that is narrated in the second half
of the lm. What emerges is a cat and mouse chase across the world where Gaurav
tries to destroy Aryan Khanna’s reputation, taking advantage of the fact that he
looks like the star.
Fan uses foreign locations primarily to focus on Shahrukh Khan’s global
stardom. The lm moves from a lower-middle-class neighbourhood in Delhi to
Bombay, to London, to Dubrovnik (Croatia), and back again to Bombay and Delhi.
This circular arc, in a sense, follows Khan’s personal biography – growing up in
Delhi and then landing in Bombay. Since the 1990s, Khan acquired a major follow-
ing as one of India’s most successful and bankable male stars abroad. The Euro-
pean segment of the lm, which lasts for around 35 minutes, highlights some of
56 Ranjani Mazumdar
these elements. There are two key locations that are mobilised to aid in the build-up
and crisis of Aryan Khanna’s persona.
The rst is, of course, London, which has maintained a major connection with
Bollywood, and Shahrukh Khan’s fan base in the city is huge. The production
team wanted to present identiable marks of the city, especially those associ-
ated with postcards and tourism videos. It isn’t surprising, therefore, that the
audience is introduced to London through an overhead drone sequence of stock
footage combined with a radio voiceover soundtrack.24 This entry into London
follows a sequence showing a disillusioned Gaurav lighting a match to burn
his fan collection on a terrace and saying to himself, “Fans chase stars, now a
star will chase a fan”. The camera zooms out to reveal Delhi’s rooftop neigh-
bourhood against a hazy winter night sky, with the metro faintly visible in the
distant background. It is from here that we abruptly cut to high-angle drone
shots of London as the camera glides over the river Thames, travelling across
to show London’s landmarks – the Tower Bridge, the Business District, well-
known buildings like the Gherkin and the Shard, St Paul’s Cathedral, and Trafal-
gar Square. This combination of postmodern architecture and historic buildings
like St. Paul’s Cathedral is evocative of London’s aerial views and highlights its
place as a major nancial and tourist centre. On the soundtrack, we hear a radio
programme on Bollywood, with the commentator referring to Aryan Khanna’s
London show, sponsored by Hyundai. We also hear that London is the star’s
favourite city and then follow the actor (Gaurav) running through the streets to
end up outside Madam Tussauds. The excessive force of stardom is showcased
spatially via images of a globalised landscape of celebrity events, endorsements,
performances, electronic billboards, and wax museums. This is a world within
which Aryan Khanna moves as a transnational super star, and the mechanisms
of his stardom, as it connects international space, global entertainment, and a
jet-set life, are foregrounded (Figure 3.10). The act of cartography in this entire
Figure 3.10 Aerial view of London in Fan.
Source: Yash Raj Films
Destination Europe 57
sequence is generated by recognisable city signs, drawing on the signicance of
the Indian diaspora in Khan’s global stardom.
The second location, Dubrovnik, in Croatia, was selected with some care.
Dubrovnik is the destination after London, and the entry to the city is also shot with
a drone camera that glides over red-tiled roofs in the Old Town on a bright sunny
day. Dubrovnik was selected after director, Maneesh Sharma visited ten cities in
search of an ideal location for a foot chase with Shahrukh Khan chasing his double,
the younger fan now turned foe.25 The city has been widely popularised as a tourist
destination by the HBO series Game of Thrones. Dubrovnik is usually a favoured
location for period lms, largely due to the well-preserved iconic sites of the Old
Town and its Renaissance architecture. The defensive stone wall surrounding the
Old Town has the Adriatic Sea on one side and red roof tops on the other. The chase
was structured to ensure navigation of the stone walls, archways, covered streets,
and a range of gothic buildings. Part of the chase was shot in Dubrovnik and part
on a set in Mumbai.
In a video titled Croatia Diaries, addressing the infrastructural arrangements
provided by the Croatian authorities, we see Shahrukh Khan oer his apprecia-
tion of the facilities made available to them.26 A Croatian media representative
highlights the heritage value of the Old Town. Unlike the London segment, where
a recognisable modernity was on display, here we have an encounter with heritage
architecture (Figure 3.11). The production team recalled the strict heritage archi-
tecture laws they had to negotiate to ensure no damage was done to any wall or
roof. Dubrovnik’s Old Town now nds mention in the list of World Heritage sites.
It was bombed in 1991 and was then supported by UNESCO as part of a restoration
project. A special donation of pink tiles helped restore the damage to the dramatic
roofs in the Old Town, also referred to as the fth façade of the city. There are seg-
ments in Croatia Diaries that show how steps were taken to ensure protection of
the site, and this is portrayed as no small achievement since it put pressure on the
Figure 3.11 View of Dubrovnik’s Old Town architecture in Fan.
Source: Yash Raj Films
58 Ranjani Mazumdar
production process. Following the release of the lm and the “making of” videos,
Dubrovnik’s popularisation by Game of Thrones was overlaid by Fan’s use of the
Old Town, and tourist guides have commented on how many arriving in the city
after 2016 have asked for the Shahrukh Khan tour.27
There is another “making of” video that provides specic details of how the
action sequence in Dubrovnik was mounted.28 We learn that Gaurav’s running style
was drawn from the visual archive of the actor’s 1993 lm, Darr (Yash Chopra)
Figure 3.12 Shahrukh Khan’s running style in Fan.
Source: Yash Raj Films
Destination Europe 59
(Figure 3.12). Khan had played the role of an obsessive stalker in Darr, and this
persona clearly inuenced the way Gaurav was characterised in Fan, something
made evident in the video with the inclusion of a chase sequence from the earlier
lm showing a young Sahahrukh Khan running through a busy street (Figure 3.13).
This deep history of the actor’s running style in Darr is literally pulled out of a pub-
lic archive of lm memory to frame Gaurav’s movement in the Dubrovnik chase
sequence. Khan has always been known for his energetic and speedy body move-
ments on screen, and the wildly crazy and fast paced chase staged in Dubrovnik
was designed to access the heritage architecture associated with the Old Town. In
the “making of” videos, we see all the negotiations that were critical to the way
navigation was structured in the mapping of space. It was the star’s screen biog-
raphy that framed the movement, highlighting the uniquely dierent topography
of this well-maintained medieval town in Europe.29 The video also focuses on an
injury caused during the shooting, and this adds to the performative energy and
mythology associated with the actor’s battle with his own body to ensure the pain
would not get in the way of the energetic navigation of the layout. We see the actor
double up in pain every time the camera stops shooting, drawing attention to the
complex relay between the prolmic and lmic. This is a sequence that brings
together a conuence of energies drawn from the star’s and director’s embodied
past and present, highlighting what Verhoe has referred to as “performative car-
tography” (2012). While Verhoe makes distinctions between mobile media forms
and those linked to xed projection like cinema and television, these borders are
porous when it comes to aesthetic strategies in an all-pervasive digital context. As
Shane Denson has suggested, post-cinema forms do not always need to be viewed
as a clean break from the past. Rather, we must recognise how the aesthetic imagi-
nation is being shaped by “an environment that has been thoroughly transformed
by the operation of computational processing” (2020, p. 2). It is this recognition of
a techno-environmental shift that explains why Neepa Majumdar identies a uid
Figure 3.13 Shahrukh Khan being chased in Darr.
Source: Yash Raj Films
60 Ranjani Mazumdar
movement between real and digital space in the Dubrovnik action sequence (2017,
p. 153). What Majumdar is perhaps alluding to is a shooting and editing style that is
aimed at a spectator located in intermedial space. The sensation of the actor’s wild
movement, split across two dierent characters, is enhanced by the “crazy cam-
era” operations of our post-cinema context, defying the camera’s traditional role
in the capture of space (Denson 2020). The crazy camera eect mediates dierent
apparatuses, blurs on-screen and o-screen modes of perceptual experiences, and
denies the spectator a stable point of view. As I see it, the high-speed navigational
imagination of the chase in Dubrovnik draws on the stylistic cues of mobile media
forms where the viewer is allowed to “feel” the sensation of chaotic movement
through architectural space. In presenting the chase like this, the post-cinema envi-
ronment of Fan is foregrounded as a distinct departure from the context that had
framed the chase in Darr. The Dictionary of Human Geography (Gregory et al.
2009) refers to performative mapping as an approach that focuses on practices
and processes, and how maps are made in embodied and contextual ways. The
prolmic traces of Fan, available in the two “making of” videos discussed here,
provide us with exactly such an account of cinematic cartography.
To conclude, this chapter has methodologically worked with a movement
between the prolmic and lmic to open out a system that allows trade, diplomatic
channels, industrial networks, and technological forces to come to the fore as the
infrastructural esh that frames the aesthetic constellation of Europe in contem-
porary Bombay cinema. The screen events that I have discussed here are linked
to procedural negotiations that are both minute and large, involving a range of
stakeholders. In these negotiations, we see both the use of space and the produc-
tion of space. Through my analysis, I have tried to imagine these on-screen depic-
tions of European locations as dynamic interfaces that carry the inscriptions of
transnational networks and function as “cinematic maps” that are born out of a
contemporary understanding of the relationship between space, place, power, and
technology.
Acknowledgement
This chapter has come out of research conducted under the aegis of Equip: EU-
India Social Science and Humanities Platform funded by the Indian Council of
Social Science Research (ICSSR).
Notes
1 For a sense of the IIFTC Infrastructure and activities, see their ocial website www.
iiftc.com/
2 Drawn from interviews with several Line Producers and Executive Producers in
Bombay – Smriti Jain, Kunal Kapoor, Tanvi Gandhi, Vivek Aggarwal, Rucha Pathak,
etc. March 2020.
3 Interview with Rengarajan Jaiprakash, Line Producer for War and Ashish Singh, Execu-
tive Producer for Fan. Part of the Equip Project. March 2020.
4 Cineport: India’s First Film Location Guide, published by the IIFTC, November 21, 2020.
5 Ibid.
Destination Europe 61
6 For a detailed analysis of Wa r ’s narrative use of surveillance and mapping devices, see
Sharma (2022).
7 For a conceptual analysis of the relationship between the aesthetics of the GPS map and
the espionage genre, see Sen (2021).
8 See Lapland Above Ordinary, available from: www.lapland./lm/for-productions/
war-bollywood-action-movie-lapland/.
9 Making of the car chase sequence in Wa r , available from: www.youtube.com/
watch?v=PHn4RJYc01I.
10 Hollywood action director Paul Jennings says “War” sequences at par with “Mission
Impossible” The New Indian Express, 16.09.2019, available from: www.newindianex
press.com/entertainment/hindi/2019/sep/16/hollywood-action-director-paul-jennings-
says-war-sequences-at-par-with-mission-impossible-2034454.html.
11 Making of the car chase sequence in War, available from: www.youtube.com/
watch?v=PHn4RJYc01I.
12 Ibid.
13 Ibid.
14 Ibid.
15 Making of the bike chase sequence in Wa r, available from: www.dailymotion.com/
video/x7ukupw.
16 For an analysis of the bike chase with a focus on the bodies of the actors in action, see
Sharma (2022).
17 Hrittik Roshan versus Tiger Shro: War shuts down Portugal bridge for two days,
India Today, 30.08.2019, available at: www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/
hrithik-roshan-vs-tiger-shroff-war-shuts-down-portugal-bridge-for-2-days-details-
here-1593598-2019-08-30.
18 10 years of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara – Zoya Akhtar and Rima Kagti inter-
viewed by Anupama Chopra Film Companion, available at: www.youtube.com/
watch?v=4aRARo0cXDk.
19 For more on the diverse logics shaping the road movie genre in an international context,
see Cohan and Hark (1997).
20 Making of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Part 2, available at: www.youtube.com/
watch?v=tcdfx7RgNJw.
21 Making of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Part 3, available at: www.youtube.com/
watch?v=xzVyHair-LM.
22 The Spanish government oered the production team concessions to help with the tour-
ism market. Zindagi released in July 2011 and by September of the same year, tourism
from India to Spain rose by 32%. The lm was produced in collaboration with the Span-
ish tourism promotion agency, Turespaña.
23 Making of Tamasha in Bastia, Corsica, available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=
E9_LmhiJYb8; Behind the scenes of Tamasha, available from: www.youtube.com/
watch?v=_gU1KQaZxPY; Bollywood in Corsica: Making of Tamasha, available at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZYO0pDXoh8; Matargashti backstage video song, avail-
able from: www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6Hhvph2i4w.
24 Interview with Manu Anand, the cinematographer of Fan, Bombay, March 2020.
25 Ibid.
26 See Making of Fan: Croatia Diaries, available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMY
wAZX-k00.
27 Mark Thomas, “Dubrovnik feeling the Shahrukh Khan eect”, Dubrovnik Times,
18.02.2016, available from: www.thedubrovniktimes.com/news/dubrovnik/item/309-
dubrovnik-feeling-the-shah-rukh-khan-eect.
28 Behind the scenes action in Fan, available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4q
PRxj227I.
29 For a dierent analysis of the Dubrovnik sequence and its novel use of special eects to
stage the body in action, see Sharma (2022).
62 Ranjani Mazumdar
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DOI: 10.4324/9781003293347-6
This chapter has been made available under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Introduction
A large dance troupe of mostly Indian dancers dressed in extravagant costumes
with a distinct Indian touch spin and dance to loud, hip-hop-infused music. The
moves grow bolder and more extroverted, capturing the attention of the audience.
The air is lled with infectious energy. You are transported to an exotic place – but
the snow-covered Alps in the background bring you back to Europe because this
Bollywood lm extravaganza was actually lmed in Slovenia. This small country
in the heart of Europe is only one of the countries used when Indian lming goes
international.
The fast-growing Indian lm industry – one of the largest in the world (Josiam
2014) – has incorporated European locations since the 1960s. Picturesque lming
locations have a strong appeal to audiences and, at the same time, have sparked
new business ties between India and Europe (Josiam 2014; Jain 2019). Indian
lmmaking has attracted the attention of scholars for several decades, who have
explored various angles and aspects, including cultural transfer between the Indian
and European environments (Rajagopalan 2006; Banaji 2013; Cucco and Scaglioni
2014; Lourenço 2017; Gyimóthy 2018).
This chapter focuses on the representation of landscapes and landscape features
in Indian lms shot in Europe. Conceptually, the research was built around four
notions: lm, landscape, visuality, and representation – in particular, landscape
representation. Representation is a concept for framing people’s sensitivity to the
world, and the landscape is one of the pillars thereof (Olwig 2005; Urbanc et al.
2021). A lm is a communication tool and discursive practice for expressing and
representing the relationship between people and landscapes (Farsø and Petersen
2015). It is a mode that helps understand geographical phenomena and a medium to
communicate geographical knowledge (Saunders and Strukov 2018; Kirby 2021).
The focus here is on lm as a subject of inquiry and not on lm as a research prac-
tice (for the latter, see Garrett 2011; Brickell and Garrett 2013; Jacobs 2013, 2016).
Film is a visual medium that transmits a physical sense of place and culture.
“The modern age gives a special place to visuality, to human vision, and to the
process of visualizing, and this characteristic of modernity has played a prominent
role in shaping the contemporary world as we experience it” (Glynn 2015, p. 294).
4 Portraying European landscapes
in Indian lms
Mimi Urbanc, Primož Gašperič, and Jani Kozina
64 Mimi Urbanc et al.
Despite awareness of other (than lm) tools for capturing human sensitivities, such
as art, literature, and music, lm was selected to frame the modern world. One rea-
son might be that lm is a ne example of visual culture embedded in the modern
sociopolitical context (Davison and Falihi 2010) or, as Sommerlad (2022, p. 122)
put it: “lm locations . . . are a good example to trace the reciprocal eects between
cinematic worlds and spheres of everyday life”.
Landscape is one of geography’s fundamental concepts (Wylie 2009). At rst
glance, it might seem unambiguous, but it is not mainly due to its complexity.
Landscape is a tangible as well as intangible (mental, inspired) concept, although
in this chapter landscape is understood as a “way of seeing”, as Cosgrove (1998)
explains. The complexity of the meaning of landscape was well described by
Mitchell (1994, p. 166), who stated:
Landscape is a natural scene mediated by culture. It is both a represented
and presented space, both a signier and a signied, both a frame and what
a frame contains, both a real place and its simulacrum, both a package and a
commodity in the package.
This denition justies the landscape’s suitability for dening the relationship
between people and their environment.
The complex relationship between cinema and landscape, especially the role of
landscapes and how they support the narrative of a lm, has attracted considerable
scholarly attention (see Harper and Rayner 2010; Kumer 2019). This research is
believed to be the rst attempt to study a large and comprehensive set of lms by
evaluating all landscape elements of each of them. This is possible due to a quanti-
tative approach, which allows for a quantiable representation of the scale at which
certain landscape elements appear in the lms. In this way, it oers new options to
study lm locations.
The study was conducted in ve European countries: Finland, Poland, Slo-
venia, Sweden, and Switzerland. The empirical part includes a detailed analysis
of the geographical representations of European locations in Indian cinema. The
geographical elements in the lms were analysed according to categories such as
urban, rural, mountain, and water.
The dichotomy of urban and rural is the most basic division of two types of
places that exist universally (Konjar et al. 2018) and is the rst step in distinguish-
ing between patterns of modernity and traditionalism. The goal was to determine
which urban and rural characteristics are associated with modern and traditional
places of action. Do Indian lmmakers look for urban elements and built envi-
ronments in urban regions (especially cultural heritage such as old town centres,
castles, and bridges), or are they also interested in nearby rural areas and their
corresponding natural beauty? Mountains have been an important element of
Indian lmmaking in Europe since the release of Sangam in 1964, when the Swiss
countryside became a popular lming location for Indian producers. Snow-capped
peaks, glaciers, or mountain pastures provided romantic backdrops in Bollywood
musicals (Gyimóthy 2018). The goal was to determine whether this geographical
Portraying European landscapes in Indian lms 65
pattern persists in contemporary lms and other non-Swiss destinations. Water as
a characteristic geographical element is an important part of Indian iconography
because it ranks highest among the ve basic elements of nature (Sharma 2008).
The aim was to determine whether various water elements constitute an important
aspect of European scenes in Indian lmmaking. All of the aforementioned ques-
tions form the objective of this chapter; that is, to identify geographical elements
of European screen locations in Indian lms and to reect more broadly on how
European landscapes are used in Indian lm production.
The intention is not to show how landscapes support a narrative of a particular
lm or several of them. Landscape is understood as a medium for human interac-
tion with the environment, and therefore it provides insights into culture (Aitken
and Dixon 2006). To identify the pattern of how landscapes are depicted in Indian
lms shot in Europe, a considerably large and representative pool of lms was
examined, and this guided the approach to lm analysis.
Building a methodological approach to lm analysis
The methodological approach was based on a previous photo analysis to identify
the geographical imagination of Slovenian landscapes (Urbanc et al. 2015). It was
subsequently further developed and applied to a large-scale study of students’ geo-
graphical imagination of landscapes (Urbanc et al. 2016, 2021). For this chapter,
it was adapted for lm analysis (Kozina 2021). The empirical part of the study
is based on a sample of 34 lms released between 2010 and 2018 with only two
exceptions: the blockbusters Fanaa (2006) and Wa r (2019). The lms were shot
in ve countries in Europe: Finland, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, and Switzerland.
The selection of countries was based on several factors. Diverse countries were
included to identify nuances and capture subtle dierences between European
locations. First, broad geographic coverage and a wide variety of natural, social,
and cultural phenomena were chosen. Second, the countries should be attractive to
Indian lm producers to varying degrees. A prior study (Kozina 2021) shows that
Switzerland has been a highly attractive country for years, Slovenia and Poland
moderately attractive countries, and Finland and Sweden less attractive countries
for Indian lm production in Europe.
The study followed systematic and rigorous steps: lm selection, scene selec-
tion, variable and parameter development, data extraction/coding, and analysis. In
an attempt to mitigate individual biases and establish coherence and uniformity in
all the steps, a set of methodological documents was prepared, containing infor-
mation not only about the content but also about processual and logistical steps.
Pursuing a solid central framework, the team worked in a tightly integrated manner
and made possible thorough discussions within the whole team via online meet-
ings, workshops, and e-mails.
Film selection (Figure 4.1) started with information from IMDb, which was
amended by additional online sources and interviews with experts in the eld.
A pool of 195 lms was created (2 from Finland, 24 from Poland, 13 from Slovenia,
2 from Sweden, and 154 from Switzerland). To ensure comparability and establish
66 Mimi Urbanc et al.
a coherent pool, the upper limit was set at ten movies per country. The inclusion
criteria consisted of: a) public availability of lms on YouTube, Facebook, and
Vimeo, and b) popularity (based on the number of votes on IMDb) criteria. The
nal set consists of 34 lms (Table 4.1): two from Finland, ten from Poland, ten
from Slovenia, two from Sweden, and ten from Switzerland. The timeframe was
extended to include two blockbuster movies with high impact and popularity. One
was lmed in Finland (War 2019) and the other in Poland (Fanaa 2006).
Scene selection focused on a scene as the unit of analysis. It is dened as a
continuous lm scene within a single European locational setting. A lm scene
changes when the action moves to another locational setting. Location refers to
places in geographical space such as cities, towns, villages, regions, or areas (e.g.
the Alps) and not micro-locations within such places (e.g. dierent micro-locations
within a particular city or area). The total number of scenes was 594 (Table 4.1): 14
in Finland, 138 in Poland, 168 in Slovenia, 126 in Sweden, and 148 in Switzerland.
An extensive set of variables was developed, consisting of three broad groups
(Table 4.2). The rst group comprises the scene’s technical details, such as lm
Figure 4.1 Film-selection process.
Source: Own elaboration
Portraying European landscapes in Indian lms 67
Table 4.1 Selected lms and scenes by countries involved.
Country No. of
lms
Titles No. of
scenes
Share of
scenes (%)
Finland 2 Shamitabh, 2015; War, 2019 14 2
Poland 10 Fanaa, 2006; Saguni, 2012;
Kick, 2014; Bangistan, 2015;
Shaandaar, 2015; Fitoor, 2016;
24, 2016; Shivaay, 2016; Mersal,
2017; Andhadhun, 2018
138 23
Slovenia 10 Naayak, 2013; Doosukeltha, 2013;
Pandavulu Thummeda, 2014;
Super Ranga, 2014; Mr. Airavata,
2015; Babu Bangaram, 2016;
Mungaru Male 2, 2016; Khaidi
No. 150, 2017; Bharjari, 2017;
Vivegam, 2017
168 28
Sweden 2 Ship of Theseus, 2012; Jia aur
Jia, 2017
126 21
Switzerland 10 Don Seenu, 2010; Dookudu, 2011;
Endukante . . . Premanta, 2012;
Baadshah, 2013; Krrish 3, 2013;
Dhoom:3, 2013; Endrendrum Pun-
nagai, 2013; Race Gurram, 2014;
Pooja, 2014; Simmba, 2018
148 25
Total 34 594 100
Source: Own elaboration.
Table 4.2 Selected variables.
Group Variables
Scene ID Basic lm information: lm title, IMDb link, year
Scene information: consecutive number of scene, scene starting
and ending time, scene length
Type of scene within a particular location setting: song
sequence, storyline
Geographical
characteristics
Recognisability from coder’s perspective and naming of scene:
country, (un)known location, name of location, name of exact
micro-location(s)
Recognisability from viewer’s perspective: known or unknown,
indications of known location, indications of “fake location”
Urban-rural elements (from viewer’s perspective): predomi-
nance of urban or rural features, types of urban features, types
of rural features
Mountainous elements: inclusion of mountains elements in
setting
Water elements: water presence, types of water features
Source: Own elaboration.
68 Mimi Urbanc et al.
title, year, and length. The second group considers content criteria that focus on
geographical characteristics, such as location and landscape elements, focusing on
the urban–rural dichotomy, and mountain and water features. The third group con-
siders sociocultural characteristics, such as the main activity and relevance of a
scene to the lm plot. This chapter utilises variables in the rst group and selected
variables in the second group.
The selected variables were formulated as closed questions that either oered
predened choices or required a specic piece of information (a word or a single
sentence). They were divided into three subtypes: a) dichotomous choices (yes/
no), b) choices with predened categories (e.g. the variable rural features visible in
the setting oered the following categories: elds, meadows, grassland, etc.), and
c) open choices (e.g. year of production).
Data extraction and analysis started with building an audiovisual database con-
sisting of full lms, clips of scenes shot in Europe, and image stills. Each national
team (Slovenian, Swiss, Finish, and Polish) performed data extraction for its scenes
after thorough joint discussions in workshops and e-mail correspondence. After
carrying out the evaluation test, the analysis followed, checking and clearing data,
and removing inconsistencies. The team then assigned numerical values to catego-
ries. The basics of the sample, as well as patterns in the variables and relationships
among them, were explored with descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages,
and mean) and cross-tabulations.
European landscapes portrayed in Indian lms
The results of the comparative analysis oer an in-depth geographical overview of
European locations as presented in Indian lms. Section “General characteristics
of the scenes” presents general characteristics, such as the length and type of scene,
and the spatial distribution of screen locations and their recognisability for Indian
audiences. Section on “Geographical characteristics” identies and explains major
geographical elements of European screen locations. The focus is on urban–rural,
mountain, and water typologies.
General characteristics of the scenes
The lms analysed contain 594 scenes (on average 17 scenes per lm), which are
often rather short. On average, they are 43 seconds long, but the dierence between
song scenes and storylines is pronounced. The former are on average 21 seconds
long and the latter 70 seconds long. The length is between one second and 340 and
460 seconds, respectively. Switching from one scene and location to another is
generally swift and dynamic. One reason for the brevity of scenes is that European
scenes tend to be more often song sequences (56%), which contain shorter lm
clips. Storyline scenes predominate only in lms shot in Sweden and Finland (87%
and 64%, respectively), whereas song sequences strongly predominate in the lms
shot in Slovenia (89%). In the case of Poland and Switzerland, both forms are most
balanced. This indicates that Slovenia is a popular country to shoot song sequences
Portraying European landscapes in Indian lms 69
Table 4.3 The most common urban and rural places in selected countries.
Country Urban settings Rural settings
Finland Helsinki Lapland
Poland Kraków, Gdańsk, Poznań,
Warsaw, Rzeszów
Tatra Mountains, Podzamcze (Silesian
Voivodeship), Stołowe Mountains
Slovenia Ljubljana, Piran, Bled, Mari-
bor, Kamnik
Bohinj, Štanjel, Big Pasture Plateau, Ptuj,
Vintgar Gorge, Jezersko, Logar Valley
Sweden Malmö, Stockholm, Lund Arctic circle (Gulf of Bothnia)
Switzerland Bern, Geneva, Zürich Swiss Alps, Bernese Alps, Canton of Valais
Source: Own elaboration.
as a backdrop, whereas the Scandinavian scenes are embedded in the plot of the
lm. However, it must be considered that only four lms were shot there. It will be
interesting to see whether future lms follow the same pattern.
The majority of the lming locations (82%) were known to the data collectors.
This suggests that Indian lms tend to be shot in locations that are internationally
and/or nationally known or recognisable, or in places with a particular landscape or
scenery associated with the country in question (Table 4.3, Figure 4.2). The micro-
locations in the lms shot in Sweden are imminently urban; geographically, most
scenes were also shot in the Skåne region, a landscape strongly associated with
Swedish lm production. The locations in the Finnish scenes are distributed fairly
evenly between urban and rural settings, with scenes shot in both Helsinki and the
Lapland region in the Arctic Circle. The Slovenian scenes are rich in locations.
Castles, streets, and squares predominate, but there are also lakes, bridges, parks,
gardens, piers, shores, hotels, churches, and caves. In the Polish scenes, micro-
locations related to the urban landscape dominate. These are mainly the old towns
Figure 4.2 Cloud tag generated from the lming locations. The size depends on frequency.
Source: Own elaboration
70 Mimi Urbanc et al.
of large cities, famous historical sites, landmarks (such as the Palace of Culture and
Science in Warsaw or Wawel Castle in Kraków), and the streets of these historic
areas. The non-urban locations are mainly palaces and castles. Of the natural loca-
tions, there are mountain valleys and lakes (mainly from the Tatra Mountains). The
micro-locations of the lms shot in Switzerland are quite diverse and range from
rural (meadows, lakes, vineyards, and castles) and famous Alpine destinations (the
Sphinx Observatory on the Jungfraujoch or the Matterhorn) to picturesque towns
(Thun), city centres (downtown Bern), and airports (Geneva and Zürich).
The recognisability of screen locations from the viewer’s perspective depends
on clear locational indications such as visible place names, ags, famous town-
scapes, and important historical landmarks. It varies slightly between countries;
most scenes with a clear locational indication come from lms shot in Switzerland
(35%). Similarly, there is also a high percentage of clear clues in the Finnish loca-
tions (23%), which may be explained by a small number of lms. Conversely,
only 8% and 4% of the scenes in the Slovenian and Polish samples, respectively,
are known with clear locational information. Thirteen percent of scenes with clear
clues position Sweden in the middle.
The small number of Polish scenes with unique locations may be explained by
the fact that Polish locations (5% of them) are used as fake locations (e.g. Kraków,
Warsaw, and Brzesko as substitutes for London). However, this is not the only
reason. The most ctionalised locations were found in lms shot in Switzerland
(26%); they often stand in for other countries (e.g. the United States, France, or
Germany) and cities (e.g. Chicago). In the Finnish and Swedish scenes, the c-
tionalised locations (14% and 15%, respectively) usually consisted of well-known
national landmarks: for example, churches representing other buildings. Only 2%
of the Slovenian scenes are used for ctionalised locations.
Geographical characteristics
European lming locations in Indian lms are predominantly urban settings (72%).
Such lming locations are more signicant in Poland and Sweden, whereas Swit-
zerland and Finland, in contrast, also exhibit more rural features (Figure 4.3).
Switzerland, in particular, stands out with its predominant mountain landscapes.
The rural background is also somewhat more representative in the romantic song
sequences.
European cities and towns in Indian lms are represented by various elements
(Figure 4.4). However, historic cities and buildings are more common in the Pol-
ish, Swiss, and Slovenian scenes and less visible in the Nordic context. Instead,
modern cities and buildings are more often seen in Sweden and transport districts
in Finland. Central Europe seems to build its competitive advantage on (medieval)
heritage, culture, and tradition. At the same time, northern Europe, known for its
avant-garde architecture and a stronger focus on high-tech industry and innovation,
focuses more on the modern urban fabric. Green and blue infrastructure stand out in
Slovenia, implying a more rural appearance of urban environments in this country.
Portraying European landscapes in Indian lms 71
Figure 4.3 Share of urban and rural settings (dierences between countries).
Source: Own elaboration
Figure 4.4 Types of urban features visible in the settings.
Source: Own elaboration
This is not surprising because Slovenia does not have many large cities and thus
has one of the most rural characteristics in Europe (Dijkstra and Poelman 2014).
Dierences between scene types reveal that romantic song sequences are more
often portrayed within historical cities and buildings and are surrounded by green
and blue infrastructure. In contrast, regular sequences are more often dominated
72 Mimi Urbanc et al.
by modern cities and buildings and transport infrastructure. The narratives seem to
be more often set in contemporary urban environments, whereas heritage elements
usually romanticise song scenes.
The European countryside in Indian lms is presented by only a few elements
(Figure 4.5). However, there are some signicant dierences between the coun-
tries. The Swiss countryside is more often presented by mountains and typical
Alpine villages and architecture. Poland and Slovenia – the latter being the third
most forested country in the European Union (Eurostat 2018) – are mostly depicted
as green countries with forests, meadows, and grasslands. It is surprising that in
Finland and Sweden, the only countries where the share of forests exceeds that of
Slovenia (Eurostat 2018), forests receive less attention, and elds are more visible.
Not surprisingly, elds are prominent in scenes shot in Poland, which is indeed
a strong agricultural country. Looking at rural elements by scene type shows a
greater presence of meadows and grasslands in song sequences, whereas elds tend
to be used more often as a setting in a storyline.
Mountains are a moderately pronounced feature of European lming locations
(35%). The frequency of mountains exceeds that of rural elements, which occur in
less than one-third of settings (28%). This means that mountains are also depicted
in urban environments. The overlap of urban and mountainous motifs is hardly
surprising, especially when a cross-country comparison is made. Two countries
contribute decisively to the representation of mountainous landscapes in selected
lm scenes: Switzerland and Slovenia (Figure 4.6). In both countries, not only is
the topography rugged and mountainous (less so in Slovenia) but the towns are also
small (Morisson 2021). In contrast, fewer mountainous scenes are shot in Sweden,
Figure 4.5 Types of rural features visible in the settings.
Source: Own elaboration
Portraying European landscapes in Indian lms 73
Finland, and Poland, which is related to the topography of these countries and, in
the case of Poland, to the greater concentration of lming locations in historical
cities such as Kraków, Gdańsk, and Poznań.
Mountains are more often positioned in the background of song sequences,
implying their romantic role. As a rule, they do not carry the story but presumably
serve as a captivating background motif. This “circumstantial” position could be
explained by the technical and logistical challenges of lming in these locations,
but it is eortless to use them as a background because elevated landforms are
usually highly visible. Mountains that appear in lm scenes convey a considerable
variety of height and land cover. Hills (i.e. forested and green) slightly predomi-
nate (63%) over high mountains with rocky, barren, or snow-covered areas (57%).
Scenes with high mountains are most often shot in Switzerland, and scenes with
hilly images are most often shot in Slovenia (Figure 4.7). The Indian lm industry
tends to remain faithful to the original image of Switzerland (i.e. high mountains),
which sparked Indian lmmakers’ preference for European locations since the
1960s and especially in the 1990s (Tissot 2019). More recently, however, lming
locations are no longer limited to mountains. Comparing song sequences and sto-
rylines by mountain type reveals slight dierences. When mountains appear in the
narrative, they are more likely to be high mountains. One explanation for this could
be the ability of high mountains to act as a dramatic eect or to convey a sense of
uniqueness. Compared to hills, which are ubiquitous in Europe, barren high moun-
tains occur only in the Alps and are therefore less frequently seen in lmmaking.
Figure 4.6 Mountainous and non-mountainous elements of the setting (dierences between
countries).
Source: Own elaboration
74 Mimi Urbanc et al.
As a characteristic geographical element and an important component of Indian
iconography (Sharma 2008), water is depicted slightly less frequently than mountains
(29%). Standing bodies of water (lakes and seas) are the most signicant category
(61%), whereas owing bodies of water (rivers and waterfalls) are a less important
element (25%). Water as a weather phenomenon is rare, appearing as snow in 15%
and rain in only 4% of all settings. Therefore, one could imagine that water serves as
a scene element for the lmmakers during nice (especially sunny) days.
The presence of water varies among the selected countries, but it does not
appear in even half of the scenes in any of them. Water appears more frequently in
mountainous Slovenia and Switzerland and in Finland as “the land of a thousand
lakes” on the one hand, and less often in Sweden and Poland on the other hand.
In Switzerland, the absence of the sea is logical due to its continental location.
Instead, lakes are the most signicant category in this country. There is also no sea
in Polish scenes. The reason for this is probably the (cold) Baltic Sea and coastal
plains, which are not as attractive for lming as other parts of the country, such as
locations along rivers, which are a predominant category from this point of view.
Filming locations in Slovenia and Sweden contain many places by the sea, but for
completely dierent reasons. Unlike Sweden, which is a maritime country and has
a varied coastline with typical landscape features, Slovenia has a very short coast-
line but is on the Mediterranean Sea, with a pleasant climate and famous historical
and tourist sites. The settings from Finland also contain many places by the sea as
well as lakes, but the snow (in Lapland) stands out (Figure 4.8).
Scenes with water are more often part of song sequences than of storylines,
which is especially true for the occurrence of rivers and lakes. The exception is
the occurrence of rain, which occurs exclusively in storylines (Figure 4.9). One
Figure 4.7 Types of mountains visible in the settings (dierences between countries; “other”
in the lms shot in Sweden refers to rocks or small clis, not large enough to be
counted as mountains; i.e. erratics or boulders).
Source: Own elaboration
Portraying European landscapes in Indian lms 75
Figure 4.8 Types of water visible in the settings (dierences between countries).
Source: Own elaboration
Figure 4.9 Types of water visible in the settings (dierences between scene types).
Source: Own elaboration
often imagines many scenes in Indian movies where pleasant rain makes peo-
ple happy (especially farmers and lovers). The basis for such an idea is that rural
India, with its vast areas of cultivated land, depends on the rainy season. Similarly,
urban settlements depend on monsoon rains during the hot summer (Ravi 2016).
76 Mimi Urbanc et al.
The theoretical link between the importance of water (especially rain) in India and
the creation of a romantic atmosphere (establishing romance, dancing, singing,
etc.) typical of song sequences may be deceptive. Based on the data in this study,
such ideas cannot be conrmed in Europe.
Discussion
Neutral landscapes
Film landscapes are often (mis)used to reinforce national(istic) ideas and feelings
(McLoone 2010). Lukinbeal (2005, p. 3) stated that “Landscape gives meaning to
cinematic events and positions narratives within a particular scale and historical
context”. Unlike a national cinematic identity based on how culture, traditions,
struggles, and landscapes are represented (Spicer 2010), there is no national agenda
behind foreign (Indian) lmmaking in Europe. The landscapes used are not loaded
with national narratives and neuralgic points of history. Indian lms do not show
forms of self-representation, but rather an outsider’s perspective and alienation
from national narratives.
Following the mirror metaphor, and if one understands cinema in general as
a mirror of society (Kumar and Pandey 2017), one could say that Indian lms
provide Europeans with a neutral view of the landscape. In other words, the land-
scapes are not deep or multidimensional, but rather at. Only the surface or the
exterior, the visible layer, is shown. European settings focusing on landscapes that
contain a variety of elements and aspects are rarely an integral part of the nar-
rative, but mostly serve as charming posters. Even when a European location is
embedded in the lm’s plot, the relationship between the lm’s narrative and the
landscape depicted remains supercial. This is especially true in those lms where
European locations were used only for dance scenes. The storytelling aspect is not
pronounced; it is more about visuality.
National landscape stereotypes and recognisability
Despite the neutrality of the landscape in Indian lms that include scenes shot in
Europe, they still unintentionally convey national narratives. Leach (2010) and Aru
and Capineri (2021) note that national narratives are often based on stereotypes.
Indeed, iconic and stereotypical images are immediately recognisable means of
conveying national narratives in the pool of lms. The lms successfully use the
most iconic landscapes that serve as anchors for national landscape stereotypes,
such as Kraków in Poland and Bled in Slovenia. Other examples are the mountains,
which are visible in the scenes shot in Slovenia and Switzerland, the old medieval
towns depicted in the Polish scenes, and the snowy landscapes shown in the polar
parts of Finland (Figure 4.10).
This fact is hardly surprising because Indian lmmakers choose a location based
on their perception of a particular country. National stereotypes and iconic land-
scapes are the main vehicles for creating an image of the self and others. Second,
Indian lmmakers often collaborate with local businesses and institutions, and,
Portraying European landscapes in Indian lms 77
third, national incentives and subsidies are often tied to shooting iconic landscapes
(Janta and Herzog 2023). It can be concluded that Indian lms retain and use ste-
reotypical images of shooting countries and that European national ideas have been
successfully transferred into Indian lm production. Through iconic and widely
known lming locations, Indian lms perpetuate the European self-image.
The use of iconic landscapes and clear indications are probably the most impor-
tant factors of recognisability. Studies (see Urbanc et al. 2021) show that recognis-
ability is directly linked to distinctive features, clearly dened form, structure, and
obvious meaning. All of these elements are found in the pool of scenes studied here.
Diverse and versatile landscapes
The results convey a wide variety of landscape elements that correspond to dier-
ences among the countries studied. The heterogeneity of Europe is well reected
in Indian lms with European settings. This means that Indian lmmakers are not
fascinated by a single type of landscape, but are attracted by diversity. The argu-
ment that supports this nding is the dynamic between scenes and settings; the shift
Figure 4.10 Iconic landscapes are widely featured in Indian lms shot in Poland, Sweden,
Finland, Slovenia, and Switzerland. Lapland in winter (top left), modern urban
centre in Scandinavia (top centre), Bled (top right), Tatra Mountains (centre
left), Warsaw skyline (centre), downtown Ljubljana (centre right), Matterhorn
aerial view (bottom left), Lake Brienz (bottom centre), and Piran peninsula
(bottom right).
Source: Kushnirov Avraham (top left), Grigory Bruev (top centre), Maja Topole (top right), Artur Hen-
ryk (centre left), Wojciech Zieliński (centre), Tryfonov (centre right), 4Max (bottom left), Can (bottom
centre), Csák István (bottom right). All photos but top right are from AdobeStock
78 Mimi Urbanc et al.
from one to another is rapid. Scenes tend to be short, and so Indian lmmakers
present multiple settings in a relatively short time frame. The European territorial
structure makes this possible. This nding is supported by Janta and Herzog (see
Chapter 8) and Cucco and Scaglioni (2023), who state that landscape diversity and
a multitude of options are one of the most important pull factors for Indian lm
teams in Switzerland and Italy, respectively.
Another pull factor is probably the availability of versatile landscapes that make
it possible to substitute one location for another when lming. The countries in this
pool oer locations that can be easily replaced, but the dierences between coun-
tries are obvious. Comparing the endpoint countries in the number of fake lm-
ing locations (Switzerland 26% and Slovenia 2%) shows that the dierence is not
due to landscape diversity. In terms of geography, both countries have much more
in common (yet it is hard to imagine a Slovenian town replacing, say, Chicago)
than Slovenia and Poland, both of which are at the lower end of fake locations.
Switzerland probably stands out not for its landscape diversity but rather for a
long tradition of foreign (Indian) lmmaking, well-developed general and cultural
infrastructure, and appealing nancial incentives, as indicated by Janta and Herzog
(see Chapter 8). More generally, the reason could be soft power (Brand Directory
2021), whereby Switzerland scored within the top ve nations despite being vastly
outperformed by the other four countries (Germany, Japan, the UK, and Canada) in
terms of territory and population size.
Implications for research and practice
This study has considerable practical value. Films can have a positive impact on
the general perception of a particular country. That country, in turn, can have an
impact on the tourism and leisure industry and have a spillover eect on other sec-
tors (sales of products, attractiveness as a study destination, etc.). Indeed, Indian
lmmakers often use economic potential as an argument when negotiating with
European partners (see Chapter 8), yet the potential for building and strengthening
a country’s soft power is less often addressed. Therefore, this chapter can encour-
age authorities at all levels (EU, national, regional, and local) to consider foreign
lmmaking as an important way to strengthen the presence of Europe as a whole or
an individual country on the world map.
This study also suggests several topics that may be of scholarly interest. The gen-
eral topic concerns the impact of European settings in Indian lms on tourism and
general perceptions of Europe. The second is cultural dierences between Europe
and India, and how their appreciation raises a myriad of issues directly related to
the portrayal of European landscapes, particularly the extent to which human activ-
ities that shaped the landscape (e.g. agriculture) are considered. Is the processual
and dynamic aspect represented at all, or are only the results of this activity (e.g.
cultivated open grassland) acknowledged? If one considers lm an important tool
for developing people’s relationship with their environment, a comprehensive view
can pinpoint the character of the landscape in relation to people and their activities,
thus contributing to a more responsible attitude towards the landscape.
Portraying European landscapes in Indian lms 79
Limitations
A few limitations merit acknowledgement. First, no similar studies were found
to draw possible parallels with. Some studies have looked at landscapes in lms
(e.g. Lefebvre 2006; Harper and Rayner 2010; Melbye 2010), but with evident
dissimilarities. Because of the qualitative approach to analysis, they dier signi-
cantly from the analysis presented in this chapter. Dierent approaches and data
collection only allow for indirect assessment. Second, the lm selection was based
on criteria other than randomness. Although there is a rational explanation for this
approach, the results and their generalisation to the population of motion pictures
in selected European countries should be interpreted with caution. Third, four
national teams conducted the coding. No matter how much eort went into align-
ing and standardising this process, bias is inevitable. Fourth, some variables have
dierent meanings in dierent national contexts. For example, rurality is a spatially
and culturally dependent category. In other words, the criteria for the meaning of
rural can (and do) dier across countries.
Conclusion
This chapter deals with the representation of European landscapes and landscape
elements in Indian lms shot in Europe. The objective is to identify geographical
elements of European lm locations and provide insight into how they are used in
Indian lm production. The research featured in this study is based on four con-
cepts: lm, landscape, visuality, and representation – in particular, landscape repre-
sentation. The results of a detailed quantitative analysis of 34 lms with 594 scenes
shot in ve European countries (Finland, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, and Switzer-
land) show a great diversity of landscape elements with a clear urban orientation
in Indian lmmaking in Europe. Urban areas are mainly represented by historical
and modern imagery, and green and blue infrastructure. The countryside is pre-
dominantly represented by forests, meadows and grasslands, villages, mountains,
and elds. Mountains are a moderately pronounced feature, usually in the back-
ground of song sequences, and serve as a captivating background motif. Though
an important component of Indian iconography, water is rarely depicted, primarily
in song sequences. In general, song sequences predominate over storyline scenes.
The former usually contain historical and heritage elements, whereas the storyline
scenes are more often shot in modern settings. In addition, there is a clear divide
between central and northern Europe, with the former relying on (medieval) herit-
age, culture, and tradition. In contrast, northern Europe relies more on modern
urban fabric.
The ndings convey that Indian lms that include scenes in Europe use and
integrate the most iconic European landscapes but do not incorporate national and
historical narratives. Landscapes are understood as a way of seeing, which leads to
the next general ascertainment: that diversity and versatility are valued and desired.
There is a dichotomy between recognisability through iconic landscapes and non-
recognisability through the use of generic and versatile landscapes. A dichotomy is
apparent but not clear.
80 Mimi Urbanc et al.
Acknowledgement
The project FilmInd, The Indian Film Industry as a Driver of New Socio Economic
Connections, was carried out within EU-India Platform for Social Sciences and
Humanities and nanced by national funding of the participating countries. The
authors acknowledge receipt of funding from the Ministry of Education, Sci-
ence, and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovenian Research Agency
(Research programme P6–0101).
We thank the entire FilmInd project team included in the study of European
locations by the Indian lm industries for their contribution to the selection of
variables and data collection: Marcin Adamczak, Malwina Balcerak, and Krzysz-
tof Stachowiak from Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland; Oona Haapamäki and
Therese Sunngren-Granlund from Novia University of Applied Sciences, Finland;
Hanna Janta from the University of Basel, Switzerland; and Rok Ciglič from the
Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Slovenia.
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This chapter has been made available under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
In Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016), Anushka Sharma and Ranbir Kapoor travel to
Europe from London, for a weekend getaway. In one comic sequence, they recre-
ate ‘Tere mere hothon pe/a sweet melody on our lips’, a song originally performed
by Sridevi and Rishi Kapoor in Chandni (1989) (Figure 5.1).
The choice of location matches the stunningly beautiful and serene panoramic
view in the original number. Framed as an irreverent parody of the original duet
number, the sequence shows Anushka struggling with the long pallu of her yellow
chion sari. This re-creation draws attention to the playback system that allowed
actors to lip sync songs pre-recorded by a few playback singers in the industry.
Ranbir carries a boom box, places it at the location, and plays the song from his
mobile phone. As soon as the introductory music ute fades up, Anushka starts
lip syncing the words, while imitating the dance movements of the original num-
ber (Figures 5.2 and 5.3). The next shot takes us to a new location, a snow-clad
vast expanse; Anushka is now in a red chion sari. Ranbir falls, complaining of
the cold. Anushka shouts at him for being a wimp, reminding him that she is not
wearing any warm clothes. This retro imagination references the popularity of the
original 1980s song, while giving us a glimpse of the material practices and labour
involved in the production of these songs. This self-conscious performance by the
duo reminds us of the dominance of the romantic duet song that became almost
synonymous with the staging of European locations as spectacular sights. This was
made possible through a sudden shift from the narrative to song sequences that
involved a quick transformation in location, costumes, mood, and bodily gestures.
Europe was one of the preferred locations for the visualisation of song sequences
since the 1960s in the Hindi lm industry. This relationship, however, between
European landscape and lm songs intensied in the 1990s post-globalisation
period. Through the enactment of parody, Karan Johar, the director of Ae Dil Hai
Mushkil, reexively made fun of song sequences of his own erstwhile lms, like
the popular ‘Tum paas Aaye’, a fantasy number that was shot in Scotland for Kuch
kuch hota hai. As Ranjani Mazumdar has suggested, these song sequences dis-
rupted space and time, by swiftly moving to characters in foreign locations, with-
out any narrative logic (2007, p. 94). Cinema, according to Mazumdar enabled the
‘spectator’s gaze to travel’, as a contemporary form of ânerie (ibid.). Focusing
on the history of lmed space in Hindi cinema, Priya Jaikumar has argued that as
5 European locations in
Bollywood songs
Exploring mobile bodies and new
song genres
Shikha Jhingan
84 Shikha Jhingan
Figure 5.1 In the song ‘Tere mere hothon pe’, we see Sridevi and Rishi Kapoor at a pictur-
esque location in Switzerland in Chandni (1989).
Source: Yash Raj Films
Figures 5.2 and 5.3 On a weekend trip to Europe, Alizeh (Anoushka Sharma) and Ayaan
(Ranbir Kapoor) recreate the song from Chandni by playing it through
a boom box.
Source: Dharma Production (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, 2016)
European locations in Bollywood songs 85
‘a spatio-temporal form’ cinema can help us better apprehend the transformations
in the architecture and geography of a place through its material indices and aec-
tive registers (2019). I am tempted to ask, what happens when transformations
in technologies and material practices of cinema engender new sensory, aective
encounters with the architecture and geography of a place?
In recent work on sound and sonic geographies (Gallagher et al. 2017, listen-
ing is viewed as a bodily practice in relationship to space. They make a strong
case for expanded listening as a methodology to explore how ‘bodies reveal them-
selves as malleable and porous, and in some cases highly susceptible to sound’
(622). While drawing attention to the role of sound in producing space, Brandon
LaBelle has insightfully suggested its signicance in thinking about the experi-
ence of the ‘contemporary condition’ of globalisation (2010, p. xvii). Schafer’s
conceptualisation of soundscape as an acoustic eld of study has been used pro-
ductively by lm scholars to think about the spatial marks of sound in cinema
(2012). Helen Hanson for instance has shown how soundscapes ‘provide auditory
cues to dimensions, moods and qualities of narrative urban space’ in the cinematic
city (2013, p. 288).
Discussions on soundscapes of Bombay cinema have highlighted the dominance
of post-synchronised sound that includes dialogues and background score, while
ambient sounds created in studios by foley artists were always given a subservient
status.1 Dialogues were re-recorded in sound secure studios through the use of dub-
bing (ADR) after the lming was over. This meant that sounds recorded on location
during the process of lming were not used in the nal soundtrack.2 According to
Rakesh Ranjan, sound eects in Hindi lms were used for their ‘performative and
narrative attributes’ rather than as cues for spatial settings or psychological terrains
(cited in Pemmaraju 2013, p. 66).3 While dialogues and background music were
created in the post-production stage, songs were recorded prior to lming, so that
actors could lip sync the lyrics in front of the camera.
Several scholars have paid attention to the way songs as stand-alone commodi-
ties or as pre-fabricated entities were loosely integrated into lm narratives Prasad
(1998), Gopalan (2002), and Pemmaraju (2013). The introduction of sync sound
coupled with digital recording practices in the early 2000s brought signicant
transformations in lming practices. While giving importance to the vocal perfor-
mance of actors during lming, sync sound aims to capture the soundscape of the
location as part of the narrative event. Production practices linked to sync sound
recording have changed the way locations are selected, along with a mobilisation
of specialised technologies and gear for producing the scene as a sonic event. Priya
Jaikumar has shown how sync sound recording led to ‘a demand for trained crea-
tive technicians and sound engineers’ as well as those able to ‘work as bouncers or
sound-security personnel on the eld’ (2017).
By focusing on the processes behind the creation of song sequences lmed in
Europe, I want to consider how directors, production personnel, music composers,
sound designers, and actors respond to locations as sonic bodies and form networks
that engender deep sensory encounters with geographical territory. By replacing
lip-synced songs with background songs, song sequences acquire a modular form,
86 Shikha Jhingan
providing a gritty and layered experience of lonesome and precarious immigrant
bodies. On the other hand, diegetically produced musical numbers stage the crea-
tion of the song, revealing to us the source of the music. The placement of the
boombox in Ae Dil Hail Mushkil needs to be seen not just as a nostalgic recreation
of a Bollywood song of the 1990s but also as a sign of new production practices
that lionise collaborative processes in the creation of music. In the last section,
I will discuss dance-driven ‘production numbers’ that demand highly coordinated
mobilisation of musicking bodies that are harnessed through media-driven net-
works of dance (Usha Iyer 2020). Methodologically, I have developed my formal
analysis of song sequences in lms like Queen, Rockstar, Jab Harry Met Sejal, and
Tamasha in conjunction with my eld work in Bombay that has given me a deeper
understanding of production practices in the lm industry. This ethnographic mate-
rial is in dialogue with the internet archive that allowed me access to the making of
the song videos, interviews with choreographers, production crew, music directors,
and sound engineers. The latter as I hope to demonstrate rework the song at the
post-production stage to connect it back with the soundscapes of European loca-
tions, drawing on locally grounded musical practices. I draw on Andrew Leyshon’s
idea of musical network, underlining the connections between network and geog-
raphy to elaborate on new sonic practices and embodied engagement with lmed
space in song sequences narratively located in Europe (2001).
Decoding Film Songs as Sonic Entities in European Locations
Locating romantic duet songs in Europe became a trademark style of Yash Chopra
lms in the 1990s.4 Transporting spectators to bucolic settings, outdoors cafes,
public squares and appealing architectural sites of Europe, these songs ruptured
the soundtrack, from dialogues mixed with foley or dubbed sound to pre-recorded
song sung by playback singers. In Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), for instance, the song
is introduced to transport us from Bombay to a virtual space in Europe, to mark
the ‘special moment’ when the protagonists fall in love with each other. The song,
‘Dholna’ fades up in a moment of passion, drowning the heroine’s heavy breathing
sounds that marked the arousal of forbidden desires. As the couple get locked in an
embrace, the chords of the rhythmic guitar followed by a dramatic chorus create
a sonic bridge: we are now transported to the grassy slopes of Europe as we see
Madhuri Dixit running towards Shahrukh Khan in an open lush green expanse. The
pre-recorded song takes over the sound track with the two leading stars lip sync-
ing to the voices of Lata Mangeshkar and Udit Narayan. Atmospheric conditions,
weather, trac, and bystanders are part of the visual landscape of these lmed
locations, but remain sonically occluded (Figure 5.4).5
However, we see a noticeable shift in the aural and visual style of song sequences,
evoking new aesthetic forms in the post-millennial period. A marked change was
the way romantic duet songs were slowly replaced by ‘background songs’, with
a more organic link with the narrative. These songs convey the inner journey of
characters as they negotiate public spaces in European cities such as lake side
parks, city squares, or public transport, adding to the tone, the mood, and the visual
European locations in Bollywood songs 87
density of the scene. By introducing city sounds, they make porous the boundaries
between song, background score, and noise, adding a thick auditory layer to the
gritty encounters of immigrant characters as precarious, isolated bodies.
In Queen (2012), a lonesome Rani lands up in Paris for her ‘honeymoon’, sans
her ancé, who has ditched her just an evening before her wedding. The song
‘Badra Bahar/O rain cloud’ is built into the narrative, as Rani steps out into the
city with a map in her hand. Amit Trivedi uses the sound of brass instruments and
guitar in the beginning to set the tone.6 The edgy sounds of trac emphasise Rani’s
unease and disenchantment with the city. As soon as Rani looks up (towards the
Eiel Tower), the song halts, giving way to a momentary silence. The expected
viewing of Eiel Tower is deferred, as the sequence cuts to a ashback from Rani’s
point of view: we are made privy to her conversation with Vijay about their upcom-
ing honeymoon in Paris to see this iconic site. We return to the present with the
shot of the Tower looming large at us (Figures 5.5 and 5.6). The sound of low bass
rumble mixed with low trac sounds is grafted on a slow motion-image of the
tower seen through the glass surface of a tourist bus. This reverie is intruded upon
by an obtrusive car horn as we see Rani in a daze in the middle of a street. The song
resumes after a 30 second break. The intermittent use of song and ambient sounds
places Rani in a larger sonic terrain, illustrating her visceral response to the city.
Towards the end of the song when Rani accidently bumps into a salesman selling
miniature Eiel Towers, the edgy sound of Rani gasping for breath becomes part
of the soundtrack even as the song is playing in the backdrop.
As with any new technological practice, the introduction to sync sound record-
ing in the Bombay lm industry was a slow and uneven process. Combined with
the arrival of digital work stations and new software like pro tools, the rst decade
of the new millennium involved a seismic shift in the way the lm industry started
adopting production practices that would lay emphasis on aural realism. Accord-
ing to Budhaditya Chattopadhyay, sync sound recording brought a new approach
Figure 5.4 Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit in a European location in Dil To Pagal Hai
(1997).
Source: Yash Raj Films
88 Shikha Jhingan
that ‘helped reconstruct the site’s spatial presence within the diegetic story-world’
(2021, p. 72).7 I contend that the practice of sync sound recordings in conjunction
with digital sound practices brought a marked shift in the production and aesthetic
practices that had a bearing in the way songs were blended into narratives, even in
lms that did not use sync sound recording. Background songs in lm narratives
changed the way songs were presented as sonic entities. Sound designers used digi-
tal technologies to introduce ambient sounds to portray the protagonist’s embodied
and material connection with lmed space. Field recordings at locations played a
key role in bringing out the soundscape of the city that were used in background
songs (Parmar 2020). Amit Trivedi, the music director, and sound designers All-
wyn Rego and Sanjay Maurya travelled to Paris to get a sense of its sonic character.
Trivedi listened to the music heard in public places, especially focusing on street
music and busking groups in the city. For the sound designers, this was their rst
trip to Europe, very similar to the way Rani travels to Paris and Amsterdam in the
lm (Rego and Maurya 2020). The duo followed the same route as Rani in the
Figures 5.5 and 5.6 In Queen (2012), ‘Badra Bahar’, a background song is used to capture
Rani’s uneasy encounter with the Eiel Tower in the city of Paris.
Source: Phantom Studios
European locations in Bollywood songs 89
lm and made eld recordings in both cities that became references for creating
the tracks of songs like Badra, with ambient sounds mixed into the musical track.
According to Allwyn Rego, their approach to sound design was aimed to evoke
Rani’s struggle with the city of Paris. As he says:
We paid attention to little things like pedestrian crossings where we can push
a button and it goes tak tak tak, we got these alarm sounds as well. The tik
tak is for 25 seconds for you to cross. And then the screeching sound of trac
when she [Rani] is trying to cross the road. She is distracted and confused so
we needed to create an ambience like that. And there also there is a dier-
ence between Paris and Amsterdam. In Amsterdam people are more friendly
to her.
Sanjay Maurya added:
We also just heard a lot and put that in our head. Not everything was recorded.
We tried to listen and experience that soundscape and then tried to recreate it.
In their work on tourism, Waitt and Duy draw our attention to the non-visual
experiences of tourists through the rubric of embodiment (2010). By tracking
music festivals as performative sites they show how listening practices involve
‘openness and exchange, where bodies are aected and aect each other in and
through place’ (ibid., p. 462). In Queen, the mood of the lm shifts when Rani
moves to Amsterdam and starts shacking in a budget hostel dorm with three other
boys. In contrast to being under a ‘sonic attack’ in Paris, we see Rani’s immersive
engagement with the city of Amsterdam in rhythm with its music and busking cul-
ture. ‘Gujariya’, and ‘Queen’, two background songs deploy a montage of images
to show Rani’s adventures as a solo traveller. The introductory musical piece in
‘Gujariya’ draws on electronic sounds carrying the immersive experience of the
city as we see Rani hanging out with fellow hostel mates in a casino lined up with
slot machines and gaming plazas.8 The faster pace of the city and Rani’s mobility
are referenced sonically through electronic dance music (EDM) sounds, as well as
the acoustic music played by lming the busking artists of the city, bringing in the
urban soundscape of Amsterdam.
Sound design in cinema in the digital era works not just through a process of
selection and foregrounding of ambient sounds, but also through the creation of an
acoustic space with a subtle layering of tracks. A wide dynamic range makes it pos-
sible for sound designers to create subtle layers beneath the music tracks in song
sequences. Access to a combination of various kinds of hardware, software, and
multiple tracks has helped sound designers to push the bar to create sound tracks
that bring in the sensory environment embodied by the protagonists.
While song sequences in Queen follow Rani’s journey and her encounter with
the two cities, in Cocktail (2012), background songs played an important role in
bringing out the dark tonalities of London.9 The lm describes the roller coaster
journey of free spirited and wild Veronica (Deepika Padukone) whose life takes a
90 Shikha Jhingan
turn when she meets Meera (Diana Penty), a woman jilted by her husband upon
arrival as an immigrant. At a chance encounter in a public loo, Veronica notices
Meera’s hapless state and asks her to move in with her as she is nancially com-
fortable and ‘cool’. The two, start bonding with each other. Soon, Veronica meets
Gautam Kapoor at a bar and starts a no-strings-attached relationship with him.
Gautam moves into Veronica’s apartment as her live-in partner. The lm captures
the emotional journey of the three protagonists as casual relationships turn into
love, seriously pushing them to think about who they really are and what they want
in life. Songs that appear in the soundtrack work to create an emotional geography
of the city: locations such as city parks, markets, streets, tube stations and bars
become important sites as the three characters negotiate the city. Background songs
like ‘Lutna’ and ‘Jugni’ in Cocktail carry forward the narrative through montage
sequences that locate the characters in three distinct spaces. As ‘Lutna’ fades into
the soundtrack, we see Veronica in a restless state, getting dressed for another night
of revelry. A heightened experience of Veronica’s sensate, intoxicated, and precari-
ous body is eected through the use of EDM-driven beats combined with strong
melody and Su lyrics. Frustrated that Gautam is not responding to her messages,
Veronica ings the phone at the rest room mirror, scaring the other users. Next, we
see her in a car with other drug users in a dazed state. Acknowledging the experi-
ences of the South Asian diaspora in UK, the lm shows Meera moving out of
Veronica’s elite neighbourhood to relocate herself in Brick Lane, a residential hub
of the South Asian immigrant community. Gautam is shown hanging around the
downtown area sleeping on benches or trying to catch a glimpse of Meera, as she
leaves her workplace (Figures 5.7–5.9)
Both songs draw on the Su tradition of Punjabi music evoking in a nuanced
way, shared experiences of the South Asian immigrants in London. Using a com-
bination of guitars, drums and synth sounds with Lohar’s powerful style of singing
in the opening section, ‘Jugni’ evokes an immersive, embodied presence of the
three lead characters with each undergoing intense emotional turmoil. We follow
Meera’s every day commute from the down town oce complex to Brick Lane.
The rumble of the city with its trac and movement of tubes become part of the
soundscape of the song. Framing the view from Meera’s Brick Lane apartment, we
get a sense of the claustrophobia of the setting, both in the interiors of the apart-
ment as well as the lack of any view from the window of her room. Signs of trac
jams, route diversions, and road repairs add to the visual landscape further high-
lighting the alienating experience of the metropolitan city.
Diegetic Music in Film Songs
In a parallel move, along with the rise of background songs is an upsurge in the
diegetic song sequences lmed in Europe. I focus on sequences that highlight
diegetic musical performance as raison d’être for the placement of songs. At the
outset, these sequences work much harder to use European locations as performa-
tive spaces of music where characters are shown as ‘musicking bodies’ (Chris-
topher Small 1998).10 At a time when background songs are becoming a norm,
92 Shikha Jhingan
these diegetic song sequences allow characters the chance to sing on screen by lip
syncing to a playback singer’s voice.11 However, by unpacking production prac-
tices involved in the creation of these songs, I hope to demonstrate the greater
sonic attunement to locations, involving the labour and creativity of local artists.
In Rockstar (2011), Prague became a site for the performance of diegetic music
involving a complex network with other performing bodies, both in front of the
camera and sound studios. Imtiaz Ali brings to us a layered soundtrack co-created
through a collaboration with several European artists. In the narrative, the central
protagonist Janardan/Jordan travels to Prague to perform and record his music,
representing an Indian music company. However, Jordan also hopes to reunite with
Heer, his love-interest, who has moved to Prague with her husband. Instead of
using a touristic vision of Prague, Imtiaz Ali uses space to bring out the city’s
dark beauty, underlining its ancient architecture, gothic style facades, and stories of
witchcraft. Prague, according to Ali, was an ideal location for the two characters to
explore their hidden and passionate relationship.12 Ali also mines the city of Prague
known for its rich musical history and known for its music recording industry. An
interesting sequence in the lm is the prelude to the ‘Hawa Hawa’ song. We see
Jordan walking down a narrow lane while the sound of music pulls him towards the
Maltézské Náměstí (The Maltese Square) in the Lesser Town of Prague, where a
group of Gypsies are playing music. Jordan is intrigued by their music and unusual
rhythm patterns. The sequence frames Jordan as a listener soaking in the music of
Prague and then turns our attention to Jordan as a musician, getting into the ow
of the performance. This musical section becomes a prelude to ‘Hawa Hawa/The
wind’, as Jordan starts singing, dancing, and interacting with the musicians and the
crowd (Figure 5.10).
The production practices involved in the creation of ‘Hawa hawa’ also dem-
onstrate how the gure of the musician is depicted ‘as an auditory and embodied
Figure 5.10 Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) ends with the ‘Swag’ song shot at Mykonos, Greece
with a large crew of dancers and performers.
Source: Yash Raj Films
European locations in Bollywood songs 93
self that responds and resounds’ (Born 2013). According to Imtiaz Ali, the song
was created after he met several folk musicians and performers in Prague, while
researching the locations for the lm. This involved sharing with the local artists
the subject of his lm and inviting ideas from them for a collaborative project.13
Additionally, after attending a gypsy festival in France, he invited some musicians
for the shoot in Prague. ‘Hawa hawa’, was nally written by Irshad Kamil, incor-
porating one of the legendry tales of Sleepy Haunsa/Sleepy John.14 The song is
woven around the story of a queen who slips out at night to party in the depth of
hell. By making references to the queen’s escapades and the consequences she has
to face, the song becomes a metaphor for Heer’s transgressions with Jordan that
ultimately leads to a tragic situation in the course of their lives.
Unlike the self-enclosed pre-fabricated song that was earlier used for aural
reference to help actors lip sync or perform with its rhythm, the diegetic song
production involved a recalibration of its sonic aesthetics. Paul Theberg’s concept
of a networked studio highlights a shift in the spatial logic of music recordings,
where the arrival of new technologies have made studios become spatially diused
(2004). Furthermore, Andrew Leyshon (2001) has underlined the connections
between networks and geography by enumerating four kinds of networks, that of
creativity, reproduction, distribution and consumption. These networks possess
distinctive but overlapping functions, temporalities, and geographies. Leyshon’s
ideas are based on a critique of Jacques Attali’s (1985) political economy approach
that emphasises the succession of musical codes in tune with a ‘stagist approach’ to
social change.15 Even though ‘Hawa Hawa’ had already been recorded for lming
in Prague (especially those sections that involved lip syncing), the post-production
practices involved a reworking of the song, by mobilising creativity and incorpo-
rating the sounds of musical instruments that were recorded on location in Prague.
According to Imtiaz Ali:
We had already recorded the song with Rahman but recording happens in
layers and it was possible for Rahman Sir to incorporate the sounds of local
instruments. So, he could use these live instruments to replace some of the
electronic sounds. . . . It is very easy to bring in these layers with Rahman
because he works in this way.16
Access to digital technologies and multiple tracks enables musicians and sound
engineers to introduce diverse sounds, expanding the tonalities of the song and the
sonorous space that has been created in the lm. This brings in an ‘audiovisual real-
ism’, acknowledging the presence of the musicking and dancing bodies on loca-
tion (Jaikumar 2019 p. 285). Furthermore, if we consider the production practices,
we can see how networks of creativity, reproduction, and consumption overlap
with each other, at the lm location. In the song ‘Aur Ho’ that follows ‘Hawa
hawa’, Rahman collaborated with Alma Ferovic, a Bosnian singer and performer
from Sarajevo. The song was created through a collaboration that occurred across
continents with the help of the internet and digital delivery technologies.17 After
explaining the context of the narrative, Ferovic was asked by Rahman and Imtiaz
94 Shikha Jhingan
Ali on a skype call to respond to the particular situation in the lm, and then com-
pose and sing a Sevdelinka song in her own language.18 Later, Ferovic was invited
to Prague and performed the song with Ranbir Kapoor in the lm. Once in Prague,
she recorded the song again with some minor changes that the track demanded.
In Imtiaz Ali’s Jab Harry Met Sejal, Harry and Sejal travel to several cities
of Europe to recover Sejal’s lost engagement ring. Harry, a tour guide, works for
wealthy South Asians who arrive in Europe for their summer vacations. In the
course of the lm, we discover that Harry left his native village in Punjab for
Canada to make a career in music. He works as a tour guide in Europe and is often
haunted by the memories of the past that remain ineable. In his trip across the
continent with Sejal, Harry’s inner journey starts to peel o, as music becomes an
important trigger to reveal stories about migration, displacement, and longing that
have a universal valence. In Lisbon, Harry and Sejal visit a Fado club where a local
artist is performing live for the guests. This deeply haunting song narrates the story
of a woman waiting for her beloved who has gone to India by sea and not returned.
The tonality of the song, the lighting in the space, and the performance of the lead
actors work to heighten the aective registers of the song. This sequence is placed
at a point in the lm when the protagonists are coming to terms with the fact that
their journey together is coming to an end. The singer breaks into an English trans-
lation of the song making references to the stories of sailors/men on trade routes
that connected Portugal to India through the sea. In the next scene, we see Harry
and Sejal near the sea where Harry tells Sejal about his past in Nurmahal, a village
in Punjab. Predicting the outcome of their failed romance, Harry starts calling out
Sejal’s name while facing the sea, revisiting the narrative of departure and loss in
the Fado song. The sonic trace of this Portuguese song is carried forward in ‘Yadon
mein/in my memories’, a background song that is introduced when Harry and Sejal
are travelling in the tram in Lisbon. Based on the tune and the tonal quality of the
Fadon song, ‘Yadon mein’ invites the spectators to witness the haunting and repeti-
tive cycle of migration, exile, and an unknown future that connects the colonial
history of Europe to the post-colonial condition of migration and displacement.
Furthermore, the Fadon song in the lm played as a diegetic performance and the
use of its sonic features to create a background song in the lm demonstrate the
way lmmakers are listening and conducting research on the soundscapes of loca-
tions from where their narratives are emerging.
In Tamasha (2015), the island of Corsica becomes an important site for the
two characters to meet each other and live their fantasy of a short, unencumbered
friendship while they are in this beautiful island. As a prelude to the ‘Matargashti/
Loitering’ song, we see an elaborate Parade De La Bastill, with local residents sing-
ing, performing, and walking through the city during the time of the Shepherd festi-
val. Later in the sequence Imtiaz Ali uses diegetic performances of acapella singers
and the sound of Caramusa (Corsican bagpipe) that is played by shepherds during
the local festivals. In another sequence, we see the two lead characters loitering
through the lanes of Corsica with a sense of abandon and freedom while we hear
the haunting song of Benedictus in the soundtrack. Later, we see a group of artists
dressed in black performing the song in a local church. The dense soundscape of
European locations in Bollywood songs 95
Corsica forms an important sensory layer that invites us to connect with the loca-
tions along with the lead protagonists, as they explore their hidden selves.
The Dance-Driven Production Number
My nal discussion is about song and dance numbers that involve a large crew and
the labour of a number of background dancers. Unlike the usual Bollywood dance
numbers that place the lead artists prominently in front of the camera with several
dancers lined up in the background, the new dance-oriented production numbers
employ specialist dancers and gig performers who demand a complex use of space
and choreographic practices. Here, I want to focus on two songs from Bekre and
Tiger Zinda Hai that were shot in Paris and Mykonos, respectively, and demanded
the involvement of a complex network of labour, technologies, and infrastructures
across continents and the mobilisation of diverse genres of dance and public art
practices.
In the prelude to ‘Nashe Si chad gayi/She is an intoxication’, in Bekre, we see
Shyra and Dharam meeting each other for the rst time at a daytime soiree in the
heart of Paris. Cheeky conversation between them is framed against the backdrop
of a crowd of local young Parisians dancing to music with a DJ playing tracks at
the base of Pont Alexandre III. The sequence nally leads to the most popular song
of the lm – ‘Nashe Si Chad Gayi’, with Shyra and Dharam dancing to the trendy
track. The sequence choreographed by Vaibhavi Merchant was mounted with the
aid of professional dancers from various parts of France and several rehearsals
to prep for the shoot. This involved a complex auditioning of dancers accessed
through local agents, watching show reels of selected dancers and conducting
online conversations. The song shows several dancers performing hip-hop style
movements in a semi-circle with the lead dancers performing in the middle. Unlike
the usual Bollywood dance numbers where background dancers have to repeat the
same gestures as the lead dancers, creating symmetrical lines, the hip-hop dancers
in ‘Nashe Si Chad Gayi’ perform with a more open and creative style, enjoying the
moment in the middle of the city of Paris. A third layer is formed by another set of
bystanders watching the performance from a distance and moving in rhythm with
the music. Thus, the camera and the editing reveal to us a vast acoustic territory
that becomes the space for performance. In the last section of the song, as night
falls, we see the two protagonists moving away from the rest of the dancers in slow
motion and walking towards the bridge.19
The lm Tiger Zinda Hai ends with the ‘Swag’ song which was shot in Mykonos,
Greece, with a large crew of dancers, performers, and the production crew
(Figure 5.10). The idea behind the song, according to the director Ali Abbas Zafar,
was to create ‘an anthem of love’.20 In an interview, Meghdeep Bose, the music
producer of the song, shared his strategy of starting the song with the ‘big’ sound
of 20 synthesisers premixed together, playing the ‘tiger theme’ music. For Bose,
this created the sound of unison that worked for the theme of the song.21 Accord-
ing to Vaibhavi Merchant, ‘Swag se karenge sabka swagat/we welcome everyone
with style’ was conceptualised as a dance number with a message of oneness and
96 Shikha Jhingan
peace, and therefore she decided to work with ‘unique people with unique swag’
that included ballerinas, Afro dancers, B Boyers, cyclists, and football tricksters,
who were all brought under one roof.22 The pre-production of the song involved
formal and informal networks, infrastructures, technologies and the logistics of
movement. The hip-hop dancers were selected via agents from Paris who had
helped the same production house for the Bekre song. A larger pool of artists were
called to Athens, and the nal selection was done by the choreographers. Finally,
90 dancers and artists were hired to perform for the song in Myknos. Apart from the
performers, these dance numbers required the involvement of crowd managers and
production sta enabling inter-cultural interactions and an embodied engagement
with lming locations.
Conclusion
This chapter has traced transformations in the aural and visual style of song
sequences of the last decade, along the axis of industrial practice and aesthetic
style. By focusing on lms like Queen (2013), Rockstar 2011, Cocktail (2012), and
Jab Harry Met Sejal, I have highlighted the emergence of a distinct style of song
presentation in lms shot in European locations. The non-lip-synced background
songs in particular mark a shift from the romantic duet songs associated with lms
like Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995) of the 1990s. Songs in Queen, Rockstar,
and Cocktail depict character moods as aective states that seem to emanate from
the locations in which they reside. These songs present a darker feel of the Euro-
pean city, subtly incorporating its sonic characters, through the experience of South
Asian immigrant bodies. Songs that highlight the diegetic performance of music in
lmed space can be linked to the deployment of sync sound recording and the rise
of global music cultures and digital infrastructures. High energy dance numbers
that draw on the labour of highly eclectic performers involve the mobilisation of
mobile musicking bodies and new infrastructures that have expanded the sonic
geography of New Bollywood.
Acknowledgements
This chapter has come out of research conducted under the aegis of Equip: EU-
India Social Science and Humanities Platform, funded by the Indian Council of
Social Science Research (ICSSR).
Notes
1 Foley artists create ambient sounds for lm and other media at the post-production stage
with the help of props.
2 An often cited reason for following this practice was that lm cameras that were used
for capturing scenes were very noisy and would therefore interfere with sounds that
needed to be recorded from the perspective of the narrative.
3 Rakesh Ranjan is the HOD of sound design at Whistling Woods International and has
worked on several Hindi lms as a sound designer and mixer.
European locations in Bollywood songs 97
4 “Dekha ek khawab” (Silsila, Yash Chopra 1981) shot at the Keukenhof Tulip Gardens,
Netherlands became an iconic song, in which we see Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha
romancing with each other. Until then Yash Chopra had used Kashmir as a romantic
setting for lms like Kabhie Kabhie and Silsila.
5 In “Dholna”, in many shots, we see the grass and vines in a vineyard swaying in a gentle
motion to the wind but we never hear the sound of wind.
6 Amit Trivedi is the music director of Queen.
7 In the dubbing era, in contrast, sound designers used foley sound to create an ambient
environment indicated as spatial markers.
8 The song was shot in various locations of the city of Amsterdam.
9 In a YouTube video describing the making of Queen, Vikas Bahl described it as
a lm “about life not going as per plan and then how people she encounters, she
meets, how she lives, how she survives”. See available at: www.youtube.com/
watch?v=8A7hTyGNOP8.
10 The term musicking has been coined by Christopher Small to highlight music as a pro-
cess, a verb that may involve performing, listening, rehearsing or practicing (1998).
11 In an interview on YouTube, Karan Johar shared that he decided to make Ae Dil Hai
Mushkil in which his lead character is a musician because he wanted to show his pro-
tagonist singing in the lm.
12 Interview with Imtiaz Ali was jointly conducted with Ranjani Mazumdar in March 2020
in Mumbai.
13 Ibid.
14 Irshad Kamil is a celebrated lyricists of Bollywood who has had a successful partnership
with Imtiaz Ali. He has written lyrics for the songs of Rockstar, Tamasha and Jab Harry
Met Sejal, all three lms directed by Imtiaz Ali that are discussed in this paper.
15 Attali’s four musical orders are sacrice (ritual), representation (enactment), repetition
(recording and stockpiling) and composition (collective play).
16 Interview with Imtiaz Ali in Bombay during eld work in March 2020.
17 In an interview with Devdutta Baji available on YouTube, Alma Ferovic has described
how she was approached by Rahman and the song was created with Ferovic bringing in
the Sevdalinka style of singing in the opening section of the song. Talk Studio | Devdu-
tta Baji with Alma Ferovic | Tamasha|Rockstar | Pune Podcast | Part 2 – YouTube.
18 According to Christian Lopac, Sevdalinka are deeply emotional Balkan folk songs that
draw from a mix of Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Su traditions (2022). They are also
generally described as songs about unfullled love.
19 Describing her experience of choreographing the song, Vaibhavi Merchant has shared
that the crowds gathered at the site of lming refused to move even after the shooting
had ended, as they continued to sing and move with the groove of the song. See avail-
able from: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgsgn6c1TbY.
20 See available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gqf2ctBQ83k.
21 Available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXMnbW-3NRM.
22 See available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gqf2ctBQ83k.
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DOI: 10.4324/9781003293347-9
This chapter has been made available under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Introduction
In 2013, the Italian press made great play of how various Indian audiovisual
productions had elected to lm in Italy. Many had shot in Milan and the surrounding
region of Lombardy, prompting one of Italy’s main weekly magazines, L’Espresso,
to publish a piece titled “Bollywood: Miracolo a Milano” (Bollywood: Miracle in
Milan), ring on the title of one of Italy’s most famous Neorealist lms (Miracolo
a Milano/Miracle in Milan). It stated that as many as 14 productions had chosen
Lombardy in the space of 18 months, with an estimated total economic impact of
€11m (Sasso 2013). Intrigued by what we read, we immediately decided to study
the phenomenon of Indian productions lmed in Italy; the results were published
in the Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies (Cucco and Scaglioni 2014).
Nine years on, we are returning to the India–Italy relationship, in particular that
between the Indian audiovisual industry and Italian locations. We asked ourselves
whether Indian productions are still coming to lm in Italy. If so, why Italy? Have
the changes in recent years (the COVID-19 pandemic, the new Italian lm poli-
cies, the on-demand services that are now producing and screening lms) impacted
on Italy as a lming location of choice? On one hand, this second study serves to
conrm, disprove, or reshape the results of the rst. On the other, it extends the
study period (from 2010 to early 2022) and thus oers a more reliable panorama.
In other words, this second study will help to understand whether the 2010–2013
Indian lming boom was merely a blip or the start of a trend.
To answer these questions, we have divided this chapter into four sections. The
rst summarises the results of our 2013 study, analysing why many Indian lms
and TV series were shot abroad and in particular why some Indian producers chose
Italy. The second probes the more signicant changes in the Italian and global
audiovisual landscape between 2014 and early 2022 that may have inuenced the
relationship between Indian productions and Italian locations. We theoretically
discuss the potential impact of VOD platforms, new national and local lm poli-
cies introduced in Italy, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The same events will be
investigated during an interview with a key-mediator in the Italy–India relationship
(third section) in order conrm or refute our considerations. The third section also
examines the list of lms and television series shot in Italy between 2010 and 2022
6 On the Italian trail of Indian
lms through the lens of media
industry studies
Marco Cucco and Massimo Scaglioni
102 Marco Cucco and Massimo Scaglioni
with a view to identifying trends. And the fourth oers a critical appraisal of the
Indian audiovisual productions’ relationship with Italian locations.
This chapter uses a media industry studies approach (Herbet et al. 2020). Spe-
cically, it brings together two study traditions linked to media industry studies: the
political economy of media (Wasko 2015) and production studies (Caldwell 2008;
Mayer et al. 2009; Szczepanik and Vonderau 2013). The former is a useful tool for
relating companies’ actions to the public policies regulating and/or supporting the
media industry and for highlighting key trends in the market and corporate strategy.
Production studies, meanwhile, are especially important for understanding the pro-
duction cultures in which the companies operate and where the audiovisual prod-
ucts are created, to examine the operational dynamics of the production processes
and how they aect the nal output.
The outsourcing (in Italy and abroad) of Indian shoots: a recap
Our earlier study on the delocalisation of Indian lm shoots in Italy (Cucco and
Scaglioni 2014) had three main stages: a) desk research on the Indian audiovis-
ual industry and the delocalisation of lming based on political economy studies;
b) in-depth interviews in Italy and India with audiovisual-industry professionals in
order to understand dynamics and production cultures of both countries in relation
to the outsourcing of Indian shoots in Italy; c) a survey of Italian lm commissions
aimed at collecting data and providing a quantitative support to our research. For
the purposes of our study, we had identied three principal push factors underlying
overseas delocalisation, in particular in Western countries, of shoots for Indian lm
and television series: a) logistical reasons, b) nancial reasons, and c) the search
for a wider audience, including the pursuit of specic key targets.
The logistical reasons concern how Indian crews nd working conditions more
congenial in the West: as many interviewees told us, the cities are less chaotic
than in India, and the services available from the state and local businesses are
more ecient, resulting in reduced costs and a higher-quality nal output. The
eectiveness of the host territories’ services is down to the eorts of the lm com-
missions and lm oces now active throughout all Western countries as pull fac-
tors leveraged by the local-government bodies. Film commissions and lm oces
assist crews with location scouting, obtaining permits, recruiting local skilled
workers, nding local services (hotels, catering, etc.), oering special discounts,
etc. In 2013, no such services existed in India, and the necessary permits had to
be applied for at various government departments (Ernst & Young and LA-India
Film Council 2012). In logistical terms, India’s monsoon season poses particular
problems: the unpredictable weather can delay lming and thus increase costs.
Another logistical benet of delocalisation is that lming becomes simpler and
less stressful, as the actors and crews are not besieged by fans and paparazzi in the
West as they are in India.
The second type of push factor is the funding and economic incentives oered
to audiovisual productions by many local- and national-government bodies. Subsi-
dies and tax breaks seek to attract productions and thus stimulate the host locations’
On the Italian trail of Indian lms 103
economies (Goldsmith 2015; Cucco 2018a). Pertinently, India’s public bodies have
long failed to support the audiovisual industry, even subjecting it to very high taxa-
tion on the same footing as the gaming sector (Ganti 2017).
The third factor is the desire to make lms with audience appeal and to reach
specic targets. This goal works in three dierent directions. First, shooting abroad
aims to make lms more spectacular. To compete with the satellite pay channel
oerings, lm producers have begun to make fewer titles but with bigger budgets.
With these extra resources, movies could be made that stood out from the routine
television fare with lower production values, fullling their box oce potential
better and justifying the ticket price (Ganti 2007, 2012). In this context, foreign
and exotic locations were a means to make lms dierent, unusual, appealing,
and thus more spectacular, even though the overseas locations were often mere
backdrops. There was no cultural, linguistic, or political interaction with the host
areas – except for the most famous cities and some of their celebrated landmarks, it
was often hard to identify where the action was happening. As Rao recalls, “these
spaces and geographies (and, implicitly, cultures) are Indianized by locating Mum-
bai lm actors, actresses, and extras, speaking Hindi, in them” (2010, pp. 9–10).
Second, the use of material lmed abroad serves to attract a more auent audi-
ence that can aord the more expensive tickets at the multi-screen cinemas that
have recently appeared, an audience interested in seeing a dierent world from
India, especially a Western one. Foreign lms have a tiny market share in India, so
Indian lms shot abroad are among the few opportunities to see dierent milieux
on screen. But the attempt to attract and satisfy a well-to-do audience is part of a
broader process of gentrication that Indian cinema has followed in this millen-
nium, aiming to position cinema as a cultural and economic activity acceptable to
politicians and the inuential strata of society (Ganti 2012).
And third, lms shot overseas appeal to rst- and second-generation Indian
expats – non-resident Indians (NRIs) – who may like to watch lms shot abroad
with Indian actors or to engage with stories that may be similar to their own.
Between the late 1990s and the start of the millennium, the perception of NRIs
changed in India. Once seen as those who had abandoned the country for glamour
and comfort abroad, they have now become an “icon of the desirable cosmopolitan
Indian citizen straddling the globe” (Athique 2012, p. 282). Their representation
on screen is thus of interest for Indian audiences too. In this context, it is useful to
remember that ticket prices are higher in the West, so tickets sold abroad in dollars,
euros, or pounds are worth more than those sold in India.
The Italian case study has conrmed two of these three reasons. Our survey and
interviews have shown that Indian productions choose Italy for logistical reasons
and for the spectacular settings. Logistically, there are lm commissions all over
Italy, while the mild and sunny climate makes it possible to shoot for many hours
a day and many months a year, especially during the Indian monsoons. In terms of
the spectacular, Italy oers a great variety of landscapes – sea, mountains, rolling
hills, plus cities historic and modern, large, and small, and Indian productions have
used them all, sometimes combining very diverse settings even in the same picture.
In this framework, funding reasons are not relevant. National public nancing in
104 Marco Cucco and Massimo Scaglioni
Italy is accessible only for Italian lms and international co-productions with Italy.
Foreign lms can apply for local public nancing, but local grants are too scant for
motivating far-away crews to move to Italy.
Do all these motivations still apply nine years later? What intervening changes
in India and Italy might have inuenced lming delocalisation processes?
Outsourcing: a dierent framework
Looking at the period from 2013 to today, there are some factors that could theo-
retically have inuenced the relationship between Indian audiovisual productions
and Italian locations.
The rst is the advent of the on-demand platforms. The streaming service com-
panies dier considerably from one another, operating to dierent business models
and in dierent-sized markets. Some provide content in one country only; others
work internationally or even globally. The best-known and most widespread plat-
forms in the world are currently Netix and Amazon Prime Video. Both operate
in 200+ countries (in India since 2016), oering self-produced/-funded content or
material bought in from other producers. In April 2020, also Disney+ entered the
Indian digital market with the VOD platform Disney+ Hotstar. To what extent can
the establishment of global on-demand services impact on the foreign delocalisa-
tion of Indian audiovisual productions?
The big platforms use their own original productions for dierent purposes
(Lobato 2019). On the one hand, they are interested in content that plays well in
their various markets, with a view to extracting the maximum possible return on
their economic investments in production. This can lead them to produce lms
and television series with transnational appeal, aided by outsourcing. Some studies
have indeed shown that having locations from dierent countries in the same lm
or series can increase its appeal to global audiences, which is why many sequels
feature more locations than the preceding product did (Cucco 2015). On the other
hand, the platforms use their original productions to obtain a foothold in the coun-
tries they wish to penetrate. Here, productions are conceived mainly for a national
market – to boost subscriptions in that country, to collaborate with local compa-
nies and to avoid oering content that is foreign to the national audience. This is
especially important for a country like India, where although there are no political
and commercial barriers to entry for foreign lms, audiences strongly prefer local
content. Box oce performance makes this clear: in pre-pandemic 2019, Indian
lms had an 87% market share in India; foreign ones, just 13% (European Audio-
visual Observatory 2020, p. 54). In other words, the platforms’ eect on outsourc-
ing could be twofold, working paradoxically in opposite directions.
As regards what has changed in Italy, the last ten years have seen a constant
growth in the lm commissions’ oerings.1 Through the experience gained on the
ground and the results achieved, lm commissions can now provide increasingly
competitive and eective services. Also, nearly all Italian lm commissions oer
one or more local funds for the various stages of production (development, prepro-
duction, and shooting), some of which are open even to foreign productions made
On the Italian trail of Indian lms 105
in Italy. These local funds have a primarily economic aim: to attract inward invest-
ment (Cucco 2018a). So public funding provided to foreign companies also helps
to achieve the set objectives and thus to attain a collective benet.
While the individual Italian regions are increasingly active in attracting lm and
other audiovisual shoots, the Italian government has bolstered the audiovisual and
cinema tax incentive schemes and put more money behind them. Tax credits have
proved useful in encouraging private investment and, more generally, a greater
alignment between Italian audiovisual productions and the market. It is important
to note here how the tax incentive programme has continually grown. It is dedi-
cated to foreign lms, shorts, TV series, documentaries, entertainment shows, and
web products shot at least partly in Italy and with an Italian executive producer.
The tax credits now on oer represent 40% of the Italian executive producer’s
costs, up to a total annual funded value of €50m. Through this measure aimed at
foreign productions, Italian locations are no longer just an exotic dimension that
adds to a lm’s appeal: they have become a strategic tool for accessing generous
tax incentives by bringing an Italian company on board. This measure is eective
at attracting investment into Italy, but with a side-eect that the government did
not envisage: it is now in foreign companies’ interest to have an Italian executive
producer rather than an Italian co-producer (Cucco 2018b).
Another major factor that may have been pivotal in the relationship between Indian
production companies and Italian locations is of course the COVID-19 emergency.
The pandemic halted lm and audiovisual production for months all over the world.
And when production managed to restart, delocalisations seemed particularly at risk,
for positive COVID cases could suddenly shut down lming – with all the costs to
the producer of being forced to stay idly overseas. Moreover, with Indian produc-
tions, the vaccines’ arrival did not necessarily help: those who received Covishield
(widespread in India) had to wait for the vaccine to be recognised by Europe’s indi-
vidual national agencies before being able to travel freely as in pre-pandemic days.
Indian shoots in Italy (2010–2022) and Occhi di Ulisse
To map the Indian lms and series shot in Italy, we consulted the Italian lm com-
mission websites, which almost invariably have a record of the productions hosted
in their area.2 The Indian titles we found always involved the Italian production
services company Occhi di Ulisse, set up in 2009 by Ivano Fucci and Michele
Saragoni. Our 2013 survey of the Italian lm commissions had already identied
this company’s central role as a key intermediary between India and Italy, which is
why in 2013 we had interviewed Ivano Fucci, line and executive producer for Occhi
di Ulisse. The conrmation of the company’s continued importance prompted us
to seek a second in-depth interview with Fucci to examine in detail the Indian
productions with which Occhi di Ulisse has worked.3
Occhi di Ulisse acts as an intermediary between Italy and foreign productions –
often from India but also other countries from France, Hungary, and Switzerland to the
Czech Republic in recent years. From the year it was founded to early 2022, Occhi di
Ulisse was involved in the making of 47 Indian audiovisual works in Italy (Table 6.1).
106 Marco Cucco and Massimo Scaglioni
Table 6.1 Indian audiovisual productions lmed in Italy (2010–2022).
Year Film title Production company Origin Italian region(s) + foreign countries
2011 Badrinath Geetha Arts Hyderabad Veneto
2011 Paglu Surinder Films Kolkata Lombardy, Tuscany
2011 Rajapattai PVP Production Tamil Nadu Lombardy, Tuscany
2012 Devudu Chesina Manushulu Sri Venkateswara Cine Chitra Hyderabad Aosta Valley
2012 Paglu 2 Surinder Films Kolkata Aosta Valley, Lombardy, Piedmont
2012 Ajab Gazab Love Vashu Bhagnani’s Production Mumbai Aosta Valley, Lombadry, Tuscany
2012 Baadshah Parameswara Art Productions Hyderabad Lombardy, Piedmont
2012 Sarocharu Vyjayanthi Production Hyderabad Lombadry, Tuscany
2012 Mirchi UV Creations Hyderabad Lombadry, Tuscany
2012 Rocky Shree Venkatesh Films Kolkata Sicily
2013 Attarintiki Daredi Sri Venkateswara Cine Chitra Hyderabad Aosta Valley, Lombardy
2013 Rangbaaz Surinder Films India Lazio, Lombardy
2013 Majnu Surinder Films Kolkata Lombardy
2013 Matt & Juliet Shree Venkatesh Films Kolkata Aosta Valley, Lombardy, Veneto
2013 Bramhan K Manju Cinemaas Chennai Aosta Valley, Lombardy
2013 Irumbu Kuthirai AGS Entertainment Chennai Tuscany, Veneto
2014 Bangali Babu English Mem SVF Entertainment Kolkata Veneto
2014 Bramman Anto Joseph Film Company, K Manju Cinemaas Kerala Lombardy
2014 Race Gurram Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Productions Hyderabad Lombardy
2014 Alludu Seenu Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Productions Hyderabad Veneto
2014 Irumbu Kuthirai AGS Entertainment Chennai Liguria, Lombardy, Tuscany
2015 Herogiri Surinder Film Kolkata Campania + Switzerland
2015 Besh Korechi Prem Korechi SVF Entertainment, Surinder Films Kolkata Aosta Valley, Lombardy
2015 Vedalam Shri Saai Ram Creations Chennai Aosta Valley, Tuscany
2016 One Way Ticket Mekbrand Mumbai Liguria + France, Spain
2016 Abhimaan Grassroot Entertainment Kolkata Lombardy + Switzerland
2016 Haripada Bandwala SVF Entertainment Kolkata Lombardy
2017 Katamarayudu Northstar Entertainment Hyderabad Lombardy
2017 Mister Light House Movie Makers, Sri Lakashmi
Narasimha Productions
Hyderabad Lombardy
2017 Radha Sri Venkateswara Cine Chitra Hyderabad Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige
2017 Ami Je Ke Tomar SVF Entertainment Kolkata Lombardy
2017 Fu: Friendship Unlimited Mahesh Manjrekar Movies Mumbai Lombardy
2017 Andhhagadu A.K. Entertainments Hyderabad Campania
2017 Rangbaaz Rup Rong Films, SVF Entertainment Kolkata Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige
2017 Vunnadhi Okate Zindagi Sravanthi Cinematics Hyderabad Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige
2017 Jawaan Arunachal Creations Kolkata Aosta Valley, Lombardy
2018 Inspector Notty K Surinder Films, Jeetz Filmworks Kolkata Liguria
2018 Krishnarjuna Yudham Shine Screens Hyderabad Campania, Liguria + Czech Republic
2018 Aravindha Sametha Veera
Raghava
Haarika & Hassine Creations Hyderabad Lombardy + Switzerland
2019 Saaho UV Creations, T-Series Films Hyderabad Lazio + Croatia
2019 Chanakya AK Entertainment Hyderabad Aosta Valley, Lombardy
2019 Roam Rome Mein Rising Star Entertainment, Eros Worldwide Mumbai Lazio
2020 Bheeshma Sithara Entertainments Hyderabad Apulia, Campania
2021 Red Sri Sravanthi Movies Trentino-Alto Adige, Tuscany
2021 Bony Surinder Films Kolkata Lombardy, Tuscany
2022 Radhe Shyam Gopikrishna Movies, T-Series Films, UV
Creations
Hyderabad Aosta Valley, Lazio, Liguria,
Piedmont, Tuscany
2022 Thank You Sri Venkateswara Creations Hyderabad Piedmont
Source: Own elaboration, based on data from Occhi di Ulisse and the Internet Movie Database.
On the Italian trail of Indian lms 107
Table 6.1 Indian audiovisual productions lmed in Italy (2010–2022).
Year Film title Production company Origin Italian region(s) + foreign countries
2011 Badrinath Geetha Arts Hyderabad Veneto
2011 Paglu Surinder Films Kolkata Lombardy, Tuscany
2011 Rajapattai PVP Production Tamil Nadu Lombardy, Tuscany
2012 Devudu Chesina Manushulu Sri Venkateswara Cine Chitra Hyderabad Aosta Valley
2012 Paglu 2 Surinder Films Kolkata Aosta Valley, Lombardy, Piedmont
2012 Ajab Gazab Love Vashu Bhagnani’s Production Mumbai Aosta Valley, Lombadry, Tuscany
2012 Baadshah Parameswara Art Productions Hyderabad Lombardy, Piedmont
2012 Sarocharu Vyjayanthi Production Hyderabad Lombadry, Tuscany
2012 Mirchi UV Creations Hyderabad Lombadry, Tuscany
2012 Rocky Shree Venkatesh Films Kolkata Sicily
2013 Attarintiki Daredi Sri Venkateswara Cine Chitra Hyderabad Aosta Valley, Lombardy
2013 Rangbaaz Surinder Films India Lazio, Lombardy
2013 Majnu Surinder Films Kolkata Lombardy
2013 Matt & Juliet Shree Venkatesh Films Kolkata Aosta Valley, Lombardy, Veneto
2013 Bramhan K Manju Cinemaas Chennai Aosta Valley, Lombardy
2013 Irumbu Kuthirai AGS Entertainment Chennai Tuscany, Veneto
2014 Bangali Babu English Mem SVF Entertainment Kolkata Veneto
2014 Bramman Anto Joseph Film Company, K Manju Cinemaas Kerala Lombardy
2014 Race Gurram Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Productions Hyderabad Lombardy
2014 Alludu Seenu Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Productions Hyderabad Veneto
2014 Irumbu Kuthirai AGS Entertainment Chennai Liguria, Lombardy, Tuscany
2015 Herogiri Surinder Film Kolkata Campania + Switzerland
2015 Besh Korechi Prem Korechi SVF Entertainment, Surinder Films Kolkata Aosta Valley, Lombardy
2015 Vedalam Shri Saai Ram Creations Chennai Aosta Valley, Tuscany
2016 One Way Ticket Mekbrand Mumbai Liguria + France, Spain
2016 Abhimaan Grassroot Entertainment Kolkata Lombardy + Switzerland
2016 Haripada Bandwala SVF Entertainment Kolkata Lombardy
2017 Katamarayudu Northstar Entertainment Hyderabad Lombardy
2017 Mister Light House Movie Makers, Sri Lakashmi
Narasimha Productions
Hyderabad Lombardy
2017 Radha Sri Venkateswara Cine Chitra Hyderabad Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige
2017 Ami Je Ke Tomar SVF Entertainment Kolkata Lombardy
2017 Fu: Friendship Unlimited Mahesh Manjrekar Movies Mumbai Lombardy
2017 Andhhagadu A.K. Entertainments Hyderabad Campania
2017 Rangbaaz Rup Rong Films, SVF Entertainment Kolkata Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige
2017 Vunnadhi Okate Zindagi Sravanthi Cinematics Hyderabad Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige
2017 Jawaan Arunachal Creations Kolkata Aosta Valley, Lombardy
2018 Inspector Notty K Surinder Films, Jeetz Filmworks Kolkata Liguria
2018 Krishnarjuna Yudham Shine Screens Hyderabad Campania, Liguria + Czech Republic
2018 Aravindha Sametha Veera
Raghava
Haarika & Hassine Creations Hyderabad Lombardy + Switzerland
2019 Saaho UV Creations, T-Series Films Hyderabad Lazio + Croatia
2019 Chanakya AK Entertainment Hyderabad Aosta Valley, Lombardy
2019 Roam Rome Mein Rising Star Entertainment, Eros Worldwide Mumbai Lazio
2020 Bheeshma Sithara Entertainments Hyderabad Apulia, Campania
2021 Red Sri Sravanthi Movies Trentino-Alto Adige, Tuscany
2021 Bony Surinder Films Kolkata Lombardy, Tuscany
2022 Radhe Shyam Gopikrishna Movies, T-Series Films, UV
Creations
Hyderabad Aosta Valley, Lazio, Liguria,
Piedmont, Tuscany
2022 Thank You Sri Venkateswara Creations Hyderabad Piedmont
Source: Own elaboration, based on data from Occhi di Ulisse and the Internet Movie Database.
108 Marco Cucco and Massimo Scaglioni
There is no register of foreign lms shot in Italy, so we cannot be sure how
many or which Indian productions chose to delocalise lming in Italy. Our
research, however, has not found any titles beyond those in this table. The rela-
tionship between Indian productions and Italian locations, therefore, is mediated
essentially by just one company: Occhi di Ulisse. No competition seems to exist in
this specic business, despite there are not entering barriers for national or foreign
companies.
Table 6.1 facilitates various immediate deductions. First, the number of produc-
tions hosted in Italy has tended to increase – tripling from three in 2011 to nine in
2017. The phenomenon detected in our initial study (2010–2013) was not therefore
a one-o but the start of a trend that has strengthened. Second, the works hosted in
Italy are both lms and TV series. Thus the delocalisation strategy serves the aims
of the lm and television industries alike. Third, these 47 works are by companies
based in dierent cities and are thus an expression of dierent regional cinemas.
This means that delocalisation in Italy transcends the dierences between the
industries in the various regions, linking Bollywood (whose output is also intended
for export), for example, to the country’s other producers. Fourth, the Indian pro-
ductions have used various Italian regions from the north, centre, and south; in
particular, some movies have been lmed simultaneously in several regions with
dierent traits. Often, for example, individual lms and TV series shot in Italy
combine big cities with small villages and urban settings with natural landscapes
(mountains, lakes, and the sea). This shows how Indian productions exploit Italy’s
scenic variety to lend their works a particular visual richness, making them spec-
tacular and thus attractive.4
Figure 6.1 is based on the data collected in the previous table, and it provides a
map of the Italian regions touched by Indian shoots. Despite the variety of regions
involved, a predilection for the north of the country looks quite evident: Lombardy
hosted 29 audiovisual works, while Aosta Valley 11. Lombardy counts on several
strengths: small-, medium-, and big-sized cities, modern buildings and infrastruc-
tures, industrial areas, and a rich environmental heritage (mountain, lakes, rivers,
etc.). However, in 27 cases out of 29, the audiovisual works involving Lombardy
have been shoot entirely or partially is Milan, the economic heart, the fashion
capital, and the most international city of Italy. The appealing of the main Italian
metropolis is in some way balanced by Aosta Valley, which holds the second posi-
tion of the ranking. In this case, Alps probably play a key role in attracting Indian
companies, as it happened in the case of Switzerland (Schneider 2011). Moreover,
the combined use of these two regions within the same audiovisual work (seven
cases) allows the access to a wide spectrum of dierent locations and guarantees a
spectacular backdrop for Indian lms and TV series.
Tuscany, located in the centre of Italy, hosted 11 Indian audiovisual works
too. In this case, two hypotheses stand out the other ones. The rst is related
to the region’s beauties and its international fame. The second one concerns
Ivano Fucci, line and executive producer at Occhi di Ulisse, that we already
mentioned earlier. Tuscany is his home region, and the Table 6.1 reveals that
Tuscany has been selected at the beginning of the decade more than at its end.
On the Italian trail of Indian lms 109
It means that probably when Occhi di Ulisse entered the business of lm loca-
tions, Ivano Fucci started to work by looking around himself, by exploiting his
own personal network of contacts, and suggesting his most familiar places to
Indian companies.
The in-depth interview with Ivano Fucci enabled us to probe these initial
considerations further and to deepen our understanding of the Italy – India relation-
ship. The interview conrmed that Italy appeals to Indian producers for two main
reasons: locations and tax breaks. Italy has a richly varied array of locations. Not
all Italian regions are equally enticing to Indian producers: although very attractive
to foreign producers for their scenic beauty, Puglia and Sardinia, for example, are
not very sought-after, as parts of India are similar. This shows that Indian producers
Figure 6.1 Map of Italian regions involved in Indian audiovisual works (2010–2022).
Source: Own elaboration
110 Marco Cucco and Massimo Scaglioni
choose Italian locations to make their lms more spectacular and unique and thus
more attractive to audiences.
Nevertheless, Ivano Fucci maintains that access to tax incentives currently
matters more to Indian producers than the locations. That does not mean that pro-
duction cost savings are more important to them than content appeal. Essentially,
spectacular and exotic locations can be found in various countries, but some are
more generous with incentives than others. This understandable logic now works in
Italy’s favour, although it does entail the risk that Indian productions may go else-
where if other countries oer equally or more competitive tax breaks.5 According
to Fucci, Italy’s main competitors are now France, Hungary, and the UK6; the latter
has an advantage over them all, as the English language facilitates communication,
agreement, and cooperation between Italian crews and local stakeholders. So there
is no guarantee that Indian productions will still be using Italian locations in the
long term, although presumably they will continue to while the Italian government
oers incentives that the producers nd worthwhile.
Tax incentives are not the only economic carrot that Italy can oer. As
we have noted, nearly every Italian region now has at least one audiovisual-
production fund provided by its lm commission, some available to overseas
projects too. Yet as Ivano Fucci observes, these contributions are meagre at most
(maximum €250,000/project) and are not enough to attract Indian productions
on their own. On this regard, the data that we collected (Figure 6.1) conrm
Fucci’s words: Lombardy is the main Italian destination for Indian lms, but
Lombardy does not have a lm fund. It means that local public nancing is
not a key pull factor for attracting Indian crews in Italy. In addition, an Indian
producer looking to access these funds must monitor the regions’ invitations to
tender, apply with all the necessary paperwork, and wait for the adjudication to
be made. This all takes time, planning and a familiarity with how Italian public
bodies operate, so it tends to put Indian and foreign producers o. It seems much
more straightforward for them, however, to bring in an Italian executive pro-
ducer, thus rendering the project eligible for the tax incentives while the Italian
partner handles all the admin.
In this scenario of business strategy and public policy, Ivano Fucci’s insights
also remind us how production processes are often inuenced by chance and by
unpredictable circumstances that demand instant solutions and timely decisions.
As with Made in Heaven, a series exclusive to Amazon Prime Video centring on
two wedding planners, for which Occhi di Ulisse was line producer. The series
was to be shot in Italy, but the Italian authorities’ delay in recognising Covishield
prompted the production company to switch lming to France.7
The eventual recognition of the Indian vaccine made it possible to shoot Radhe
Shyam in Italy; it was one of the most expensive lms in Indian cinema history,
with an estimated budget of $30m. It was set in 1970s Italy across ve regions:
Lazio, Piedmont, Tuscany, Liguria, and Valle d’Aosta. In this case, the Italian set-
tings were not merely window dressing but were justied by the storyline. The lm
was shot in two languages (Hindi and Telugu) and will be dubbed into ve, with
distribution on Netix too.
On the Italian trail of Indian lms 111
New horizons: platforms and tourism
The Radhe Shyam case oers a springboard for some important observations. First,
the lm was the umpteenth conrmation of how supplying hospitality services
to lm and audiovisual productions could prove lucrative for the Italian regions.
Radhe Shyam’s arrival entailed foreign capital being spent in Italy, a boost to local
employment, increased local tax receipts, etc. Had the Indian producer gone else-
where, these benets would have been lost to other countries. In this context, the
relationship with India is especially crucial given that India is the world’s main
lm producing country with ever-growing numbers of titles: from 1,845 in 2015 to
2,446 in 2019, an annual rise of 7.3% (European Audiovisual Observatory 2020,
p. 13). Singularly too, production remained high during the pandemic, with 1,238
lms made in 2020 and 1,818 in 2021 (European Audiovisual Observatory 2022,
p. 15). Also, the corporatisation of Indian cinema has boosted the solidity and sta-
bility of the Indian rms operating in this arena (Ganti 2012, 2017), a source of
condence for Italian stakeholders.
The second consideration is that having the lm in the Netix catalogue aords
the Italian locations great visibility among Indian and international audiences. And
this can lead to increased interest in Italy as a travel destination. Unfortunately, lm
tourism is still a very dicult eld for quantitative study since a reliable method-
ology still has to be achieved (Cucco and Richeri 2021). Some researchers have
shown a bent for lm tourism on Indian viewers’ part (Josiam et al. 2020), although
we do not yet know whether Indian lms and TV series shot in Italy over the last ten
years have had an impact on tourism. Also, although some countries – for example,
Switzerland (Frank 2016) and Spain8 – have oered tourism experiences linked to
Indian lms shot there, this has not happened in Italy, thus limiting the scope for
monitoring and studying the Indian lm tourism phenomenon. Given these neces-
sary contextual considerations, the advent of the platforms and the boost that they
have given to the international circulation of audiovisual content can be said to
have favoured tourism. For the more people see the content, the greater the chance
that some of them will become lm tourists.
For those locations that aim at increasing their touristic ows, it is important
to remind that lm tourism could need to be encouraged and incentivised, since
in some cases it does not emerge spontaneously. In the case of Indian audiovisual
works, it is vital that viewers know in which Italian cities and regions the lms
and TV series that they have seen were shot in; often, though, these locations
remain anonymous. Their role is merely decorative, evocative, and spectacular.
As we noted in our earlier study, in many cases Italy’s presence in Indian lms is
often down to three types of dance and song sequences (Cucco and Scaglioni 2014,
pp. 427–428). The rst is the romantic song – choreographed scenes centring on
the male and female leads and their love story. Romantic songs normally require
stunning landscape backdrops, either the natural beauty of hill and mountain, lake
and sea, or the historic beauty of piazzas and city streets. The second type are the
transition songs, which punctuate or link up the lm’s narrative dynamic, resolv-
ing a series of negative events that have built up to that point. Small villages are
112 Marco Cucco and Massimo Scaglioni
suitable locations for these songs, where the characters might take a walk together.
A third type are the party songs, scenes with crowded gatherings where the actors
are normally introduced at the start of the lm. Clearly, in most Indian lms shot in
Italy, the need for settings for musical scenes is bound up with the dreamy atmos-
phere of these moments and is not prompted or justied by specic references in
the storyline to actual places. The location remains an evocative backdrop that
chimes with the characters’ emotions rather than linking to points in the plot. Of
course, Indian producers and directors have no particular interest in making the
Italian locations recognisable, so it is hard to imagine how this problem could be
overcome.
Action would also be required to attract Indian lmgoers to Italy, which begs the
question: who is responsible for promoting it? Presumably the Italian regions host-
ing the lming, but local government often lacks the necessary skills and resources.
Film tourism is still also unpredictable and hard to manage, thus disincentivising ad
hoc initiatives. In other words, Indian lm shoots in Italy are currently a resource
that is only partially exploited, oering as yet unexplored avenues (e.g. tourism).
Finally, it should be noted that the advent of the platforms serves not only to
promote tourism to the Italian locations by Indian visitors but also to potentially
promote Indian lms to Italian audiences. Here too, locations have a key role to
play. In Italy, for example, very few Indian lms make it into theatres: 0 in 2015 and
2016, 2 in 2017 and 2018, 12 in 2019, and 0 again in 2020 (source: www. cinetel.it).
And the few Indian lms that do come to Italy are distributed only in the big cities,
so they do not reach a mass audience. Compared with this paucity, Italian subscrib-
ers of Netix and Amazon Prime Video now have dozens of Indian lms to watch.
In this context of an unprecedented availability of Indian lms in Italy, the use
of Italian locations may prove pivotal. Italian locations might theoretically repre-
sent a bridge, drawing Italian audiences into a cinema that they are unaccustomed
to encounter.
Some concluding considerations
As the analysis shows, Indian audiovisual productions’ choice of Italian loca-
tions is not an exceptional phenomenon but rather a trend that has remained stable
throughout the last decade. The delocalisation of Indian lm shoots in Western
countries has three types of driver: logistical, nancial, and appealing. These cat-
egories can be further broken down. For delocalisation in Italy, our analysis has
conrmed these three types, albeit in just some of their forms. As Figure 6.2 shows,
delocalisations are down to good local services, the weather, tax incentives, and a
desire for the spectacular. Our study has not, however, looked at Indian audiences,
so we hope that future studies may ll this gap and show whether Italian locations
really can appeal to auent Indian audiences or NRIs.
The comparison with our 2013 study shows how tax incentives have grown in
importance – understandably since lm production in India has long received no
public support, and even after the corporatisation of cinema in Italy, public fund-
ing remains marginal (Ganti 2017). Italy now oers various incentive schemes,
114 Marco Cucco and Massimo Scaglioni
which have become particularly generous during the pandemic, as the Italian
government has deemed them the most suitable tool to help relaunch the sector.
The importance of tax incentives in attracting lm shoots nevertheless exposes
Italy to considerable uncertainty: if other European countries oer bigger incen-
tives, Italy risks losing out. Italy does not have a monopoly on sunshine and
varied, attractive landscapes, so that might not be enough to maintain its current
ow of hosted productions.
In this context, it remains uncertain how the on-demand services will aect
delocalisation. The platforms use their own original productions for dierent pur-
poses; delocalisation sometimes serves their aims and sometimes does not at all.
The Italy analysis uncovered only two cases where the platforms were involved:
Radhe Shyam and Made in Heaven (actually shot in France because of problems
with the Indian vaccine). On this front, therefore, the Italian case study cannot yet
identify any specic trends.
It has, however, proved extremely useful in reecting on the relationship between
audiovisual productions and local areas and its specic nature in the case of Indian
productions. This relationship has been mediated in Europe for nearly 20 years by
public intermediaries – the lm commissions, which provide primarily logistical
support and mediate on three levels. First, they act as intermediaries between the
audiovisual production (production companies, directors, and screenwriters) and
the host area (local institutions and the community). These stakeholders have dif-
ferent goals; they are not in with the industry lingo; and their work is subject to
timescales that are hard to reconcile. Second, lm commissions encourage collabo-
ration between dierent production cultures – professionals that the audiovisual
productions bring to a given place for the lming and professionals recruited in situ
from local and non-local people. In other words, lm commissions help to create
bespoke teams whose members have dierent habits and ways of working. Third,
lm commissions incentivise a brand-new collaboration between the audiovisual
production and the tourist sector. These two worlds have traditionally always been
separated, unaware of each other’s dynamics yet capable of achieving signicant
economic results when they work together (Cucco and Richeri 2021).
The study of Indian lms shot in Italy shows how this economic and cultural
intermediation can also be performed by a private company, in our case Occhi di
Ulisse. This inevitably raises the question of why the Indian companies, which
could deal with the Italian lm commissions directly, have chosen to go through
a private rm. We can oer some explanations. The spirit of initiative and pro-
fessionalism of Occhi di Ulisse founder Ivano Fucci has certainly played a part.
Perhaps Italy’s lm commissions are not very proactive with far-o lm industries
whose products are not popular in Italy and Europe. Or perhaps (and this is our
preferred hypothesis) the Indian lm industries still strongly favour informal rela-
tionships based on trust. Ivano Fucci knows Indian culture well; he spends much
of the year in India and has built his reputation in the eld. This may oer greater
traction with the Indian producers than an Italian public body like a lm commis-
sion. And regardless of this specic case, this dynamic reminds us once again how
each lm industry has its own peculiarities, its own modus operandi and its own
On the Italian trail of Indian lms 115
preferences. Each industry is part of a specic production culture and needs suit-
able intermediaries in order to collaborate with external entities.
One nal note: as we have just observed, when lm crews go abroad, this is
always an encounter between two cultures. The public debate in Europe is rmly
centred on sustainability, which also impinges on audiovisual productions, espe-
cially during shooting. Green protocols are becoming increasingly adopted across
the industry in a practice that is strongly recommended by the institutions and is
also a subject of study and training (Pabiś-Orzeszyna and Keilbach 2021). Italy is
no exception. So green policies and how they can aect the ability to attract (or
deter) shoots from other production cultures will undoubtedly be a future theme
informing the relationship between Indian lm shoots and Italian locations.
Notes
1 For a map of local lm funds and services for national and foreign companies shooting
audiovisual works in Italy, please consult the website Italy For Movies, available from:
www.italyformovies.it/.
2 We consulted the websites of the 19 lm commissions aliated to the association
Italian Film Commissions. The links to the lm commissions’ websites are available in
the “Members” section of the association’s website, available from: www.italianlmcom
missions.it/.
3 Interview with Ivano Fucci made by the authors on 15.01.2022, via Microsoft Teams.
4 Some of the listed works were also lmed in other European countries, primarily
Switzerland but also Croatia, France, Spain and the Czech Republic.
5 For a comparative analysis of tax incentive schemes in Europe, please consult the Euro-
pean Audiovisual Observatory report (Milla et al. 2016). There are no more recent reports
providing a comparative approach.
6 Competition between countries to attract audiovisual shoots is no longer a novelty but
a reality documented for several years now (see for example Miller et al. 2005; Wasko
and Erickson 2008; Cucco 2015; Goldsmith 2015). Every production has its own specic
needs, however, so the countries competing for them vary from case to case.
7 While France recognised Covishield vaccine in July 2021, Italian Ministry of Health did
it at the end of September 2021. See the communication of the Embassy of Italy in New
Delhi, available from: https://ambnewdelhi.esteri.it/ambasciata_newdelhi/en/ambasciata/
news/bacheca-consolare/2021/09/riconoscimento-dell-equivalenza.html.
8 In 2013, Lonely Planet launched a guide to Spain aimed specically at the Indian market,
and travel agencies advertise tours to the locations featured in Zindagi Milegi Na Debora
(2011), a road trip entirely shot in Spain. In return for the support received by locals dur-
ing the shooting stage, the producer agreed to include a short advertisement promoting
Spain before the start of the lm. After the lm release 60,444 Indians visited Spain,
nearly double the 2011 gure. Source available from: www.theguardian.com/world/2016/
jun/19/spain-courts-bollywood-productions-to-attract-more-indian-tourists.
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DOI: 10.4324/9781003293347-10
This chapter has been made available under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Introduction
The globalisation of lm production has led to numerous socio-cultural and eco-
nomic impacts at lming destinations and, today, many destinations seek to attract
foreign productions to their locales, in the hope of achieving long-term benets.
Film-induced, tourism business opportunities are the well-researched, (mostly)
positive, impacts that derive from hosting foreign lm productions (Connell 2012;
Beeton 2008; Ward and O’Regan 2009). Other benecial factors include: i) cultural
diplomacy, which results in the establishment of important business and cultural
links between countries; ii) knowledge exchange and innovation; and iii) employ-
ment opportunities; although the importance of these factors for the local hosting
economies has been debated (Hill and Kawashima 2016).
Filming abroad, by Indian lm producers, is not a new trend: the rst Bolly-
wood lm production “Sangam” (Conuence) was shot in Switzerland and France
in 1964 (Euroscreen 2015; Frank 2016; Gyimóthy 2018). As a result of the conict
in Kashmir during the Indo-Pakistani War, many productions moved to the Swiss
Alps, because the region resembles the mountainous landscapes of Kashmir. The
pristine settings are a popular background for romantic scenes. From the lm pro-
ducers’ points of view, lming abroad adds value to their lm productions and
helps reach auent audiences by showcasing exotic locations and consumption
practices (Cucco and Scaglioni 2014). Practicalities are also important; lming
abroad entails working in easier weather conditions. However, recently, economic
reasons have been seen to dominate as producers are spoilt by invitations from
regions and countries that attempt to attract them by oering generous nancial
and non-nancial incentives (see Chapters 8 and 9 on Central and Eastern Euro-
pean lm productions in this volume). Despite the availability of new global loca-
tions, today, Switzerland continues to be used in Indian productions, although, as
will be argued in this chapter, on a dierent scale and form.
This chapter contributes to the literature examining globalised lm produc-
tion, lm policy, and attraction factors of a destination (e.g. Cucco and Scaglioni
2014). It focuses on one destination, Switzerland, which, historically, has been
important for Bollywood lm producers. By examining one location, the chapter
enhances our understanding of changing lm policies, production cultures and
7 Contemporary Indian lm
productions in Switzerland
Hania Janta and Metka Herzog
Contemporary Indian lm productions in Switzerland 119
globalisation processes, as well as the evolving requirements of producers and
audiences.
The next section reviews the literature on globalised lm production, emphasis-
ing the push and pull factors that motivate producers to lm abroad. The second
part of the literature review outlines the case of Switzerland – a popular location for
Indian producers. The qualitative methodology is then explained, followed by the
ndings, which outline: i) the lm policy landscape of Switzerland; ii) the current
interest in lming in Switzerland and the key attraction factors of Swiss locations,
including the country’s top business environment and its proximity to diverse land-
scapes, high-end facilities, and specialist labour. The chapter ends with a discus-
sion and conclusions.
Globalised lm production
Writing about the globalisation of lm production, Goldsmith and O’Regan (2008,
p. 21) noted: “In the past, few places had the right mix of facilities, skilled crews,
production capacity, infrastructure, and ancillary services (hotels, airline connec-
tions) to host single large-scale incoming productions, let alone regular, ongoing
production”. In recent years, the lm policy landscape has experienced a signi-
cant change, facing intensive processes of globalisation of lm production. Many
more locations have joined the pool of countries oering the right infrastructure to
host large-scale lm productions.
O’Regan (2018) highlights the complex roles of a variety of governmental and
industry agencies in supporting, marketing, and developing lm-friendly infra-
structures and resources, with new lm commissions being formed globally to
market lm locations and ensure their “lm friendliness” (p. 11). These commis-
sions are typically responsible for allocating generous lm incentives, such as tax
rebates, cash incentives, and service production, but Cucco and Richeri (2021)
argue that the lm commissions’ roles are more signicant than just incentives;
they are cultural mediators between local rules and foreign producers, promoters
of transcultural communication and planners of future lm tourism development
(p. 10). A variety of dierent stakeholders (including ministries of culture and tour-
ism, economic development agencies, local authorities, and private businesses)
see the value in attracting lm productions to their destinations (Goldsmith and
O’Regan 2008), although it has been noted that there is limited alignment between
the dierent organisations needed to fully capitalise on the benets of hosting for-
eign lm productions (World Tourism Organisation and Netix 2021).
Today, almost all European destinations set up national and regional lm
commissions, which try to attract foreign producers through generous incentive
schemes (Cucco and Dagnino 2018; Cucco and Richeri 2021). The situation in
Switzerland remains somehow dierent. Following the exclusion of Switzerland
from the European Union’s (EU) MEDIA programme in 2014 (Cucco 2021),
three lm commissions were established in Switzerland: the Zurich Film Commis-
sion, the Ticino Film Commission, and the Lucerne & Central Switzerland Film
Commission. Their creation was a reaction to the removal of EU funds for the
120 Hania Janta and Metka Herzog
Swiss lm industry and the introduction of a new fund devoted to lms shot in
the Swiss territory. Compared to its neighbours (e.g. Austria or Italy), Switzerland
does not provide country-level lm incentives. As will be discussed later in the
chapter, current incentives oered locally are modest, leaving Switzerland in a
non-competitive position.
Whereas economic reasons form an important pull factor for the producers,
non-economic factors can be equally vital for lmmakers when choosing a for-
eign locale. Previous research has explored, to a certain extent, what constitutes
an ideal foreign lming location and its amenities. According to Beeton (2008),
producers seek places that provide easy access and good transport to the sites,
accommodation for cast and crew, catering and access to a local, skilled, and semi-
skilled workforce. Writing specically about the Gold Coast in Australia, Ward and
O’Regan (2009) note that a selection of services and capabilities geared to high
production standards can give a region a reputation of being a lm-friendly desti-
nation; a “pleasurable” place to lm. Finally, trust, loyalty and personal contacts
have an inuence on location selection and, therefore, unsurprisingly, producers
tend to return to past destinations (Irimias 2015; Cucco and Scaglioni 2014).
Writing specically about Indian producers, Cucco and Scaglioni (2014) and
Nanjangud (2021) examine a number of factors that motivate producers to use
foreign locations rather than lming at home. The factors relate to practicalities
such as working in easier, less chaotic conditions and avoiding extreme weather
conditions, such as the monsoon season. Other factors relate to the lm’s end
value and overall reception. Consumption practices featured in the lms (in
relation to fashion, travel, shopping, dance, and food) portray the lifestyle of
the super-rich and these can be appealing to the growing middle class in India
(Gyimóthy 2018). Moreover, the portrayal of the lives of non-resident Indian
characters is an additional attraction and can appeal to the large Indian migrant
population (Cucco and Scaglioni 2014). Tobías (2017, p. 274) calls European
locations featured in Bollywood “sanitised paradises” as they deeply contrast
with the image of chaotic, polluted and uncontrollable Indian cities. As such, the
exposure of European locations in Indian cinema oers viewers an escape from
their everyday challenges.
The globalisation of lm production has led to numerous socio-cultural and eco-
nomic impacts on foreign destinations. Knowledge exchange, innovation, employ-
ment opportunities, increased hotel stays, and general location spending by lm
crews are some of the positive impacts noted from hosting foreign lm produc-
tions. Knowledge exchange seems to be particularly important to destinations that
lack modern lm infrastructure because it oers them the opportunity to acquire
new skills, such as from more advanced technology (Szczepanik 2016). Cultural
diplomacy and soft power skills have been cited as important for lming, allow-
ing locations to build national prestige abroad (Lee 2022). Finally, it has been well
documented that the enhanced destination image of a lming location results in
increased tourism ow (e.g. Beeton 2006; Gyimóthy 2018).
Some lm-friendly destinations have become so popular that even when the
setting does not match a lm’s plot, producers still choose to shoot in these locales.
Contemporary Indian lm productions in Switzerland 121
In these cases, the lm-friendly destinations are used as “fake locations”, creat-
ing what lm tourism researchers call, “location dissonance” (Frost 2009) or
“displacement aspect” (Bolan et al. 2011). Historical lms often involve the use of
dierent locations and settings (Butler 2011). Examples include Romania used as
the 19th-century Appalachians in the United States in “Cold Mountain” (Hudson
and Ritchie 2006), Hungary as medieval England in the television series “Cad-
fael” (Busby et al. 2003), or Ireland as Scotland in “Braveheart” (Frost 2009).
Some places have developed expertise in standing in for other places, for example,
Prague (Goldsmith and O’Regan 2008). The availability of the right infrastructure
in these fake locations encourages producers to sacrice the authenticity of their
lming locations.
Dreaming of Switzerland in Mumbai
The focus on Switzerland as a lming location for Indian lm producers is justi-
ed for a number of reasons. Collaborations in the lm industry between India
and Switzerland were established decades ago, with the rst lm being shot in
1964. A conict in Kashmir was the cause for the rst Bollywood directors to
seek mountainous landscapes outside India; Hindi directors based in Mumbai
became interested in lming in the Alpine scenery (Ganti 2012; Frank 2016). The
most important period of Swiss–Indian collaborations took place during the 1990s
and early 2000s; at this time, Bollywood director, Yash Chopra, was lming a
song-and-dance sequence in Switzerland two to three times per month (Nanjangud
2021). His hallmark 1995 lm, “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” was shot exten-
sively in Switzerland, in numerous locations, and is still being shown in Indian
cinemas today (Switzerland Tourism 2020).
A variety of landscapes are featured in Chopra’s lms: lakes, rivers, glaciers,
mountains and meadows, as well as historical buildings and town squares. The
images of Switzerland, portrayed in Bollywood lms, as a heavenly, unspoiled,
peaceful place, subsequently triggered large tourism ows from India to Switzer-
land and provided economic opportunities for Swiss businesses (Gyimóthy 2018;
Frank 2016). The two towns of Engelberg and Interlaken, located in the Berner
Oberland region, which have been portrayed in Indian lms, remain the top desti-
nations among Indian tourists (Switzerland Tourism 2020). At the time of writing
this chapter, there are three Bollywood tours in Switzerland that take tourists to a
selection of Bollywood lm locations: i) Bollywood Tour, organised by the town
of Gstaad-Saanenland; ii) Indian Film Location Tour, based in Gstaad; and iii)
Bollywood Tour of Switzerland, by Erwin Tours of Switzerland. A must-see on all
these tours is a landmark in the village of Saanen, a bridge, where a couple from the
1995 lm “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” danced romantically (see Figure 7.1).
Undoubtedly, Yash Chopra, through his lms, was the greatest ambassador of
Switzerland. In 2002, Chopra received the Swiss Filmfare Award from the Swiss
government (Switzerland Tourism 2020) in recognition of his contribution to the
development of a “dreamlike” destination among the Indian audience. Following
his death in 2012, the late Chopra was honoured by the federation for the promotion
122 Hania Janta and Metka Herzog
of Switzerland, and in 2015, a statue of him was placed outside Hotel Jungfrau in
Interlaken, one of the director’s favourite locations (see Figure 7.2).
Undoubtedly, Bollywood cinema played an important role in the development
of the relationship between India and Switzerland. However, contemporary cinema
in India comprises many regional lm industries (e.g. Telugu, Tamil, and Kan-
nada), each with their own language (Ganti 2012). These regional lm industries
entered globalised lm production much later than Bollywood. They now oer
new opportunities to the destinations in which they lm (Cucco and Scaglioni
2014), and they are increasingly present in Switzerland.
Methodology
The research presented in this chapter is part of a larger international project exam-
ining the various mobilities inspired by Indian lm industries and Europe and its
aim was to understand socio-cultural and economic impacts deriving from Indian
lm shooting in selected European countries (see Chapter 1). A qualitative research
approach was used to examine the perceptions and experiences of location stake-
holders in Switzerland when collaborating with Indian lm industries. Twenty in-
depth interviews were conducted in 2020 and 2021. The respondents included: lm
Figure 7.1 The iconic bridge in Saanen, outside Gstaad, where the hallmark 1995 lm
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was shot.
Source: Own resources
Contemporary Indian lm productions in Switzerland 123
industry professionals in Switzerland (e.g. line/unit managers, scouts, cameramen);
representatives of state and local authorities; members of organisations that use
lming for their own purposes (e.g. tour operators); destination marketing organi-
sations; and regional lm commissions. The main research question for this study
was: How does Switzerland across dierent scales (country/region/city) attract the
Indian lm industry? The interview guide covered various questions related to the
Figure 7.2 One of the authors posing with the statue of Bollywood director, Yash Chopra,
in Interlaken.
Source: Own resources
124 Hania Janta and Metka Herzog
strategies of attracting foreign lm productions, organisational arrangements, and
collaborations between lm productions and local companies.
The participants were accessed via LinkedIn or via professional websites using
a snowballing technique. Some were identied from recent lms shot in Switzer-
land as their names were listed in the lm credits. The interviews, each lasting
from 30 minutes to more than two hours, were conducted in English or German,
then audio-recorded and transcribed. Due to the global challenges of the COVID-
19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the interviews were mostly conducted online via
Zoom or Skype but occasionally, also, in person or over the phone. The interviews
were later anonymised: the names of the interviewees, as well as any information
that could potentially identify them, were removed from the interview extracts.
Ethical issues were addressed throughout the data collection process and before
the interview took place; the respondents were informed about, and accepted, the
interview terms via a signed consent form. The data were analysed using codes and
categories (Lune and Berg 2017).
Although some of the interviewees were of Indian origins, the perspective pre-
sented in this chapter is that of the local stakeholders: those representing Switzer-
land. However, at the time of the interviews, some of the participants, mainly those
who acted as mediators between the two countries, partially lived in India.
Contemporary Indian lm productions in Switzerland
The role of Swiss Film Commissions
Although virtually all European States now provide tax incentives at a national
level, this is not the case for Switzerland (Cucco and Dagnino 2018, p. 444). Cur-
rently, Switzerland has three separate lm commissions: the Zurich Film Commis-
sion, the Ticino Film Commission, and the Lucerne & Central Switzerland Film
Commission. As noted earlier, compared to its neighbours (e.g. Austria or Italy),
Switzerland does not provide country-level lm incentives organised by the Swiss
Confederation. Launched in 2014, the Ticino Film Commission is the largest Swiss
lm commission and the only one that explicitly encourages lm producers to its
region by oering lm incentives and lm-related services. Ticino is the Italian
part of Switzerland and has picturesque terrain with lakes, palms, and beaches. The
commission’s incentives and services are targeted at foreign lms, shot in Ticino
and including clear location references, with a view to making Ticino recognisable
to the audience. The incentives are modest; the focus of the commission is mostly
on providing services as a Ticino Film Commission employee explained:
The condition to get that money, of course, is . . ., rst of all, that the
production is shooting in Ticino. Depending on how many days and how
many people are employed. Also, how the location will be shown in the nal
project. . . . Depending on how many expenses will be left in Ticino; in hotels,
meals, professionals and so on, we then decide with our board of directors
to give an incentive and how much. But we have to say that the incentives
Contemporary Indian lm productions in Switzerland 125
that we give are quite small. The biggest one, the highest one, that we gave
was about 15,000 Swiss francs, well, it’s really a small incentive. And for the
location scouting it is that maybe we pay someone who together with us to
do this job and we can also oer some night hospitality to the production, to
the director who is coming to Ticino to see the location and so on. . . . What
is our strength, is our job, our service to connect, to ask for permissions, to
get facilities, to get discounts with the hotels and so on.
(R15)
As argued by Cucco and Richeri (2021), the role of lm commissions is to mediate
between various stakeholders and facilitate the complex lm production. Nonethe-
less, a desire to oer attractive nancial packages to the lm producers was clearly
expressed by the two lm commissions interviewed in our project, although they
recognised that incentives should be settled at a national level. One of the key line
producers from India operating in Switzerland noted that the lack of incentives is
discouraging Indian productions:
Ideally, there should be worked out something soon because we are losing to
many countries, to Portugal.
(R11)
The reference to Portugal, a low-cost destination that oers generous lm incen-
tives to producers, points to the importance of the economic aspects of lm des-
tination selection. The quote also indicates that competition between countries in
attracting so-called “y-in y-out productions” is erce and that new emerging
destinations have the potential to become favourite sets for Indian lm producers.
Switzerland is not an aordable country and the high costs of lming in Switzer-
land remain a challenge, making it a less competitive destination from an economic
perspective.
Why do Bollywood lmmakers shoot in Switzerland?
Indians were exposed to the Alpine scenery, particularly from the 1990s until early
2000 through so-called “massalah-lms” – lms with a certain predictable plot
as indicated in the quote here. Yash Chopra travelled to Switzerland two to three
times per month at the peak, to lm song-and-dance sequences (Nanjangud 2021).
A trade Commissioner for Switzerland, who worked closely with the late director,
explained the content of the popular genre:
So this genre of romance, you know what we call[ed] a “massalah-lm”
those days. Because each lm had a certain plot and you had a good actor
and an actress. You had either a bad mother-in-law or a bad father-in-law.
You had one villain, there was always one or two rape scenes. There were ten
songs. One of them was shot in the rain. And then at the end, there was a ght
and happily ever after. You know, basically, what was Bollywood? It’s a form
126 Hania Janta and Metka Herzog
of escapism. You get away from reality for those three hours and you come
back feeling nice. Today’s lm is not that way. Today you come back and say
that’s actually happened in my country. That’s the dierence.
(R2)
Following years of intense exposure, the interest of Bollywood producers in lm-
ing in Switzerland weakened. The death of the director in 2012 marked an end of
a certain era in the Bollywood lm industry. Generous incentive schemes provided
by countries across the globe made Bollywood producers seek other destinations,
more in line with new genres, such as action lms.
As explained earlier, the Indian lm industry comprises many regional lm
industries, not just the famous Bollywood. While Bollywood is now exploring new
topics and looking for new locations, other Indian lm industries have become
attracted to Switzerland due to its Alpine scenery:
The Tamil lm industry and Telugu Film, they haven’t been exposed much
to Mr Chopra’s lms. Because they are very, I won’t say they are anti-Hindi
but they have pride in their language. . . . They are still going there. But
Bollywood has been, I mean, let me say, Switzerland has been a victim of its
own success.
(R8)
Today, other Indian industries, such as Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada, show an
increased interest in lming in Switzerland. This is not to say that Bollywood pro-
ducers have stopped lming in Switzerland. Some recent Bollywood productions
shot in the Alpine settings, such as “Simmba”, “Krish 3”, “War”, and “Dhoom 3”,
have achieved success in India and beyond.
Despite the changing lm production landscape, lm producers continue to take
advantage of the signicant lm infrastructure in Switzerland, as its high-quality
infrastructure remains an appealing pull factor for lmmakers. Our study demon-
strates that the key factors that make Switzerland continuously appealing are i) Top
business environment and proximity; ii) Diverse Settings: Alps, Riviera and mead-
ows; iii) Filming in substitute locations; iv) A luxury destination; and e) Qualied
professionals. These are discussed in turn in the following.
Top business environment
The key features of a lm-friendly destination are its connectedness (its close
proximity to the lming locations) and low levels of bureaucracy. Bureaucracy-
free conditions in the pre-production phase, involving a straightforward process of
applying for a visa to lm, is important when choosing Switzerland as a foreign
location. During our research, diplomats working at the Indian Embassy in Bern
said they do not receive queries from lm industry people because the applica-
tion process is simple so there is no reason to intervene. In contrast, one of the
interviewees explained the complex process of applying for a visa to shoot in the
Contemporary Indian lm productions in Switzerland 127
United States, in which professionals are asked to verify what their speciality is.
For example, a group of dancers was asked to travel hundreds of miles to perform
a dance routine for ocials at the Embassy. Application practices such as this are
big deterrents to lm producers when applying for visas to shoot in certain foreign
countries.
In Switzerland, accessibility is very easy. As we land, we can immediately
lm the next day. . . . It is quite welcoming from the Swiss companies, so
the producers and directors have easy access to these places. . . . So, we
write to, for example, Freiburg police a week in advance, or three days in
advance, and they give you the permission instantly. And, you know, they
also give you the cover with the police, in case of any problem with anyone
from the public. You can always call the police for support. So, they come
and help you out.
(R11)
Close proximity to lming sites and international airports (as well as direct ights
between India and Switzerland) are important factors in the past for lm produc-
ers when choosing Switzerland over other less-established destinations. Zurich,
a key city with the main international airport and plentiful rental houses, is never
too far from any Swiss location. Close proximity to lm settings and the ability
to move around easily across the Swiss territory were perceived as key factors.
However, more important factors seem to be the welcoming attitudes of the Swiss
people. The openness of the public sector and the friendliness of its employees
were frequently mentioned in the interviews. Despite the famously high costs in
Switzerland (a “challenge” frequently mentioned by all the respondents), many of
the public locations were oered to the producers without charge (a dynamic that
occurs in many countries). This was illustrated by a lm professional:
If it’s a feature movie, it’s going to be almost for free. Maybe you have to pay
for their work, if they have to have the manpower to help us, of course, you
pay that but you don’t pay additionally for using the location . . . normally
Switzerland is very open to feature lms. I think it would be a little harder
if you want to shoot advertisers. And the costs would be much higher. But if
these are feature movies, you really can work quite good with authorities,
they try to help you to get things done.
(R9)
Swiss authorities were cited as helpful and supportive when asked to obtain nec-
essary permits to lm. The supportive attitudes were reciprocated by the lm
producers and Swiss professionals, who made eorts to consider the authorities’
responsibilities and priorities also. For example, lm industry requests to lm in
busy transport hubs, such as international airports or busy railways stations, were
carefully thought through in advance; the lm producers were prepared to shoot
outside of rush hours and at night. One of the interviewees who worked frequently
128 Hania Janta and Metka Herzog
with Indian producers described the factors that were important to take into account
before approaching the authorities:
[Y]ou really need to have a plan. How you block it. What time. What day. It’s
exactly back to the day. If you do it Monday morning at 5 o’clock, it is much
better than trying to do it in the rush hour. And like, normally to also need to
get a permit to go to mountains at 6 o clock I can get it within an hour. It’s
just the price. The price to get up. And can they organise their people to open
the gondola that early? But you also want to go there as early as possible.
(R17)
According to the latest Tourism and Travel Competitiveness Index (2019), which
ranks various factors that contribute to the development and competitiveness of a
country, Switzerland is placed third out of 140 countries for its business environment.
This is reected in the respondents’ comments that emphasise red-tape-free condi-
tions at the pre-production and production stages and the friendliness of authorities
that facilitate work in the Swiss territory.
Diverse settings: Alps, “Riviera”, and meadows
In addition to the easy proximity of the Swiss locations, another positive factor is
their diversity. Despite being a small country, the country oers a wide-range of
landscapes that can meet various creative needs, ranging from the dramatic Alpine
views, lakes, rivers, and meadows to the relaxing Mediterranean-looking Riviera
with palm-lined lakes in the Italian part of the country. This diversity, combined
with ecient communication networks that facilitate mobility, oers countless
prospects in terms of locations, landscapes, and yearly seasons. Historically, Bol-
lywood lms portrayed specic regions of Switzerland. Alpine towns from Berner
Oberland canton, such as Interlaken, Engelberg and Gstaad have become must-see
destinations among Indian tourists as the towns featured extensively in the most
popular lms of all times (Gyimóthy 2018; Frank 2016). In the course of one of the
interviews conducted for this study at the end of 2020, during the second COVID-
19 lockdown in Switzerland, a lm industry professional with a rich experience of
collaborating with Indian lm producers was particularly positive about the value
of Switzerland for “y-in-y-out productions”:
We have facilities, the glacier, we have close by very good hotels. For sure
they will come back. It is just a question of when we are back again, how it
. . . was before. You know there are not that many countries where you have
very easy access to mountains and Switzerland has that.
(R4)
The possibility of shooting in unspoiled locations in the mountains, accessible only
by a gondola and then on foot was a reason to choose Switzerland. Next to the
mountainous landscapes, the Swiss territory oered other scenery: lakes, rivers,
Contemporary Indian lm productions in Switzerland 129
meadows, charming villages as well as quaint old streets, medieval castles, and
other historical buildings, giving the producers a possibility of lming in diverse
settings, easily reachable by road.
Availability of substitute locations
The diverse, attractive, and pristine geographical settings of Switzerland, including the
country’s linguistic diversity, translate into another opportunity: into using the small
country sites as substitute locations. There are four ocial language regions of Swit-
zerland: German, French, Italian, and (the very small) Romansh; these make it easier
to use the regions to represent locations in Germany, France, or Italy. For example,
in some of the recent Indian lms, Swiss locations have represented Germany (Doon
Seenu 2010) and France (Endukante . . . Premanta 2012), while in the blockbuster
Dhoom 3 (2013), various scenes were shot in Switzerland, not in Chicago.
A number of interviewees brought up the Dhoom 3 lm, which was partially
lmed in Switzerland. A Swiss landmark, Versasca dam, was eventually chosen,
because it fullled a specic vision of the director and because it worked logisti-
cally. As a lm professional working on the lm explained:
Why “Dhoom 3” ended up in Switzerland, because they wanted to shoot
actually the scene where they jumped out, the dam, they wanted to do it on
the Hoover dam, next to Las Vegas. . . . But there was another crew already
there for a long time so they had to nd a new dam. And they had a Swiss
stand coordinator on their site and he proposed the dam in Ticino. That’s why
the whole thing ended up being in Switzerland basically because normally it
was not planned to shoot anything in Switzerland.
(R9)
A very specic, curved dam where two actors could perform a bungee jump in the
nal scene was required for the lm. Together, the diculties related to the acces-
sibility of the desired dam in the United States and the challenging administration
process to obtain permission to lm there directed the producers to the European
country:
It is really, really hard to get permission to shoot in Chicago. And in the
States if you want to shoot, you have to shoot with the local lm companies,
they have a very strong union, they can’t just come with their own crew, and
shoot in their location, and in Switzerland it’s much easier.
(R4)
Compared with the United States, no strict regulations about local sta employment
exist in Switzerland, which makes lming in Switzerland much easier for lm crew
to organise. The producers have more freedom in choosing which professionals
they want to bring directly from India and who they want to employ locally, either
from Switzerland or neighbouring countries. Once the strategic venue was secured
130 Hania Janta and Metka Herzog
for lming Dhoom 3, the producer decided to shoot more scenes in Switzerland,
particularly because of the factors mentioned earlier, namely, easy access to per-
mits for challenging locations, such as international airports. Friendly lm policies
resulted in the producer shooting three additional scenes on the Swiss territory.
Our ndings indicate that sometimes unforeseen decisions are taken when
choosing locations. Concepts such as “location dissonance” (Frost 2009) or “dis-
placement aspect” (Bolan et al. 2011) are relevant here – Switzerland is being
used as a fake location. While the use of replaced, or mock, locations may have an
undesired eect for the country, a representative of the regional lm commission
that collaborated with the Dhoom 3 producer noted, in an interview, that there had
been interest in the location, Vercasca valley; the falsely portrayed location was
attracting Indian tourists (see Figure 7.3).
A luxury destination
Another factor that was mentioned by our interviewees refers to the choice of Swit-
zerland as an appealing destination for celebrities, which gives producers greater
leverage to attract the desired actors. Cucco and Scaglioni (2014) note that the most
popular actors in India like working abroad; they have more privacy because they
Figure 7.3 Dhoom 3 features on the marketing material of a bungee jumping company
located in Vercasca, Ticino.
Source: Own resources
Contemporary Indian lm productions in Switzerland 131
are more anonymous. Therefore, being mobbed by fans or journalists is less likely
in Europe than it is in India. Additionally, the Swiss environment and high-end
facilities, such as the availability of luxury 5-star hotels, act as an incentive. Film-
ing abroad is also seen as a bonus for directors who have more control over celebri-
ties’ time when the latter are outside their home countries. In a humorous manner,
the following quote describes working on a lm in India with a male celebrity:
You’ll be shooting in Bangalore and suddenly his wife calls him or his girl-
friend calls him and so he can go and meet her. You know, so you’re really
just waiting in Bangalore, waiting for him to come back. And he just said to
spend a weekend with his girlfriend. But if I take him he can’t do that. So he
stays with me. That’s number one. And then of course from morning to even-
ing. I mean an early start.
(R8)
Switzerland is one of the world’s top tourist destinations (The Tourism & Travel
Competitiveness Report 2019), and lming in Switzerland guarantees the use of
luxury accommodation, access to helicopters during early hours’ shootings, and
other, similarly luxurious, incentives – all the factors that play a role in the lives
of celebrities. Moreover, lm producers can work full days without interruptions.
Clearly, when it comes to attracting sought-after celebrities, a country with devel-
oped infrastructure and a high-end hospitality industry that is used to catering to
demanding visitors has a clear advantage over other competing destinations that
are not so well established.
Qualied professionals
The availability of creative labour, including aerial lming professionals and tech-
nical sta, is another pull factor. Some of the recent Indian lms were shot in
mountains, thus requiring aerial lming specialists, helicopter pilots, and aerial
lm directors. When asked about the local sta employed in the latest Indian lm
production, one of the lm industry professionals recalled the following:
Of course, it is like the key grip group, because they are in touch with the
rental houses. They know the equipment. And they have each assistant with
them. . . . And we had, I had my own assistant, I think the unit manager, XX
(name removed), he had his own assistant. And then ACs, PAs, that is, pro-
duction assistants, and runners. They just drive; drivers and helping hands.
Because it is always good to have Swiss people if you shoot in Switzerland,
because of communication, and, because you have like some policemen com-
ing up to Indians, that would be dicult (laughter).
(R9)
The quote illustrates that a good number of local lm industry professionals were
employed in this Indian lm production. Communication, cultural understanding,
132 Hania Janta and Metka Herzog
and practicalities are some of the reasons why locals being present among the lming
crew can facilitate a smooth lming process. Providing jobs for creative industry pro-
fessionals is one of the local benets that lm commissions in Switzerland highlight
among their key aims. However, despite the potential benets to both the lm crew
and locals, our interviews revealed diverse views on the employment of local sta.
One of the interviewees, representing one of the lm commissions, expressed
disappointment when speaking about the use of the local workforce by the Indian
lm producers, commenting on the large size of the crews coming directly from
India, including drivers and cooks. We also found that, in some cases, professional
dancers employed for the dance-and-song sequences were recruited from other
European countries rather than Switzerland; this was due to established networks
in Europe where producers collaborate with various companies, based, for exam-
ple, in France.
Specic local talent can be utilised by producers, for example, when the lm’s
narrative directly refers to Swiss culture and heritage. In these cases, local talent is
always employed.
If they need a few locals for, you know, like somebody playing the Alphorn in
the background or you know, a few dancing women in Swiss costume.
(R7)
Our ndings reveal that, in practice, a large proportion of the sta come from
India, which suggests that there is limited, positive economic impact on the host
destination in terms of employment. However, as illustrated earlier, this nding,
which can be perceived as negative, also reects a positive reason for choosing
Switzerland as a lming location – producers appreciate having the freedom to
choose with whom they want to work in the foreign location.
Conclusions
This study is based on qualitative data collected via 20 in-depth interviews con-
ducted with location stakeholders based in Switzerland who have collaborated with
the Indian lm industry. Owing to one particular Bollywood director, Yash Chopra,
India and Switzerland established a strong collaboration in the lm industry that
reached its peak in the 1990s and early 2000s (Frank 2016). The images of Swit-
zerland as an immaculate, pristine and heavenly place, portrayed in Bollywood
lms, triggered large tourism ows from India to Switzerland and benetted Swit-
zerland culturally and economically (Frank 2016). However, in recent years, the
emergence of a global production infrastructure has resulted in increased competi-
tion in attracting Indian lmmakers to new European locations through tax breaks,
free services and other incentives (Cucco and Scaglioni 2014; Cucco and Richeri
2021). As a consequence, Switzerland is now facing challenges in keeping its sta-
tus as a lm-friendly destination.
Our ndings illustrate that, despite the lack of lm incentives provided by Swit-
zerland, it continues to play a role in the Indian lm industry, although at a smaller
Contemporary Indian lm productions in Switzerland 133
scale than before. Fewer Bollywood productions are shot in Switzerland, although
other Indian lm industries are choosing the country to lm their productions in.
Our ndings illustrate that well-known attributes, such as ecient business admin-
istration, proximity to high-end tourism facilities and a selection of qualied local
sta, together play a key role in attracting large-scale productions. Additionally,
the pristine environment and diverse linguistic and geographical landscapes cre-
ate opportunities for lmmakers to use multilingual Switzerland as a substitute
location.
The attraction factors include the right business conditions, from a smooth visa
organisation process to the ease of accessing lming permissions and full sup-
port of authorities during lming. The key feature of a lm-friendly destination
relates to the connectedness and close proximity to the key locations. The small
size of the country, its linguistic diversity, ecient transport links, and diverse
landscapes, ranging from the dramatic Alpine views to the relaxing Mediterranean
Riviera oer a range of possibilities to lm. The same geographic and linguistic
diversity oers another opportunity – to use Switzerland as a substitute location.
Some recent Indian lms shot in Switzerland have done exactly that; they have
used the infrastructure in Switzerland to lm scenes in mock locations, which lm
history shows is not an unusual practice (e.g. Bolan et al. 2011). Switzerland, as a
source of diverse mock locations, is an opportunity for Indian lm producers from
Bollywood and other Indian lm industries.
Being one of the top, high-end tourist destinations in the world acts as a signi-
cant pull factor to attract the best actors for whom the luxury lming conditions in
Switzerland are more appealing than lming in their home country where chaos,
abuse from fans and dicult weather conditions play a role (Cucco and Scaglioni
2014). Also, having a developed infrastructure (including the hospitality industry,
which is used to cater for demanding visitors) is a strong advantage over other
destinations that are trying to catch up and compete. Another major benet of Swit-
zerland is the access it oers to specialist professionals, for example, aerial lm-
ing directors, when they are needed. There is a caveat to this nal benet though,
which is that many of the lm crew tend to come directly from India rather than
being employed locally.
This chapter contributes to the research exploring globalised lm production
processes and the attraction factors of choosing destinations as a lming location
(Cucco and Scaglioni 2014). By examining one destination, this chapter enhances
our understanding of the changing lm policies, production cultures, and globalisa-
tion, as well as the requirements of the producers and audiences. Future research
could examine the attraction factors in a comparative perspective to gain a better
understanding of the economic, and other, incentives that are important to lm
producers when selecting foreign lm locations.
Acknowledgement
This research is part of the FilmInd project, funded by EqUIP, SNSF: IZEQZ1_
180340.
134 Hania Janta and Metka Herzog
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This chapter has been made available under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Introduction
I predict that the more time that passes, the more respected popular Eastern European
cinema will become as an object of academic study.
(Mazierska 2010, p. 12, opening article in Studies
in Eastern European Cinema)
India has long been known for its lm industry and remains by far the largest lm
producer in the world (Ghosh Dastidar and Elliott 2020). Indian lm industries
produce between 1,500 and 2,000 lms annually (Jain et al. 2016). While Indian
cinema has had a presence in certain parts of the world linked to its diaspora, more
recently, it has crossed over to non-South Asian audiences (Bandyopadhyay 2008;
Therwath 2010; Banaji 2013). This expansion has also led to widespread incor-
poration of new lming locations outside India (Hafeez and Ara 2016). Territori-
ally embedded Indian lmmaking enables the promotion of tourism (Mittal and
Anjaneyaswamy 2013; Jain 2019; Josiam et al. 2020), employment opportunities
(Cucco and Scaglioni 2014), cross-cultural exchange (Lourenço 2017), and coun-
try branding with long-term economic and transcultural eects (Ernst & Young and
LA-India Film Council 2012).
Many studies exist evaluating the scope and role of Indian lmmaking in
Australia (Madan 2000), Latin America (Ghosal 2013), non-South Asia (Karan and
Schaefer 2020), North America (Roy and Huat 2014), and Western Europe (Cucco
and Scaglioni 2014). However, there is no concrete study describing the situation in
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). This region has recently seen an increased Indian
investment in lm shooting (Parvulescu and Hanzlík 2022), which is in line with an
increasing number of lm production companies moving from mature markets into
emerging ones (Jenster 2020). Some authors refer to CEE as a “semi-periphery”,
contributing to the production and export of a variety of goods, including cultural
and creative goods (Stachowiak and Stryjakiewicz 2018). CEE has become an inter-
esting destination for foreign lmmakers after the start of European integration.
The new political and economic reality has enabled the free ow of goods, people,
and information and the rise of prosperity and social justice, which made it easier
for foreign productions to lm. The popularity of CEE has signicantly grown and
8 Slovenia as a new contender in
attracting Indian lmmakers
within the context of Central
and Eastern Europe
Jani Kozina and Ana Jelnikar
Slovenia as a new contender in attracting Indian lmmakers 137
diversied over the last decade (Mitric 2021). However, little is known about the
success factors of Indian producers in mobilising lming locations in this part of
Europe, as well as the obstacles they have to face when doing so.
This chapter explores the structures, mechanisms, and cultural contexts that
have popularised lming destinations in CEE among Indian producers. It aims
to specically analyse the pros and cons, the strategies, experiences, and impacts
of Indian lming in Slovenia. The term CEE is highly contested and dened in
multiple ways. To avoid any confusion, we decided to attribute it to European
countries with a post-socialist tradition and concrete tendencies towards European
integration. The focus is on Slovenia as the smallest of the countries belonging to
CEE. Here we highlight both the Slovenian characteristics for Indian lmmaking
that are similar to those of other CEE countries and those that are attributed more
specically to Slovenia.
By way of context, it should be noted that Slovenia, like most of the countries of
CEE, is a Slavic country that experienced the socialist tradition from 1945 to 1991.
Within this period, it was one of the six republics of Yugoslavia that distanced
itself from the Soviet type of socialism in 1948. Yugoslavia invented its own type
of socialism, which followed the principles of labour and social self-management
and thus already carried the seed for the development of direct democracy. A softer
form of socialism and a geostrategic location close to countries such as Austria,
Germany, and Italy allowed Slovenia to have relatively close relations with the
Western world during this period and a smoother transition to democracy after
the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1991 and its independence. Notwithstanding this,
Slovenia underwent similar processes of European integration, which culminated
in the largest enlargement of the European Union (EU) towards CEE in 2004. Since
then, Slovenia has behaved very similar to other CEE countries within the common
political, economic, and cultural framework of the EU (Kosi et al. 2020; Nared
et al. 2020).
The structure of the chapter is as follows. The following two sections provide
the theoretical overview of CEE as a lm shooting destination, particularly for
Indian lmmakers. The fourth section describes the data collection and analysis
through interviews with key informants (in)directly associated with lmmaking in
India and Slovenia, while fth to ninth sections present the results. The last section
outlines the main ndings and recommendations for Indian lmmaking in Slove-
nia, arguing that while generalisations can be made regarding the wider region,
Slovenia, being the smallest of the CEE countries with some unique historical and
geographical specicities, and home to only about 4% of the locations of Indian
lms in the CEE region (Bole et al. 2021), displays characteristics and challenges
that seem to be uniquely her own.
Central and Eastern Europe as a lm shooting destination
After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the subsequent break-up of the Soviet
Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia, cultural industries were the rst to suer
massive cuts and withdrawal of secure funding early in the 1990s. Cinema was
138 Jani Kozina and Ana Jelnikar
aected most notably (Iordanova 1999). The state-owned and state-controlled lm
nancing and distribution infrastructure had entirely collapsed in all of the post-
Socialist countries in CEE. The shift to a market economy aected every level of
the lm industry, from its basic infrastructure to its mode of funding and manage-
ment (Ostrowska and Rydzewska 2017). Although the main changes resulted in
basic operational modications and did not have such an impact on the specics of
the artistic output (Iordanova 2003), the crumbling production routines also caused
a creative crisis in many lmmakers (Iordanova 1999).
Suddenly, as it were, Western European countries, alongside the United States
playing the leading role, became the much-sought-after partner for lmmakers
from all CEE countries (Iordanova 2002; Stachowiak and Stryjakiewicz 2018;
Mitric 2021). In the new international division of labour, the countries of CEE were
relegated to a supporting role. In the 1990s, the lm studios of CEE hosted a num-
ber of Western runaway productions, which kept the facilities busy and employed
local lmmakers without further recognition of the participation of the country
providing the services. In co-productions, the partners of CEE typically acted as
minority producers rather than as majority ones. However, such minority participa-
tion hardly counted as contributions to a national lm culture (Iordanova 2002).
For these reasons, well into the 2000s, CEE was still very much enclosed within
its national lm frames and, compared to other European regions, played a less
important role in co-productions (Kanzler et al. 2008).
European integration, most notably expressed through several waves of the EU
enlargement in 2004 (Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hun-
gary, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia), 2007 (Romania and Bulgaria), and
2013 (Croatia), began to change the narrative and to slowly reverse the downward
spiral. Foreign investment and the venture of big-budget lming in some countries
of CEE provided jobs for lm personnel and ensured investment in lm production
infrastructure, consequently saving production from the same decline experienced
in the early 1990s by the exhibition sector (Bergfelder 2005; Parvulescu and Han-
zlík 2022). Increasing internationalisation (Stachowiak and Stryjakiewicz 2018)
brought the proliferation of CEE-West co-productions, the emergence of transna-
tional producers (young, English-speaking, with liberal values) and the political
decision of national CEE governments to invest signicant public funding in lm-
subsidy structures (Mitric 2021).
Despite all the eorts, CEE is ultimately not a large market for the lm industry
in Europe, as the “Big Five” – France, Germany, UK, Italy, and Spain – account for
about 80% of releases, industry turnover and employees (Katsarova 2014). The EU
research suggests that the lm industry in CEE is generally uncompetitive and non-
commercially oriented at this stage (Mitkus and Nedzinskaitė-Mitkė 2016; Sta-
chowiak and Stryjakiewicz 2018). The reasons for this are complex. For example,
Mitkus and Nedzinskaitė-Mitkė (2016) blame CEE lmmakers’ systematic belief
that lm art and lm business are polar opposites, while Parvulescu and Hanzlík
(2021) argue that EU-funded VOD (video-on-demand) platforms tend to favour
larger European lm cultures like France to the disadvantage of smaller ones like
those from CEE (Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary, etc.).
Slovenia as a new contender in attracting Indian lmmakers 139
One of the rare studies attempting to understand both the reasons for the exist-
ing situation and also provide ideas of how to mitigate the obstacles and unveil
the potential of CEE for foreign lm shooting is that done by Jenster (2020). Her
comparative study of four CEE countries (Hungary, Czech Republic, Croatia, and
Poland) exposed numerous ways in which a lm production can increase the eco-
nomic return in the hosting country. They are concentrated on increasing auxiliary
services, raising awareness of cultural values and increasing tourism initiatives,
incentives, and co-production to strengthen the network and reduce overall costs.
However, her recommendations tend to be general in nature and could apply to any
type of foreign lm production.
The Slovenian professional lm production began in 1948 with the lm On
Our Own Land by the director France Štiglic (Slovenian Film Centre 2022). Dur-
ing Yugoslav period, Slovenia was an attractive destination for Western lmmak-
ers who recognised diverse and pristine nature and preserved cultural heritage as
suitable scenes for their movies. Important factors for outsourcing were low-cost
coproduction agreements with Yugoslavian market-oriented lm companies, low
production prices, and freer political atmosphere compared to the Soviet bloc
countries (Kumer 2019). Their interest, however, started to wane during 1980s
when Yugoslavia as a whole descended into a series of political, economic, and
ideological crises that ended with the dissolution of the country (Stanković 2012).
The process of dismantling the lm industry was similar to that in other countries
of CEE. The period between 1995 and 2015 represents the resurgence of Slovenian
lm and its increasing importance in the landscape of the world lm and especially
European lm (Slovenian Film Centre 2022). However, the lm industry in Slo-
venia remains a systemically disordered area and the most undernourished in the
entire cultural sector (Gričar 2015). Slovenia as an attractive shooting destination
for foreign lmmaking was rediscovered only recently by Indian lmmakers and
Western European and American companies which found advantage in recently
introduced tax rebate policy (Kumer 2019).
Central and Eastern Europe as a destination for Indian lmmakers
In spite of the fact that Europe pioneered both technological and content innovation
in cinema, the European lm landscape has become characterised by the strong
presence of Hollywood productions after WWII (Guback 1969). In 2013, Holly-
wood held a share of nearly 70% of the EU market, while European productions
represented only 26% (Katsarova 2014). Only a very small portion could be attrib-
uted to productions from other continents. Among them, however, we can trace
the increasing role of Indian lmmaking whose presence in the old continent dates
back to the late 1960s when political unrest in Kashmir as the preferred lming
location forced Raj Kapoor and other Indian directors to search for suitable foreign
locations, especially within Europe (Josiam et al. 2020). This trend accelerated in
the 1970s to 1990s when productions were transported to striking European loca-
tions like the Swiss Alps and Britain’s Summer Isles, which became the primary
backdrops of many Yash Chopra productions (Josiam et al. 2014).
140 Jani Kozina and Ana Jelnikar
Following the open market policy and economy, Indians gained wider access to
Western lms and television and thereby faced mounting competition for Indian
movies, especially in areas of action and special eects. The new trend resulted in
mega-budget lms with a particularly high focus in the action and sci- categories.
Sequences shot overseas have proven a real box oce draw, so Indian lm crews
started to increasingly lm in Australia, New Zealand, North America, Europe,
and elsewhere (Hafeez and Ara 2016). The focus in Europe was, to a large extent,
set on Western countries, especially Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, and the UK
(Cucco and Scaglioni 2014).
As reported by Josiam et al. (2020), a vast majority of Bollywood movies,
particularly their song sequences but also parts of the lm, are shot abroad, with
lmmakers believing that scenic foreign landscapes contribute to the success of
the lm. Cucco and Scaglioni (2014, 2023) identied three principal push factors
underlying overseas delocalisation, in particular in Western countries, of shoots for
Indian lmmakers: a) easier logistics compared to the more chaotic Indian context
(transport, services, etc.); b) funding and economic incentives oered to audio-
visual productions by many local- and national-government bodies; c) the search
for a wider audience (auent Indians and non-resident Indians) and a spectacular
appeal.
Although some authors mention that Indian cinema is popular in CEE (Loren-
zen and Taeube 2007; Bhatt 2013; Frank 2016; Banerjee and Srivastava 2019),
a more detailed structural and contextual analysis of the spread and intensity of
Indian lmmaking in this part of the world is still missing. So far, we have limited
information from only a few CEE countries. Kaveri Devi (2018) hypothesised that
among them, Poland, with its castles, parks, palaces, monuments, gardens, and old
cities and towns, has taken the lead in attracting Indian lmmakers. Parvulescu and
Hanzlík (2022) reported that eective service organisation for foreign productions
has recently attracted Indian investment (alongside American and German) to the
Czech Republic. Banasiak (2015) mentioned Poland and Romania to be on the rise
with Indian lmmakers. Polish visibility could, to a large extent, be attributed to
the campaign “I like Poland” where Polish Tourist Organisation (PTO) used a grant
from the EU to promote Polish locations in India. PTO also organised location
tours for Indian lmmakers in 2013, and their representatives travelled to Mumbai
to meet the Bollywood producers in 2014. The outcome was a large inux of Indian
tourists to Poland (ibid.).
Besides natural beauties, cultural heritage, built environment, and services, one
could also argue that CEE has become more competitive compared to Western
markets for its cost-eectiveness (Srivastava 2015). The Budapest Reporter (2021)
has recently quoted Saran Raparthy – the executive producer at Geetha Arts – as
saying that CEE is more exible in terms of budgets and time spent on location.
Since there is no concrete academic input about the growing connections
between CEE and Indian lmmakers, it would be relevant to study these phenom-
ena in a deeper and more structured way. Our aim in this chapter is to use the
specic example of Slovenia, which has attracted a dozen of Indian lmmakers in
the last decade.
Slovenia as a new contender in attracting Indian lmmakers 141
Research design
This study is based on ten in-depth interviews conducted with key informants
from India and Slovenia between December 2019 and July 2021 (Table 8.1). The
respondents belong to two main categories. The rst group consists of stakeholders
working directly in the lm industry and other creative industries related to lming
(e.g. actors, producers, line producers). The second group represents stakehold-
ers indirectly linked to lmmaking, such as state and local authorities and other
organisations that use lm for their purposes (e.g. destination marketing organisa-
tions, diplomats, lm commissions). Some interviewees belong to both types of
groups. The main reason for choosing these two categories is to bring out more
clearly the patterns of the relationship between lm and place by examining this
connection within and outside the lm industry. Half of the correspondents origi-
nate from India and a half from Slovenia, as we wanted to give equal representa-
tion to the experiences and perspectives of both the collaborating countries. Due
to mobility restrictions during the COVID-19 crisis, most of the interviews were
held online via Zoom, but some were implemented on location. The interviewees
were accessed via professional networks as well as a snowballing technique. Some
were identied in public media highlighting Indian lmmaking in Slovenia. Each
interview lasted between one hour and two hours. They were conducted in English
or Slovene, recorded, transcribed, and thematically analysed.
Table 8.1 The characteristics of the interviewees from India and Slovenia.
ID Interviewee
directly
connected to lm
industry
Interviewee
indirectly
connected to
lm industry
Indian
origin
Slovenian
origin
Location of
interviewee
Type of
interview
R1 / Diplomat ● Ljubljana,
Slovenia
On location
R2 / Diplomat ● New Delhi,
India
Online
R3 Producer Diplomat ● Mumbai, India On location
R4 / Film
commission
● Ljubljana,
Slovenia
Online
R5 Line producer ● Celje, Slovenia On location
R6 Bollywood
dancer,
actress, model
/ ● Ljubljana,
Slovenia
Online
R7 Line producer / ● Maribor,
Slovenia
Online
R8 / Diplomat ● New Delhi,
India
Online
R9 Line producer Travel agent ● Bangalore, India Online
R10 Producer, actor Indian restau-
rant owner
● Ljubljana,
Slovenia
Online
Source: Own elaboration.
142 Jani Kozina and Ana Jelnikar
Figure 8.1 The analysed topics of Indian lm shooting in Slovenia.
Source: Own elaboration
We built our analysis of Indian lmmaking in Slovenia around four broad topics
(Figure 8.1). First, we wanted to determine the comparative advantages of Slovenia
when it comes to hosting Indian lm shooting. The focus was on geographical,
social, and cultural characteristics. Second, the recognised conditions could serve
as a basis to think productively about the various kinds of initiatives and strategies
to attract Indian lmmakers to Slovenia. We were interested in understanding the
established mechanisms related to incentives, promotional campaigns, networking,
etc., and what their role, or lack thereof, has been up until the present moment.
Third, based on established collaborations between Indian lmmakers and Slove-
nian stakeholders, we were interested in recording and analysing their experiences.
The focus was on dierent sorts of organisational arrangements and cross-cultural
impacts on lm production. Fourth, as a nal outcome, we were eager to explore
the spatial and sectoral impacts of Indian lm shooting in Slovenia. We were par-
ticularly interested in the local spillover eects of lmmaking on places, busi-
nesses, and people.
Main characteristics of Indian lm shooting in Slovenia
Until we began this study, Indian lmmakers had used Slovenia as a location for
altogether 16 of their lm productions. Naayak was the rst lm featuring locations
shot in Slovenia to be released in 2013. Despite a decade-long history of lm shoot-
ing, Slovenia however is still a relatively unknown destination in the eyes of Indian
lmmakers, sometimes confused with Slovakia or imagined to be “somewhere in
Slovenia as a new contender in attracting Indian lmmakers 143
Russia” (R6). So far, it has functioned merely as a backdrop for Indian lmmakers
and solely for song sequences, never as part of the plot. Film producers, in other
words, come to Slovenia to shoot a song-and-dance number in what to an Indian
audience would be a new and attractive location (usually famous tourist places,
such as Bled, Piran, and Ljubljana; see examples in Figures 8.2–8.6). In terms of
dialogues, action and plot, Slovenian locations carry no signicance whatsoever as
far as the Indian lm is concerned. This means that there is nothing in the lm that
would make Slovenia identiable to the viewer. This would explain why Slovenia
is still relatively unknown to the Indian lmmaker. Even as the focus of the viewers
is on the hero/heroine in the song rather than the backdrop, the backdrop nonethe-
less does serve as an eye-catcher and could potentially put the host country on the
wider tourist map.
Our interviewees agreed that in order for Slovenia to be clearly identiable in
the lm by the Indian audience, at least one of the following would need to hap-
pen: 1) the Slovenian setting(s) would need to be explicitly mentioned by the hero/
heroine in the script (a visual representation is not enough), 2) one of the characters
would have to be an expatriate (e.g. a student in Ljubljana) and therefore the setting
would gure in the plot itself, or 3) a memorable action would have to take place
in a particular location (e.g. a boat chase on Lake Bled), while pre-publicity would
need to reveal to the audience where the shot was actually taken. For this to change,
the Slovenian government and local authorities would need to invest additional
resources so as to intensify communication with Indian lm producers to increase
Figure 8.2 Film shooting for the Dhruva project at Maribor Edvard Rusjan Airport,
Slovenia.
Source: Azaleja Global
144 Jani Kozina and Ana Jelnikar
Figure 8.3 Film shooting for the Dhruva project in Maribor, Slovenia.
Source: Azaleja Global
Figure 8.4 Film shooting for the Khaidi No. 150 project at lake Bled, Slovenia.
Source: Azaleja Global
146 Jani Kozina and Ana Jelnikar
the recognisability of their concrete destinations. In turn, this would provide an
added incentive and a boost to the tourism industry and other economic sectors.
Slovenian comparative advantages for Indian lm shooting
What determines the attraction of location is rarely a single over-riding factor, but
rather a unique combination of a number of considerations. At the same time what
is seen to be an advantage for one Indian lmmaker can constitute a disadvantage
for another. Our interlocutors have spoken of several comparative advantages for
choosing Slovenia to shoot their song-and-dance numbers rather than a Western
European country (or even a CEE country). It seems the Indian lmmakers prefer
Slovenia over other territories because it is geographically small and as a new post-
socialist country relatively unknown but diverse and relatively inexpensive loca-
tion with beautiful natural scenery, preserved cultural heritage, skilled technicians
and talented performers.
One of the main pull-factors for Indian lmmakers to come to Slovenia is the
combination of a wide diversity of landscapes in a small territory. This charac-
teristic can be said to be unique not only in the context of CEE but also at the
wider European, possibly even global, level. Slovenia has just over 20,000 km2 but
encompasses high Alpine peaks, the Mediterranean Sea, the Pannonian plains and
vineyards, the karst caves, extensive forests and numerous small and medium-sized
towns with medieval and (neo)classical architecture (Ciglič and Perko 2013). Both
the natural and cultural characteristics of Slovenia, the small distances between
dierent locations with the possibility to “capture everything” in just a few days
(green forests, blue rivers, sea and lakes, snowy peaks, etc.) is possibly the over-
arching consideration for most Indian lmmakers to come to Slovenia. As one
Indian line producer has succinctly put it, giving Slovenia’s “strategic location” as
its main advantage:
One major reason why I particularly pitch for Slovenia for most of the pro-
ducers is because of its strategic location. So, if I place the complete crew in
Ljubljana and the director and the creative head want to go to, say a beach
site, it is just a one-hour drive. If you want to go to the Alps, snow, it is one-
hour drive. If you want to go to lake, say lake Bohinj or Bled, it is a one-hour
drive. It is quite approachable. In the morning, when everybody gets up by
7:00, 7:30, in one-hour’s drive we are there on the location, we are ready for
the shoot, which is seldom what we see in other destinations.
(R9)
This exceptional view was rearmed from the opposite end by a Slovenian line
producer:
I saw very quickly what they [i.e., Indian lm producers] were looking for
and they also saw very quickly what we could oer and that was what no one
else could oer them, that is, on a small piece of land, all at hand. In the eight
Slovenia as a new contender in attracting Indian lmmakers 147
days of lming, we were often one day on Krvavec, where we lmed snow,
the second day we were in Ljubljana, where we lmed a typical view of a big
city or a European city, and the third day we were at sea, where it was as if
we were in Spain. So, what we have may not even be oered by Switzerland,
which is a European Mecca in terms of Indian lm production.
(R5)
Slovenia’s strategic location between Austria, Italy, Croatia, and Hungary has
meant an additional incentive to some Indian lm producers in terms of invit-
ing cross-border collaborations. Namely, being wedged between other – mostly
stronger – lm centres within the CEE region and further aeld, such as Venice,
Vienna, Budapest, Istanbul, Prague and the neighbouring Croatia, Slovenia, so as
to remain competitive, has needed to undertake a dierent strategy of action. This
strategy has typically led Slovenian lm producers to collaborate with neighbour-
ing countries (e.g. Italy). In other words, Slovenia can compete with – or rather
complement – the bigger players by oering something dierent (new attractive
locations) as well as by providing more competitive prices (see later).
Slovenia’s further comparative advantage is that it is a relatively young post-
socialist country that fully opened its borders to the Western world only after the
collapse of Yugoslavia in 1991 and its accession to the EU in 2004 (Kosi et al.
2020). In this sense, Slovenia, similar to the other countries of the CEE, was a
completely unexplored territory until very recently. Foreign location, as one lm
industry player put it from her own experience as a Bollywood dancer and actress,
constitutes a “cherry on the cake” (R6) within the lm, typically feeding escapist
appetites of those Indians who never get a chance to travel. Slovenia, alongside
other CEE countries, has thus gured as part of the new search for unknown, attrac-
tive, and sometimes adventurous locations.
Although many well-known Slovenian locations have already been included in
Indian lms in the course of the last decade, interviewees expect this trend to inten-
sify after the end of the COVID-19 epidemic, which has halted lming throughout
the world. At the same time, the pool of interesting locations is not endless, espe-
cially for such a small country. One Indian line producer, working in the Kan-
nada lm industry, expressed some doubts about continuing the collaboration at
the same pace and manner, rather suggesting new forms of shooting connected to
regular scenes, if the trend is to expand or continue.
Well, there has been a saturation to go to Slovenia in terms of looking for
locations only from the song perspective. If you just think of going to do songs
in Slovenia, no, I think we are done with that. We have mobilised the opti-
mum locations in Slovenia. Now, Slovenia can be used only for the purpose of
scenes, a chase, a ght sequence from a dierent perspective. There is still a
lot of potential. It all depends on the creative head and what the demand is of
the movie. Based on that, we can denitely utilise Slovenia in a much better
way than just simply showing the landscape, nature and things like that.
(R9)
148 Jani Kozina and Ana Jelnikar
Another important advantage of Slovenia compared to the wealthier countries in
Western and Northern Europe is competitive prices, since one of the key considera-
tions in choosing foreign locations relates to the budget constraint of a particular
Indian lm. Slovenia, like the other countries of CEE, can oer comparable sites to
other, more economically developed European destinations, but at a considerably
lower price. The Indian interviewees expressed themselves clearly on this:
The moment any movie maker thinks about shooting overseas, the rst coun-
try to come to their mind is Switzerland. Because it is so popular in India.
Everybody wants to go to Switzerland. And Switzerland can be aorded by
industries like Bollywood and Hyderabad, who have a lot of money and can
aord this kind of locations. But industries like Tamil or like our Kannada
industry, they look for something similar, something beautiful and as good
as Switzerland but economically it should be feasible for producers. That is
when we pitch Slovenia to them. We say, you are looking for Switzerland, we
will give you something better than Switzerland and for a cheaper price. So
that is how we approach them with Slovenia.
(R9)
What Indian productions nd, at least when they go to Eastern Europe for a
shoot, is rich European heritage. It’s similar scenes to Western Europe, the
streets, the look, the architecture, everything. And at a much cheaper cost.
(R3)
Having enumerated the major pull-factors for Indian lmmakers to choose Slove-
nia for a lm location, one disincentive in terms of reachability did crop up during
the course of our interviews from several interlocutors: namely, the absence of
direct ights between India and Slovenia. Usually, passengers need to stop over in
the Middle East or Turkey, or they can opt for a direct ight to nearby Venice (Italy)
or Zagreb (Croatia). Nonetheless, since both airports are within a couple of hours,
this does not seem to be the deciding factor.
Slovenian strategies to attract Indian lmmakers
Slovenia wants to attract foreign lm producers via two channels of promotion. First,
the advertising campaign “Drive less. Film green. Film in Slovenia” (https://lmin-
slovenia.si/) undertaken by the Slovenian Film Commission has launched Slovenia
as a green destination for lming at various international fairs promoting lm loca-
tions and putting it on the map on two major global platforms: Movie-Locations.
com (www.movie-locations.com) and The Location Guide (www.thelocationguide.
com). The advertising campaign promotes Slovenian landscape diversity, proxim-
ity, and geostrategic position as key factors for foreign lmmaking (Figure 8.7).
Slovenia’s geostrategic position presents an added value also from the adminis-
trative point of view. Being a member of the Schengen area means that the holder
of a Slovenian visa can travel anywhere throughout Europe. From this perspective,
Slovenia as a new contender in attracting Indian lmmakers 149
Slovenia is a more competitive destination compared to some other Eastern Euro-
pean countries like Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, and Serbia, for example. How-
ever, the convenience of a Slovenian visa makes it also attractive to fraudsters who
pretend to be lmmakers and use the visa to freely enter the EU. The Slovenian
Embassy in India, aware of such misconduct from past experiences, has become
rigorous in checking visa stakeholders through detailed verication and assistance
of Indian partners (e.g. the Honorary Consulate of Slovenia in Mumbai). This has
led to making the process of applying for visas timelier and more complex, some-
times negatively aecting the Indian–Slovenian lm collaborations.
Second, the Slovenian Film Commission also supports foreign lmmakers with
cash rebates. Slovenia is one of the last European countries to adopt monetary
incentives for foreign lm productions. This happened in 2016, and since then,
the Slovenian Film Commission has had an annual budget of €1,000,000, which is
signicantly less compared to other European countries. The cash rebate amounts
to up to 25% of the total acknowledged expenses for the realisation of the post-
production of any given project realised on the territory of the Republic of Slove-
nia. Until recently, the applicants were required to submit their applications at least
45 days before the start of the shooting. This requirement has been reduced in early
2022 to a reasonable threshold of one day before the shooting commences.
However, with no strategy to attract Indian lm producers specically, no Indian
lm producer has received this kind of nancial support so far, although there
have been several attempts on behalf of Slovenian line producers collaborating
with Indian lm players to avail of this monetary incentive for their joint projects.
Figure 8.7 The advertising campaign “Drive less. Film green. Film in Slovenia” of the
Slovenian Film Commission.
Source: Slovenian Film Centre
150 Jani Kozina and Ana Jelnikar
The main reason, according to both, is the lack of competencies to comply with
“European standards”, which are perceived as administrative barriers. The Indian
lmmakers appear to be further dissatised with the form of these incentives, pre-
ferring to receive the funds upfront rather than having to reclaim them through the
invoices after the project is completed. Moreover, the wording “up to 25%” is in
itself confusing, because they want to receive exactly 25% of their costs and not
less as reimbursement. The biggest hurdle, however, remains the fact that Indian
producers usually only start talking to Slovenian line producers about the specics
a few weeks in advance of their arrival in Slovenia. In addition, such agreements
may change entirely once at the lming location since Indian producers often fol-
low their own rhythm, inspiration, and energy. A Slovenian line producer explains
the challenges in more detail:
As far as this nancial aid is concerned, it is true that it says that they reim-
burse up to 25% of the costs. I know that our administration is a big problem
again. We tried twice and both times we were too late. They are too rigid.
They can’t expect us to provide, for example, an American style script, detail-
ing exactly what is going to happen by the hour. This is not the case in India.
And we can’t tell them that. We can’t think half a year in advance and write
something with Indians on paper just so I can apply for these funds if it is a
literal lie.
(R7)
In the absence of any clear national strategy and lack of incentives, the success
of Indian lmmaking in Slovenia owes much to a strong entrepreneurial vision
and organisational skills of Slovenian line producers who have established close
personal relationships with Indian lm producers. Before getting the rst deals,
all Slovenian line producers travelled to India to meet the right people and to
learn about Indian business and culture. Previous online and electronic commu-
nication was usually pointless. The only decisive factor was to establish personal
face-to-face contact.
I’m just telling you that if you’re not present in India among production
houses, if there aren’t people out there looking for, following and knowing
about new projects, then it’s just one big coincidence or I don’t know what
has to coincide for someone here in Slovenia to get such a project, but at the
same time nothing would be done on the other side.
(R7)
Our ndings have also shown the (in)direct role of the Slovenian Embassy in
India in facilitating and promoting lming in Slovenia: directly through consular
services in issuing visas and indirectly through their networks and personal con-
tacts, including honorary ambassadors well connected in the Indian lm industry.
Occasionally, though not so frequently anymore, we were told, a lm producer
wanting to shoot in Slovenia would turn directly to the Embassy (as, for example,
Slovenia as a new contender in attracting Indian lmmakers 151
a Bollywood producer working with Salman Khan), in which case they would for-
ward the enquiry to Slovene line producers. The importance of direct personal con-
nections with Indian lm industries, from Bollywood to Tollywood, and a physical
presence in the eld in India, was reiterated by all our interlocutors.
Experiences of Indian lm shooting in Slovenia
Organisational arrangements for shooting song sequences for Indian lms using
Slovene locations reveal a close collaborative process between Slovene line pro-
ducers and Indian location managers/gurus or lm industry partners in both the
pre-production and production stages. The nature of this collaboration, involving
entrepreneurially minded individuals looking for new business opportunities both
in Slovenia and India, has evolved over time, from trial-and-error beginnings to
solid collaborations over the last few years. The Indian point of view, based on our
interviews, has revealed that the decision to choose Slovene locations is primarily a
commercial one, facilitated by any number of crucial factors, from accommodation
facilities to logistics, concessions rates, permissions, etc. As one interlocutor put it,
the pragmatic side is all important.
The process of scouting for a foreign location begins in India, with Indian lm
producers having ideas about something they may have seen, or something they
imagine would be good, possibly seeing it on Google, and giving this to the line
producer in India who collaborates with the line producers abroad (R7). The rst
step typically involves the Indian producer sending some visuals of what the lm
director is looking for, to the location managers in India, who begin a database
search, while deferring with foreign line producers and partners to do the same
from their side. Sounding out what the lm director, the creative head, and the
producer (but also the cameraman, the cinematographer, and the song director) are
after, and what their particular requirements are, is where it all starts – typically in
an oce in India:
So, based on that, we give them ideas. If Slovenia ts their idea, we propose
Slovenia, if not, we give them Italy, or Switzerland or Norway, Iceland, it all
depends.
(R9)
Detailed knowledge of what Slovenia oers in terms of locations has been under-
lined by all key players in this co-production process, with Indian location manag-
ers regularly visiting the country and knowing its sites very well. Although Slovene
lm scouts also play their part in suggesting locations, their role comes to the fore
more prominently in securing location permits, attaining equipment, nding a crea-
tive team (i.e. dancers), hiring props, booking hotels, nding appropriate catering
services, local transportation, etc., everything needed for the lm shoot before and
during the production process.
Every movie has a shooting requirement of at least two songs in a foreign loca-
tion. Doing only one song makes no economic sense, given the size of the Indian
152 Jani Kozina and Ana Jelnikar
crew, which includes the director, the camera team, the choreographer, the cho-
reographer’s assistant, the make-up artist, the hair artist, the heroine’s assistant,
the hero’s assistant, the costume designer, alongside technical sta. The crew also
includes a number of Slovene participants on the set, from technicians, and danc-
ers to catering sta, alongside the logistics team. It is not uncommon for family
members of the main actors to travel to a foreign location as well. One interviewee
referred to them as stow-aways, seeing them as part of the Indian way of doing
things. From the organisational point of view, shooting song sequences in a foreign
location is a highly complex and demanding collaborative process, requiring sub-
stantial logistics and coordination skills on the part of everyone involved.
Slovene lm professionals have all stressed the key importance of cross- cultural
learning and negotiations in their joint projects with the Indian lm industry.
Unsurprisingly, the beginnings of this collaboration were seen to be challenging
for rather inexperienced Slovene line producers and other stakeholders. Dierent
(coping) strategies emerged to broach and negotiate what were perceived as dier-
ences in codes of communication and professional standards between Indians and
Europeans more generally. This could be as trivial as not allowing the crew to eat
on the bus to demanding a full advance payment for any extra services so as not to
risk not being paid. In this, the insistence on everyone following the host-country’s
rules was something that needed to be clearly articulated from the outset, so as to
minimise misunderstanding.
The interviews with both Slovenian and Indian interlocutors have led to for-
mulations of certain “cultural” traits, even stereotypes, seen to be underlying
their communication and constituting a challenge to their collaboration. Notions
of “European standards” were evoked and contrasted with what was seen to be
“Indian lack of professionalism”, something that was remarked upon also by the
Indian line producer:
Yes, there is a huge dierence. We need to learn a lot on professionalism
from European countries, though we Indians make so many movies, and we
have made some really big projects, but when it comes to the professional-
ism, I still feel that we are lacking behind. Europe is way ahead in terms of
commitments.
(R9)
Leaving everything to the last minute (R7), as one Slovenian line producer has
noted, often introduced a measure of unpredictability and sometimes fed unreal-
istic expectations on both sides. For example, as noted earlier, the 45-day dead-
line from the lm commission to apply for nancial reimbursements has so far
never been met from the Indian side (R7). Other examples of failed communication
involved a project in which the Indian lm director suddenly required orchestra
musicians, without having the budget for it. The impromptu solution of lay musi-
cians organised by the Slovene side was met with an angry response that these
were “not real musicians”. On the other hand, the sudden demand to put together a
guerrilla camp in the middle of the forest for a shoot, which put an enormous strain
Slovenia as a new contender in attracting Indian lmmakers 153
on the Slovene producers and organisers to obtain barbed wire, army tents, army
vehicles, sand bags, etc., and assemble it in two days, was managed successfully.
The lesson learnt was that clarity in what is being promised on the deliverables
from the local side as well as careful preparation in advance to avoid miscommuni-
cation are of the utmost importance, though ultimately, as one interlocutor has put
it half-jokingly and half-seriously, there has to be an acceptance of this rock ’n’ roll
with Indians and their unpredictable ways of doing things (R7). There are lessons
to be learnt from cross-cultural communication and accepting dierence in com-
munication and ways of doing things was seen to be part of that learning process.
Therefore, even as conditions on the set, particularly when the crews are larger,
can appear to be dicult to manage from the Slovenian point of view, all Slovene
interlocutors could not but express a sense of amazement that things always some-
how work out at the end. Our ndings indeed testify to a collaborative process that
can be challenging but also extremely rewarding, even as these rewards are often
intangible. More than one interlocutor consider the years of collaborating across
cultures as nothing less than a school for life, a life-changing experience.
Honestly, I must say that I kept and kept going back to India, I was so ada-
mant to understand them, every caste in its own right, how they think, what
they want, how they operate, and how to communicate with them. And I’ve
learnt it all and am very proud of that.
(R5)
From our interviews, we have been able to establish that Indian lm shooting
in Slovenia has provided fertile ground for cross-cultural exchange; it has led to
increased mutual awareness, a tempering of mutual misconceptions, as well as a
desire to travel and actively explore a dierent culture and generate income for
both sides. The trajectory of collaboration is seen to be upward and positive.
Impacts of Indian lm shooting in Slovenia
A typical project of Indian lmmakers in Slovenia involves about 30–40 people
who stay in Slovenia between one and two weeks and spend between €50,000 and
€100,000. This amount includes the shooting, services of line producers and other
subcontractors, accommodation, dining, and shopping. Wealthier Indian guests
typically like to visit better restaurants, go for wine tasting, and engage in shop-
ping. Middle-class Indians, on the other hand, usually prefer to consume Indian
food. Direct spending by Indian visitors represents the major share of lm-induced
investments in Slovenia. No other signicant expenditures, including lm tourism,
were reported by the interviewees to have emerged from lm production.
According to our interlocutors, Indian tourism in Slovenia is still in its early
development or nascent form, one reason being that, strategically, Indian visitors
are not regarded as a priority. Several factors have contributed to this situation. On
the one hand, the general experience with Indian tourists in Slovenia is not seen to
be overly positive by the Slovenian tourist operators. Not least because, according
154 Jani Kozina and Ana Jelnikar
to them, Slovenia wants to avoid mass tourism and considers itself more suitable
and interesting for boutique tourism due to its small size, lack of large cities and its
predominantly “green” character.
Judging by the policy of the Slovenian Tourism Organisation, India is not one
of the priorities. My personal opinion is that Slovenia does not want to become
Barcelona or Venice. We do not want to be ooded with tourists. I think that
should not be our goal, but that we need to be strategic, and I would say target
this higher class of tourism. So, I personally think it would be worthwhile to go
after the wealthier class, even if it means we only get small numbers.
(R8)
On the other hand, in comparison to other more developed countries, Slove-
nia lacks ve-star accommodation, luxury spas, and boutique shops with prestig-
ious brands of clothing, jewellery, etc. which would satisfy the needs of wealthier
Indian guests.
I have travelled a lot in the world and I must say that the Indian ve-star
hotels are beyond comparison. The service you get in those hotels is exqui-
site, perhaps only in Thailand you get something comparable. I think that
here in Slovenia we can learn a lot from India in the eld of hospitality.
(R8)
The interviewees reported positive feedback from local communities and the media
in response to joint Indian Slovene lm ventures. Most people were surprised but
also proud and cooperative when they heard about the purpose of the Indian visits
to Slovenia. One Slovenian line producer responded in no uncertain terms:
And I must also say that all the local authorities in Slovenia, where we
worked, were positive. Certainly, at the beginning with anxiety of what will
happen now, but otherwise really positive. The locals, maybe not at the
beginning, but very soon it was like a fairy tale.
(R7)
Similarly, Indian lm producers shared some very positive experiences of their
collaboration with Slovenian artists and other stakeholders that were conducive to
what they perceived as an all-around supportive and rewarding working environ-
ment that seems to harness mutual respect. In the words of an Indian line producer:
I think they simply love Indian movies I feel. They are very inquisitive; they are
very eager. Having worked with local crews as well, I have worked with a lot of
Slovenian dancers and they are indeed phenomenal, fantastic dancers. Com-
pared to any other European country. Apart from Italy, I have found the best
dancers in Slovenia, they adapt so well to Indian music, they are very quick.
(R9)
Slovenia as a new contender in attracting Indian lmmakers 155
Conclusions
This chapter has set out to investigate the structures, processes, and cultural con-
texts that have contributed to the popularisation of lming locations in CEE among
Indian producers. Its aim was to specically analyse the comparative advantages,
strategies, experiences, and impacts of Indian lming in Slovenia as an example
of a CEE country.
Our ndings have shown that Slovene–Indian lm collaboration is a relatively
recent phenomenon, going back merely a decade. At the same time, it is part of a
wider trend across the region, in which Slovenia has joined the club of countries
in CEE with increased Indian investment in lm shooting (Parvulescu and Hanzlík
2022). However, there are several specicities to the Slovenian scenario. First, the
shooting locations have, up until now, served merely as an (exotic) backdrop to
the dance-and-song numbers without being part of the lm plot. Second, the col-
laborations have involved almost exclusively South Indian lm partners and are
yet to attract and venture out into Bollywood co-productions. And third, our nd-
ings have shown that without any governmental infrastructure supporting Indian-
Slovene lm co-productions, all past collaborations have relied mostly on personal
initiatives of entrepreneurially minded individuals venturing out into India in
search of new business opportunities.
Strategically – and against the backdrop of rising interest in new CEE locations –
Slovenia has been shown to hold a number of competitive advantages as a geo-
graphically small, diverse, and inexpensive location with beautiful natural scenery
and cultural heritage, skilled technicians, and talented performers. Bureaucratically,
however, it presents several obstacles, particularly in terms of obtaining visas and
the red tape involved in applying for nancial remunerations. The organisational
and cultural challenges too have been faced by both sides of the cross-cultural col-
laboration, leading to questions of who adjusts to whom. From the initial trial-and-
error beginnings, the established solid connections between Slovene and Indian
line producers, including other local participants, have given rise to a rewarding
cultural-economic phenomenon of knowledge exchange with reasonably high
hopes and expectations for the future.
It seems that the rst step in developing Indian lmmaking in Slovenia would be
to appeal to the Slovenian government to recognise (the Indian) lm industry as a
force for generating income, especially through tourism. Namely, Slovenia has no
strategy to attract Indian lm producers specically, which is one of the main rea-
sons that no Indian lm producer has received any Slovenian nancial support so
far. Such an outcome in Slovenia stands in marked contrast to the political decision
of national CEE governments to invest signicant public funding to attract for-
eign lmmakers (Mitric 2021). The solution for this challenge could be to educate
both members of the public and the representatives of governmental bodies of the
importance and potential impact the Indian lm industry could have on Slovenia.
This would involve doing further research so as to obtain scientically sound data
to more eciently run awareness-raising campaigns, showcase previous success
stories in other countries, and engage dierent stakeholders in an ongoing fruitful
156 Jani Kozina and Ana Jelnikar
communication underpinned by a common goal. Sooner or later, the post-COVID
times will witness a relaunch of Indian lmmaking in Europe. There are already
calls for European countries to get ready to seize the opportunities once they arise
(see Chapter 6). It will be interesting to observe how countries of CEE and Slove-
nia in particular, will behave within this reshaped lm landscape.
Acknowledgement
FilmInd project – The Indian lm industry as a driver of new socio-economic con-
nections was carried out within EU-India Platform for Social Sciences and Human-
ities and nanced by national funding of the participating countries. The authors
acknowledge receipt of funding from the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport
of the Republic of Slovenia and Slovenian Research Agency (Research programme
P6–0101). The authors also thank the interviewees from India and Slovenia for
their kind cooperation in the research.
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This chapter has been made available under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Introduction
Globalisation processes and technological change, especially digitalisation, have
created a global lm industry and accelerated global competition. Local lm
industries were forced to undertake necessary reforms to compete successfully.
Otherwise, they will be unable to attract investment and lose their talents. Due
to historical circumstances and the relatively small local markets, the periphery
and semi-periphery, like most Eastern and Central European countries, have lm
industries dependent on public subsidies (Jäckel 2003). They subsidise some of the
production expenses of domestic producers or are used to attract foreign investment
in the form of contracts or location shooting. Inward subsidies and other incen-
tives have often been discussed in connection with possible trade distortions and
competition between locations oering the highest incentives. However, nancial
incentives alone, without the development of complementary human resources and
related infrastructures, are insucient to yield local benets except for short-term
ones (OECD 2008).
As Stachowiak and Stryjakiewicz (2018) point out, many less-developed regions
have been adapting by increasing international collaboration to keep up with struc-
tural changes in the global lm industry. These collaborations take dierent forms:
from co-productions and joint ventures providing services to foreign productions to
individual collaborations. These dierent forms of lm industry interaction mean
that dierent “lm production cultures” are increasingly coming together. In his
seminal work, J. T. Caldwell (2008) introduced the idea of a culture of production
and, thus, cultural practices and rituals that give meaning to workers in the lm and
television industry. He argues, among others, that workers’ ideas about the industry
are embedded in their daily practices and the media they create. In this chapter, we
want to take Caldwell’s arguments further and point to one element, interpersonal
relations, as vital in understanding the internationalisation of the lm industry and
the sub-education cultures that clash as a result. We also build on Coe’s (2000)
9 Production culture,
interpersonal relations,
and the internationalisation
of lmmaking industry
The case of Indian lm productions
in Poland
Malwina Balcerak, Krzysztof Stachowiak,
and Marcin Adamczak
160 Malwina Balcerak et al.
argument on the embeddedness of the lm industry in a network of interpersonal
relations. The concept of “embeddedness”, popularised in a seminal paper by Gran-
ovetter (1985), suggests that economic action, instead of representing some kind of
free-oating logic or rationality, is embedded in networks and institutions that are
socially constructed and culturally dened and therefore is inuenced by aspects
such as mutuality, trust, and cooperation (Zukin and DiMaggio 1990). In other
words, economic action is inseparable from the social relations through which it is
enacted. Bourdieu (1984) used the term “embodiment” to refer to similar processes
at the organisational level. However, we would like to argue in this chapter that
economic processes are embedded in key social actors and their networks and rep-
resent embodiment at the level of the individual. By contrast, economic sociology
and economic geography research has thus far focused on how organisations and
institutions are embedded in socio-spatial networks (Grabher 1993; Dicken et al.
1994; Hess 2004).
The chapter is structured as follows. In the rst section, we introduce the con-
cept of production culture and discuss it with reference to intercultural lmmaking
experiences. The next section attempts to explain the background of the critical
element in collaboration with the Indian lm industry: interpersonal relationships.
We argue that they may be the key to collaboration between the two lm industries.
Then we try to test it empirically by examining the Indian lm production culture
from the perspective of Polish lmmakers. In doing so, we present the dierences
between the Polish and Indian two production cultures. Furthermore, we try to
show what the informal side of the lm industry consists of, which plays an essen-
tial role in India. The last section tries to show how these dierences in production
cultures can be used to their advantage and how the rootedness in the network of
interpersonal relationships was used in Polish–Indian lm cooperation. The chap-
ter closes with concluding remarks.
Production culture and cultural embeddedness
Towards the end of the rst decade of the 21st century, the concept of “production
culture” research, initiated by John T. Caldwell (2008) and further developed by
his collaborators, attracted considerable interest in lm studies. Their research’s
novelty consisted of directing attention to spheres hitherto considered marginal in
academic lm studies and pointing out their considerable signicance and cogni-
tive complexity. This refers primarily to the complex process of producing a lm,
which involves textual, human, technological, and nancial factors. It has also
been suggested that the methodological palette should be expanded to include eth-
nographic tools such as participatory observation and unstructured in-depth inter-
views, as well as others based on a much broader spectrum of analysed production
documents, going beyond just the lms and scripts themselves.
Two terms have been used interchangeably to describe Caldwell’s proposed
methods and scope of research: production studies and production culture. They
form the titles of two signicant books inaugurating this approach (Caldwell 2008;
Mayer et al. 2009). In subsequent years, however, the term “production studies”
Production culture and interpersonal relations 161
gradually began to displace “production culture”. This happened not coinciden-
tally, as it better characterised the research undertaken in the spirit of Caldwell’s
concept. What was being studied was lm production: its institutions and market,
the work of lm crews, career trajectories, the complex process of creating lm
works, procedures, and working environments. It was lm production that turned
out to be the main focus of this strand of research. Culture, on the other hand, was
slowly forgotten.
This was also because Caldwell paradoxically devoted little space and interest
to it in his most important work. Despite including “culture of production” in the
book’s title (see Caldwell 2008), he deals with the concept of “culture” to an exceed-
ingly moderate degree. He expounds his understanding of it discreetly in a brief
footnote. His followers thus found it easier to forget about culture, and “production
culture” itself began to function more as an attractive and perhaps nobler-sounding
synonym for “production studies”, conducive to its smoother introduction more
widely into the curricula of academic lm studies. Caldwell (2008) only mentions
the eponymous term a couple of times in the pages of his book, primarily indicating
that he is interested in culture as an interpretative system (p. 2), seeing his project
as a cultural study of the industry’s self-theorising as a cognitive and social activity
and, at the same time, of production as a cultural practice (p. 7) and acknowledg-
ing, in the aforementioned discrete footnote (Caldwell 2008, p. 374, footnote 4),
the Geertzian tradition (see Geertz 1983). It is worth noting here that, of the rich
body of cultural studies thought, it is indeed the one that is best suited (along-
side the work of McRobbie 2002) to the nature of Caldwell’s research, which so
strongly emphasises the industry’s self-reexivity, its practice of ad hoc theorising
and its operation within elaborate industry interpretive-meaning structures. Cald-
well simply brilliantly, and perhaps partly intuitively, chooses the understanding
of culture that is operationally most eective for his inquiries, rather than dealing
with it with a fascination far more with the concreteness of his research material
than with theorising, as he makes clear in the nal sections of his work. Instead, he
associates theory with other distant approaches in lm studies.
In doing so, it is hard to resist the impression that Caldwell (2008) also tacitly
adopts an arguably “soft”, colloquial understanding of culture as the culture of
an organisation, in the spirit of the working environment determined, for exam-
ple, by “Google culture” or “Facebook culture”. The omission of broader theoreti-
cal inquiry does not harm the work, as the research material is largely previously
unknown, and this “soft” understanding is a form of ethnographic understanding
of culture. This is why this research has been able to develop so exuberantly and
its undoubted achievements today include a fuller understanding of the complex
process of creating a cannon, insightful descriptions of the market and institutional
mechanisms, and even knowledge that enables a rethinking of lmmaking pro-
cesses, with great educational and practical value for aspiring employees of pro-
duction divisions.
Central to the discussion on production culture is whether we can speak of dif-
ferent production cultures existing in the world. One can, of course, imagine the
legitimacy of the concept of the existence of a particular culture of production on
162 Malwina Balcerak et al.
the assumption that it is globally universal, that lms are produced everywhere in
the world in essentially the same way, that there is, namely, one culture of lm pro-
duction in the world. If the culture is one, perhaps not particularly, then a concept
of it is needed. We feel intuitive that the concept of culture presupposes a diversity
of cultures. Hence, the next step should be to nd at least a candidate for a dier-
ent production culture than Hollywood or the European one, which claims to be
universal. Is there anywhere in the world where lms are produced markedly dif-
ferently than in Los Angeles, Paris, London, or Warsaw?
Indian cinematographies, primarily the best-known Bollywood and Tamil, cer-
tainly provide good material for consideration (cf. Velayutham 2008; Ganti 2012).
They are examples of cinematographies that are in many respects rich and highly
developed while at the same time diering in important respects from Western
cinematographies such as Hollywood and Europe. This richness manifests itself
not only in high production volumes (in 2019, of 2,446 lms were released in
India, 20% were made in Bollywood, and 10% were the work of Tamil cinema-
tography1) and box oce (Bollywood, the Hindi lm industry, contributing 43%
of the revenue while Tamil lm industry contributes 19% – see Jain et al. [2016,
p. 10]), but also in a level of budgeting, staging mastery and technical prowess
that is not inferior to leading cinematographies. At the same time, the dierences
mentioned earlier are captivating: a dierent approach to issues of cinematic real-
ism, a narrative structure with a climax before the mid-screen break resulting from
a dierent organisation of the cinematic spectacles, a more Manichean division
between good and evil, elaborate genre and franchise traditions of their own, their
star system or, of course, the extended song-and-dance sequences most often men-
tioned in this context.
For these reasons, Indian cinematographies are captivating in their otherness not
only from a European perspective, providing unique cinematic experience pleas-
ures, but above all, from a theoretical lm studies perspective, they appear as an
excellent example for the analysis conducted from the position of production cul-
ture research. In other words, if we were to nd at least preliminary candidates for
indicating cultural dierences in the process of lmmaking, additionally linked
even more broadly to lm culture, allowing us to pose the thesis of the existence of
a dierent production culture in the world than the one adopted in the professional
Western world, we should look for them rst and foremost among Indian cinema-
tographers. Their analysis may provide preliminary answers to the question of the
existence or non-existence of clearly distinctive production cultures.
Interpersonal relations as a vital element in collaboration
with the Indian lm industry
One feature that distinguishes Indian lm production culture is its reliance on
interpersonal relations (Lorenzen and Taeube 2010). Many aspects of the Indian
economy are rmly embedded in social relations, which oset the underdevel-
oped formal institutions. Personal relations (particularly face-to-face interactions)
based on solid social group collective identity are the critical hallmark of business
Production culture and interpersonal relations 163
relationships in India – market relations are not built only on economic incentives.
India is thus labelled an “economy that runs on relationships” (Pellissery 2008,
p. 250).
For several decades, informal social relationships have underpinned the busi-
ness model of lm production in India (Lorenzen and Taeube 2007; Ganti 2012).
They are even seen as part of the wider global connectivity of the Bollywood lm
cluster (Lorenzen and Mudambi 2013). As Chitrapu (2018, p. 159) points out, “the
most powerful actors and producers of this industry are part of a close-knit net-
work, with professional and social ties”. In this network, there is a high degree
of social trust and an intense exchange of information due to family ties between
actors or frequent social gatherings (Lorenzen and Taeube 2007). However, before
characterising informal personal relationships in the lm industry, it is essential to
explain why social relations are so entrenched in Indian society.
Business relationships in India are based more on trust than on contracts. This
phenomenon probably has its roots, as Lal (1998, p. 28) writes, in “the three pil-
lars of the Indian social system . . . the relatively autarkic village communities, the
caste system, and the joint family”. He identies three elements as the foundation
of the “economy that runs on relationships”: (1) the family, (2) spirituality, and (3)
the housing situation in India are singled out in the literature as the foundation of
the economy that runs on relationships.
Regarding the role of the family, Harris (2003) points out that Indian business
is distinguished by a specic business culture characterised by “selective trust”.
This is because a majority of the most valuable companies are family businesses.
Most of India’s most inuential companies are family-owned, and many are multi-
generational businesses. As in other developing countries, the family is a power-
fully inuential informal institution in India (Prasad 2006), thus being one of the
most important motivators of individual behaviour (Lorenzen and Taeube 2010).
This emphasis on family ties can also be seen as a way to reduce the incidence of
risk (Chitrapu 2018). Thus, “outsiders” who are not part of the family but want to
establish a business relationship need to build trust through personal contacts.
The second element is spirituality. The signicant role of direct personal con-
tacts in India is also due to a strong sense of community and group orientation
(Ndubisi 2011). This is related to a distinctive feature of Indian culture, that is,
spirituality and the belief in the concept of “fatalism” (Ndubisi 2011). When mak-
ing decisions, karma and the belief that everything happens for a reason are essen-
tial. Furthermore, business decisions are inuenced by “the Indian philosophical
uniqueness of viewing the individual as a proto-type of collectivity redenes how
an individual is prompted to relate with others” (Pellissery 2008, p. 255) – more
than money, relationships matter.
This approach to personal social contact may also stem from the residential
situation of Indians, a third element of the “economy that runs on relationships”.
According to Pellissery (2008, p. 244), “only about 10–15 per cent of Indians lead
lives in which basic interactions are limited to immediate family members”. India
is the second most populous country after China, and New Delhi and Mumbai are
some of the most densely populated cities in the world. India’s population density
164 Malwina Balcerak et al.
in 2021 was 470 people per sq. km.2 The housing situation necessitates intensive
and regular contact with others, not solely limited to urban areas. Most of India’s
population lives in rural areas (about 64.8% in 2021), characterised by frequent
face-to-face interactions. Thus, proximity to residence essentially denes social
relationships and develops them. Such intense interactions in daily life make rela-
tionships multi-layered and easily transferable to other dimensions of life, such as
business.
The three elements described earlier make India’s relationship-based economy
characterised by informality. Most of the population works in the informal sector
(half are subsistence farmers). This means that getting a job is a matter of good
relationships and trust built on those relationships – this is more important than
the candidate’s qualications and the employer’s requirements (Pellissery 2008).
This practice is found in private companies (both large and small) and public enti-
ties such as the administration, the military and universities. Therefore, trust built
through personal relationships is part of the creative process and a critical factor in
establishing business relationships that help break down industry boundaries and
foster long-term cooperation (Kong 2005, p. 3).
Research method
This chapter is part of an international project exploring the lm relations between
India and Europe (see Chapter 1). Determining the nature of this relationship
required a qualitative approach, through which the primary method was individual
in-depth interviews with key actors involved in Indian lm production in Europe.
The material we draw on consists of ten interviews with producers, production
managers, and production division sta who worked in service to Bollywood and
Tamil productions being made in Poland. These were in service for large, viral pro-
ductions in India, being attendance successes there. The research was conducted
in 2020 and 2021. Interviews took place face-to-face and online using instant mes-
saging services such as Zoom. The interviews were then transcribed and analysed
using coding (Gibbs 2018). The primary method was thematic analysis, performed
using NVivo software. Studies using thematic analysis typically do not reect the
impact of the researcher’s preconceived ideas and pre-conceptualisations about the
data being analysed. The thematic analysis allows using existing theoretical con-
structs or other assumptions while maintaining a fresh and original perspective on
themes from the research material (Braun and Clarke 2021).
Indian production culture from the perspective of polish lmmakers
The Indian lm industry’s reliance on personal relationships may be one of the
elements that make this culture special. The research material collected during the
interviews with Polish lmmakers collaborating with Indians reveals ve main
features specic to Indian lm production culture, which dier signicantly from
those of European production culture in general and Polish in particular. First,
there is a much more robust and stricter hierarchy in Indian lm crew divisions,
Production culture and interpersonal relations 165
aecting communication within and with foreign partners. Traditionally, Indian
culture is patriarchal, hierarchical, and very conservative. Indians are a caste soci-
ety (Basham 2000). Each member of the lm crew is assigned a place in the hierar-
chy. Thus, for example, an employee of the technical division is not allowed to talk
back to the actor who plays the main role or to the director.
Most interviewees pointed out that hierarchy signicantly impacted work on the
set. First, the interlocutors pointed to a kind of “power game”, which they experi-
enced in contact with Indian partners, who were trying, perhaps unknowingly, to
sense their interlocutor’s position. One interviewee described it the following way:
My observation is that when an Indian approaches someone he doesn’t know,
he immediately tries to determine at the outset how the mutual hierarchy works,
that is, whether the person the Indian is talking to is higher or lower. If the
Indian senses that he’s higher up, he won’t have any resistance to take advan-
tage of that, whereas if he senses that he’s lower in the hierarchy, then it’s sort
of okay to just, give him maybe not commands, but ask him to do something.
(R1)
Second, it translated into a dierent type of communication imposed by the Indian
division, in which there was not much space for discussing individual solutions but
only following orders.
The phenomenon of hierarchy and its possible connection with the ocially
abolished caste system has two more aspects. Interlocutors perceive the rst one
with the most decadent experience in cooperation with Indian cinematographies of
a kind of “talent blocking”, in which, as a result of the aftermath of the caste system
for a signicant part of society, regardless of possible talent, certain artistic career
paths remain closed:
Hierarchy in the team is there. It is said that there are no castes in India
anymore, that is not true. Castration also occurs in the lm hierarchy. . . .
Because there are great talented people . . ., but for 25 years, 30 years they
will only work, because no one will give them an operator position, for exam-
ple. And he will not give them because of their material position or their
social position.
(R5)
Moreover, many times among the crew, there is an overt display of contempt
(sometimes even taking the form of physical violence) towards a person lower
in the hierarchy (Maj 2022). This is conrmed by one of the interviewees: “They
among themselves have this hierarchy already established, well, and if someone
is lower, then according to my observations, he is rather treated disrespectfully,
unfortunately” (R1).
Without exception, these phenomena concerned aggressive behaviour in the
Indian crew, but they did not occur between Indian employers and Polish team
members.
166 Malwina Balcerak et al.
The second characteristic of Indian production culture is a signicantly more
exible approach to production planning and changes than European production
culture. The standard in the conditions of European production is the use of a cal-
endar shooting plan and an exact production schedule predicting which shots, in
which location, with the participation of which people from the team will be made
on a given day, starting at a specic time. Indian lm crews seem to work without
documentation such as a calendar shooting plan and an exact production schedule
predicting which shots (in which location, with the participation of which people
from the team, and the exact time of the start of shooting) will be made on a given
day. In addition, collaborators are deprived of access to the script, knowing it only
in a very general outline, but above all, being only recipients of often hotly formu-
lated commands to organise specic elements of costumes, scenery (such as 1,000
bicycles or 100 umbrellas for the next day) or animals (wolves, dogs, hawk, and
bear). An interviewee describes one such situation:
As far as costumes are concerned, sometimes there were situations such that
the costume girls sat up whole nights because, for example, suddenly there
was a need for 160 ies for the dancers. And we had to organise it all that
way – materials and so on. They would sit and sew. Or we had to organise a
conference for 700 people in three days.
(R2)
One interviewee indicates a potential reason for this phenomenon:
They only more or less said what kind of locations they needed, equipment
and so on, that we could at most guess something there ourselves, but for
someone to say, I don’t know, what kind of scene, then no. Well, and all the
time such a rumour was circulating on the set, that simply this is a produc-
tion that is really awesome, cited by very many millions of people, . . . and
precisely because of the fact that it was such a, I don’t know, Indian mega
production, that’s why they just told us so, that they are guarding this script,
so that it doesn’t leak anywhere.
(R1)
This high variability on the set was often a cause of frustration for Polish employ-
ees of production departments (because it hit them the most, causing the most
stress in this group).
A third characteristic of Indian production culture is a more relaxed approach
to the eciency of using props, costumes, or cameraman equipment ordered for
the set. Often there are situations when elements of scenery or costumes brought
to the set, at a cost not only nancially but also in terms of the crew’s eorts, were
not used later. It can be supposed that the excess of these elements can give the
director a sense of agency and power. Perhaps it is inspiring and allows him to
improvise with greater freedom during shooting, activating his creative potential
and imagination. Many wishes connected with that turned out to be ultimately
Production culture and interpersonal relations 167
abandoned, despite the eort involved in satisfying such needs. In Polish produc-
tion departments, this was seen as a waste of money and the team’s eort, so in a
sense a lack of respect for them. As one interviewee points out, such situations do
not occur only on Indian sets. In Poland, for example, some cinematographers are
notorious for ordering more lighting equipment or lenses than necessary to make
their work more comfortable.
The next feature of the production culture of Indian lm crews is the more fre-
quent handling of cash ow by Indus. Members of the Indian team manage their
budgets quite freely, compared to the Polish experiences. This allows them to aord
spontaneous ideas, decisions, or changes. As Maj (2022, p. 209) writes in his account
of experiences with Tamil production in Poland: “the budget they had at their dis-
posal allowed them not only to use the best of Poland on the lm set, but also to pull
in some support from abroad”. One of our interviewees describes it this way:
What makes Indian production dierent from European production? It’s the
nancing system. They just take money out of their wallet often. There’s an
investor who has the money, and that’s how it was here. It’s like he walks
around with a suitcase of cash. . . . We are more strict, we have to be like
that, because we settle on the basis of budgets and previously submitted cost
estimates, and then you have to account for every invoice meticulously. There
is no such thing there.
(R4)
The last characteristic of Indian production culture is rituals like muhurat shot.
In the Indian lm industry, the muhurat shot or muhurtam shot is the rst shot of a
lm, which marks the inauguration of the shots. It is preceded by a pooja (religious
rite). Contemporarily it means “auspicious moment”, a time or moment considered
lucky for beginning some project. In the latter case, however, it should be noted
that it appears in the statement of the Polish team member as an overheard story
while also being linked to other religious rituals observed on lm sets. During the
shooting in Poland, such rituals were not performed, or the Polish part of the crew
was not allowed to observe them and was unaware of their existence. A member
of the lm crew who worked with the Indus on another production describes the
event this way:
I have never participated in any conference, nor have I seen it, while the rst
day of shooting usually begins with such a ceremony, such a simple Puja over
the script, over the clapper. There is a priest who celebrates the Puja in the
presence of the heads of the divisions, the director, the producer, as if there
is a consecration of the script, a clapper, a re is lit. There are all these ele-
ments associated with this traditional such ceremony “for luck” at the begin-
ning of the lm. This happens in every lm, because no lm can do without it.
I took part in something like this, in this ritual. Not in the conference, but in
this ritual approach to the lm.
(R7)
168 Malwina Balcerak et al.
It is worth emphasising here that the purpose of such a juxtaposition is by
no means to demonstrate the superiority of one putative production culture over
another. For example, showing that a hypothetical Indian culture of production
would be inferior to a European or even wider Western, rational one based on pre-
cise control and planning is illusory because what is essential is the reconstruction
of the dierent cultures as coherent and alternative congurations.
The “informal” lm industry in India and Poland
Collaborations based on personal, direct, and informal relationships are wide-
spread in the lm industry. As early as the 1950s and 1960s, lm musicians did
not sign contracts or formal agreements yet maintained ongoing collaborations
(even parallel ones) with music directors (Booth 2008). Of course, as in other
industries, family connections also play an essential role. This is one of the fea-
tures that dierentiates the lm industry in India from Hollywood (Chitrapu
2018). The latter is dominated by large, integrated lm studios, whereas India
has many small, family-owned production lms. Family ties of trust enable key
players in the Indian lm industry to access valuable resources such as nanc-
ing, star actors, and distribution (Lorenzen and Taeube 2007, 2010; Ganti 2012;
Chitrapu 2018). Lorenzen and Taeube (2007) distinguish three types of trust and
informal relationships in India’s lm industry: between producers and star actors,
social relationships in nance, and between producers and star directors. From
the beginning of the industry, actors have preferred to work based on personal
trust – they are cast and sign contracts through informal social relationships rather
than with agents or lawyers (Lorenzen and Taeube 2007; Ganti 2012). It is pre-
cisely having strong personal relationships with Bollywood lm stars that are
extremely valuable for producers. Actors often agree to work without any written
guarantees. These relationships help sign contracts and prioritise the productions
of producers with whom they have an excellent personal relationship (Lorenzen
and Taeube 2007). Informal contacts also help in obtaining funding for the lm.
If funds ran out during production, contracts could be renegotiated. In this eld,
“handshake” agreements rather than contracts are the norm. A special network of
informal relationships was also established between producers and star actors who
wanted to try their hand at directing. This network is established based on family
ties (distant, closer family and friends) and through frequent social meetings (and
even participation in family celebrations) between producers and actor-directors
(Lorenzen and Taeube 2007). In this case, too, it is rare to nd a formally drawn-
up contract, as a handshake is more valuable to them.
Although family businesses dominate the lm industry in India, it is not closed
and inaccessible to people outside the family. The web of relationships is con-
stantly growing, not just family members or friends who are introduced to the
industry. Producers have a “base” of personal relationships with executive produc-
ers, talent agents, or entertainment lawyers, among others, with whom they did not
have a family or friendship relationship. However, these business relationships,
Production culture and interpersonal relations 169
established through lengthy negotiations and face-to-face meetings, are based on
the trust thus built. One interviewee describes it this way:
This trust is a sticking point in India in general, and it applies to everything,
every aspect of life. You have to have trust with your master, who will be x
something, you have to have trust with lady, who will be clean something,
it’s just that there’s a lot of dependence of one person and the other, that
relationship, it’s something that no one can get from a distance. You have to
go there, you have to show up, you have to participate in festivals. Dierent
kinds of trips also opportunities to promote, so that people see that there is
also a person outside the company. Because it’s more about the person than
the company itself.
(R5)
Given the combination of the outlined in the aforementioned paragraphs: “infor-
mal” dimensions of the functioning of cinematography in India and the conditions
of a relationship-based economy resulting from the need to balance less developed
formal institutions, the dierences in the functioning of Polish lm production as
an example of European cinematography should be apparent. The similar linking
of the general organisation of the economy and institutions with the lm produc-
tion process determines that such a high degree of “informal” relations (e.g. less
importance of contracts in favour of oral, informal agreements between important
gures in the lmmaking process) is not possible. The Polish lm production sys-
tem is based mainly on the participation of soft money, that is, various forms of
subsidies, grants, and subsidies from public funds. According to Majer et al. (2019,
p. 23), between 2007 and 2016, subsidies from the Polish Film Institute oscillated
between 45% and 51% of the total lm budget. The participation of public funds
entails a formalised and bureaucratic process related to the necessity of submitting
a whole series of documents, not only artistic ones, such as the lm script, but also
economic and production ones (e.g. a precise budget of the whole project), and
then a meticulous accounting of the spending of the received funds (Majer et al.
2019). The logic of informal relations is thus replaced here by bureaucratic logic.
However, in the crucial aspect of the importance of personal (family and friend-
ship) relationships for the “informal relationships in the Indian industry to function
in the lm business, the dierences may not be that great. Polish lm production
(and, more broadly, European lm production) also seems to rely heavily on rela-
tionships and social capital, as understood by Bourdieu (1984, 1986). This capital
is accumulated on a whole range of occasions: at festivals, at banquets and cock-
tail parties, during and after panel discussions, at workshops and industry training
events, during education at lm schools, and on the sets of other lms. The dif-
ference may lie only in the degree of importance of these relationships, the less
hermetic nature of the industry or, above all, the greater possibility of building
social capital based on resources other than family. In such a comparative study,
however, it is dicult to resist the impression of observing two mirror images of
170 Malwina Balcerak et al.
very similar mechanisms implemented, after all, in production systems belonging
to dierent cultural circles.
Kożuchowski et al. (2019, p. 84), while recapitulating the results of ethno-
graphic research on Polish lm sets, write:
Following the various accounts and analysing interviews with people in the
industry, one can sometimes get the impression that all the people are con-
nected in some way, have worked together on another project, have been rec-
ommended by a trusted employee/acquaintance or have a private relationship
with someone in the industry.
At the same time, it would be an oversimplication to reduce this phenomenon to
negatively perceived cronyism and personal arrangements. The persistence of this
mechanism demonstrates that it is benecial and functional for the lm industry.
As Kożuchowski et al. (2019, p. 85) also note:
A sense of security and trust in a proven person, even in the most crisis, is
a positive aspect of such selection of collaborators, at the same time, as the
researchers point out, it is also a form of responsibility, as it creates pressure
on the recommender to make the work of the recommended person satisfac-
tory. It is also important that the recommended person also feels comfortable
on set.
In a similar vein, Kożuchowski et al. (2019, p. 211) put it: “How do you become
an assistant on a lm set? It all depends on whom we know and who can help us
get our rst job”. At the same time, it seems reasonable to assume that such phe-
nomena are not limited in the circle of Western culture to Polish cinematography
but represent other cinematographies in this circle, as Caldwell’s (2008, p. 226)
observations seem to indicate.
Utilising network embeddedness in Polish–Indian lm cooperation
Although the rm reliance on interpersonal relationships of both the Indian and
Polish lm industries can be considered a hindrance, at the same time, it can be
an opportunity of sorts. The use of network rootedness can help build relation-
ships from the ground up. Actors with a rich network of relationships often act as
intermediaries in collaborations. One of the most important factors inuencing the
fact that Indian producers decide to produce in Europe, particularly in Poland, is
direct contact with lm industry representatives. However, establishing relation-
ships between Indian lmmakers and Polish production companies is a complex
process involving many activities at the state and industry levels. The rst includes
arrangements and contacts at the ocial level, local authorities, lm commissions,
or state ministries. The interviewees highlighted the location summit in Guja-
rat, organised every few years. This event allows for discussing possibilities and
relations that may connect Poland and Polish regions with Gujarat in lm. Such
Production culture and interpersonal relations 171
contacts, however, are only a kind of stimulus and do not prove sucient due to
their general and ocial character.
The second element is industry contact between representatives of companies
related to the audiovisual industry and their Indian counterparts. Representatives
of production companies from Poland participate in fairs and events dedicated to
the locations, which provide an opportunity to advertise the region and establish
direct contacts that can be an excellent prelude to further negotiations. During the
location summits that successfully bring together countries from around the world,
everyone can present their country, say something about incentives, and show their
locations.
Interviewees pointed to the Goa festival as a convenient contact forum where many
Polish companies go. The perfect market is where they can advertise Polish locations,
make folders, and ght for a customer. After the ocial part of the fair, during the gar-
den party, the subgroup activities already started. Participants in this event emphasise
that informal meetings after the festival were often more fruitful than attending the
ocial part. This again shows the importance of direct and informal contact with the
Indian lm industry. One interviewee recalls the festival this way:
We were at this lm festival in Goa. I can tell you that we were received very
warmly . . . there was a lot of interest, and they listened willingly to it, they
asked a lot about Poland . . . so we mostly sat, talked, arranged meetings so
that sometimes we just sat in this hotel restaurant, it looked like you know,
quick dates, that we changed tables, with this business card, with this some-
thing, we are in the process of this, this, this. . . . So this is what the after-
noons looked like, and in the evening from 6 pm, when the garden party . . .,
the subgroup activities already started. You had cocktail and bar tables, you
stopped, you took a drink, conversations started, you had a chance to demon-
strate, show something on the phone. Here is a recording of this, here we did
it, and on the set it is yes, then yes, then yes. And you did come back with a
pile of yers, business cards and then with those people somewhere in touch.
(R2)
The activities mentioned earlier are of auxiliary and initial signicance in gain-
ing the participation of individual locations in Indian lms. Most important, how-
ever, are the personal contacts established through them. The shared production
experience allows trust to be built, resulting in future collaboration on subsequent
projects. The interviewees emphasised that personal contact is crucial for estab-
lishing cooperation in India. They said these personal contacts are always more
important and meaningful and facilitate contact and cooperation. One interviewee
describes it this way:
Sometimes we say that the lm industry is small and here are these personal
contacts and the fact that you know someone and that someone knows some-
one . . . and these are the mutual relations, recommendations. It works best.
(R6)
172 Malwina Balcerak et al.
The interest in Polish locations and lmmakers from Poland is mainly due to
intermediaries who build relationships in India (especially in Mumbai) and gain the
trust of producers and the Indian lm industry, which later translates into participa-
tion in subsequent projects.
According to the interviewees, having a representative in Mumbai is the key in
establishing close relationships with lm industry representatives in India. They
point out that it is crucial to be ready to meet face to face with producers or other
industry representatives when they need to. This is conrmed by an interviewee:
“I think India is no dierent from any other country in this respect. Always these
personal contacts are more important, they are more meaningful and facilitate
contact and cooperation” (R6).
The second adds that “when it comes to building deep relationships with pro-
ducers, you need to be there, this is a meeting the moment they want it, it is face to
face” (R5).
This is the strategy adopted by one of the largest production companies in
Poland, Film Poland Productions. Film Poland Productions has been bringing
Indian lmmakers to Poland for years, arranging for them to shoot in many Polish
locations, scenery, specialists, stunt performers, or extras (Figure 9.1).
It is a service and production company based in Krakow, Poland. It provides
Polish locations for foreign lm productions, provides access to complete lm
crews made up of professionals with the highest work standards, and establishes
contacts with potential foreign lm producers. They also have a database of Polish
and foreign actors, extras, and models. Film Poland Productions is most active in
working with Indian lmmakers. To establish a trust-based personal relationship,
the company sent its representative to India in 2014. The person lived in Mumbai
and spent several years intensively acquiring contacts in the industry there. Where
cooperation developed, these contacts worked bilaterally, that is, on the one hand,
to advertise Polish locations and attract Indian productions to Poland (Figure 9.2),
and on the other hand, to help representatives of the Polish lm industry (primarily
cinematographers) to participate in the shooting of Indian lms in India on a con-
tractual basis for individual projects. According to a representative of Film Poland
Productions, it was a test in the form of creating an agency that would represent
Polish, European, or global artists on the Indian market. Working in Mumbai,
which consisted of negotiations and talks with Indian producers, helped to identify
expectations and factors that may encourage lming in Poland. The work of such
a representative was about establishing relationships with producers and looking
for scripts and producers who would be interested in producing in Poland and, in
addition, looking for creators for the Indian market for lms that are produced there
or in other parts of the world.
Personal contacts are based on mutual trust and the exchange of information on
lmmaking opportunities in Poland, with Polish representatives acting as a point of
contact. Familiarity with working conditions in Poland and Europe makes it easier
for Indian producers to decide on locations to shoot parts of lms outside India.
Moreover, the relationship built on mutual trust is signicant in the context of the
specicity of work in Indian lm production, which is characterised by greater
Production culture and interpersonal relations 173
planning exibility than in European production. The creative process is character-
ised by a greater degree of improvisation and spontaneity, which means that many
plans change daily. Among other things, previously chosen locations and even the
countries in which they were supposed to be located may change during shooting.
One interviewee describes it this way:
No one from the Polish side knew the script. We knew what the general picture
was, but the NDA clause, i.e. condentiality, was at such a level that we knew
Figure 9.1 Indian and Polish lm crews during the lm shooting at the European Solidarity
Centre in Gdańsk, Poland.
Source: Photo by Jakub Maj
174 Malwina Balcerak et al.
from the other Indian oce director how it was supposed to look like and what
this scene was supposed to tell more or less about, but no one really saw the text,
so this it was quite interesting. All things were taken care of from day to day.
(R8)
Building good business relationships and trust are essential in India. They are
usually the aftermath of informal meetings, such as dinners and discussions in
nightclubs with potential business partners. India is no dierent from any other
country in this respect. These personal contacts are always more important, carry
more weight, and facilitate collaboration. Producers maintain contacts through
business and informal meetings in restaurants, bars, or private clubs (Gornostaeva
and Brunet 2009). Moreover, not least in the context of cooperation with the lm
industry in India, it is emphasised that a critical prerequisite for eective commu-
nication is an understanding and appreciation of the country’s culture with which
business is being conducted.
Conclusions
The chapter sought to show the role of interpersonal relationships as an essen-
tial element of production culture and also pointed to the role of the individual
Figure 9.2 Indian lm crew during the lm shooting at the Gdańsk Lech Walesa Airport in
Poland.
Source: Photo by Jakub Maj
Production culture and interpersonal relations 175
dimension of international lm production. This dimension is complemented by
the organisational level, which is the focus of many studies on the lm industry
(Epstein 2010; Dixon and Foster 2011; Balio 2013). This individual dimension
is embedded in culture: the individual’s actions are determined by social norms
and rules, both formal and informal. The latter seems to be no less important in
international lm cooperation. This is an important conclusion from the point of
view of the internationalisation of lmmaking, as many of the activities of public
authorities in support of internationalisation are oriented towards an organisational
or more formalised dimension.
The Indian lm industry is based on personal relationships. However, this is
perhaps not unusual, as cooperation based on face-to-face and informal relation-
ships is relatively common in the lm industry (see Coe 2000). The dierence
emerges in the degree of importance of these relationships and their dominance
over more formal ones – trust is more important to Indians than formal contracts.
Many aspects of the Indian economy are embedded in personal relationships and
for many years these have been the basis of the business model in India.
Signicant dierences are noticeable, however, in the approach to lm pro-
duction organisation. Indian lm crews are distinguished by a relatively casual
and unpredictable approach to scheduling, scene execution, or props or sets.
Despite the dierent production cultures, the Polish collaborators tried to full the
tasks assigned to them and adapt to the prevailing conditions, although they did
not always approve of the decisions made by the Indians. At the end of the day,
however, the shared awareness of the common goal becomes paramount, and, as
Caldwell (2008, p. 229) puts it, “the logic of collectivity goes beyond conicted
interpersonal exchanges”.
Network embeddedness, which means tying production processes to a network
of interpersonal relationships, is one of the critical elements for understanding and
explaining dierences between production cultures. It can also have a practical
dimension when realising its importance is used as an opportunity to build new
relationships. Previous research on network embeddedness in the lm industry by
Packard et al. (2016) has shown that lm success is based on team members’ con-
tributions. Those arise from their positions, or embeddedness, in a social network
weaved through past lm collaborations. These collaborations allow team mem-
bers to draw knowledge and skills from the network for new lm projects. In the
case of the Polish–Indian lm relationships presented in the chapter, we have also
shown that they can be a way to cross barriers between dierent production cul-
tures and build bridges between them. Central to this is the role of intermediaries,
that is, actors using the network of interpersonal relations not so much for their
benet but for the benet of the collaborating actors.
Despite the limited nature of this sample, we see it as a deepening of existing
research on lm production cultures in India, such as Velayutham (2008) on Tamil
cinema or Ganti (2012) on Bollywood. The experience of Polish producers and
Polish production companies in providing services to major Bollywood and Tamil
productions in Poland provided a unique cross-cultural opportunity for two cultur-
ally and nationally diverse lm crews to come together on the set of individual pro-
ductions. Thus, it provided an opportunity to look at dierent production cultures
176 Malwina Balcerak et al.
in action and interact with each other in the process of cooperation and sometimes
clash and conict, in the midst of which it is possible to identify and sound out dif-
ferences in production cultures.
Acknowledgement
The research presented in this chapter was carried out under the project “FilmInd –
The Indian lm industry as a driver of new socio-economic connections between
India and Europe”, nanced by the Polish National Science Centre (project no.
2017/27/Z/HS4/00039).
Notes
1 Based on data on Indian feature lms certied by the Central Board of Film Certication
by Languages, available from: https://web.archive.org/web/20200413030711/www.
lmfed.org/downloads/Language-wise-Region-2018-19-26062019.pdf (access date
18.12.2022).
2 www.populationof.net/pl/india/ (access date 17.05.2022).
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This chapter has been made available under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Introduction
The creative industries receive increased attention – including in peripheral areas –
as municipalities, investors, and people who work in these industries hope that it will
boost their region.
(Sand 2020)
Many regions, municipalities, cities, and towns are working strategically to dene
their own place brands. In this process, lm and TV productions can be a powerful
tool and resource (Nordström 2018; Lind 2019). Film and television productions
are mobile and often produced in places where the economic and production con-
ditions are to their best advantage. If these productions become associated with
the place and are exposed to an international audience, this can sometimes trans-
late to extensive marketing values for the location or region in question (Lind and
Kristensson Uggla 2019).
This chapter aims to discuss how lm productions, and especially Indian lm
productions, are used, can be used, and could be used as a tool in regional develop-
ment in European rural areas in general and in Nordic and Finnish rural areas in
particular. Which lessons could be learned from previous productions and what are
the potential benets and challenges when attracting lm productions to a remote
region in Northern Europe?
Given the low number of Indian lm productions made in the Nordic coun-
tries so far, zooming in on Indian lm productions in Finland specically has its
challenges as a research eld.
That said, the topic of regional development through the lens of the interna-
tional lm industry touches on issues of periphery and centre (Dahlström 2005;
Sand 2020; Chow and Sand 2020), the balancing act of commercial and artistic
objectives (Miles and Paddison 2005; Florida 2002; Sacco et al. 2008), as well
as the connection between regional development, place branding, and narrative
capital (Lind 2019; Lind and Kristensson Uggla 2019).
The report Film and Regional Development – Policy and Practice in the Nor-
dic Countries (Dahlström 2005) discusses how regional lm projects can have
10 Film productions as a part of the
regional identity in rural areas –
the case of the Nordic countries
Therese Sunngren-Granlund
180 Therese Sunngren-Granlund
favourable eects on employment, education and training, regional identity, and
place branding. According to Dahlström, it is important to keep in mind that out-
comes from regional investments in lm productions often take time to manifest
and that some results are indirect, meaning that estimating the wider impact of lm
productions on regional development and identity, as well as how it aects employ-
ment and turnover, can sometimes be challenging.
Culture-led local and regional development has gained attention globally dur-
ing the past few decades, and there are both failures and success stories that can
be used to understand culture’s ability to create social and economic value (Miles
and Paddison 2005). Furthermore, economist Pier Luigi Sacco draws attention not
only to the size of the creative industries but also to the importance of cultural
involvement, which he believes to be crucial for the exchange of ideas between
dierent sectors (Sacco et al. 2008). The connection between cultural participation
and innovation also implies that narratives connected to the place are of importance
to the local population as well as to the hospitality industry (Lind and Kristensson
Uggla 2019).
Methodological remarks
This chapter is based on an analysis of lm policy documents in Finland, Sweden,
Norway, Denmark, and Iceland (2020–2022), as well as on ten in-depth inter-
views conducted between 2020 and 2021 with Finnish stakeholders working in the
lm industry. The policy documents were all accessed online through the ocial
websites of the respective country’s national and regional lm commissions.
The policy documents, such as “Finland Film Commissions Production
Guide”, “Film in Iceland – Filming in Iceland”, “Norwegian Film Commission –
Funding & Partners”, “CPH Film Fund – How to Get Funding”, and “Nordic Film
Commissions – Our Shared Ambition” contain, among other things, information
about national incentives and tax rebates, which productions are eligible for sup-
port, how to apply for incentives, and the size of incentives in terms of percentages
or sums. The policy documents and websites also provide facts about locations,
scenery, daylight, and weather conditions. There are also details about local service
companies, salaries, working hours as well as which permits and documents are
needed and when (shooting, working, and visas).
The interviews were part of an international project studying the connections
between Indian lm industries and European locations with the objective to com-
prehend the socio-cultural and economic eects of Indian lm productions in
Europe. The study’s key research question was: Does Finland attract the Indian
lm industry, and how? The interview guide covered topics including methods
for attracting international lm productions, collaboration between dierent stake-
holder, and infrastructural and organisational arrangements. All the interviews
were held in English and conducted online via Teams or Zoom. Each interview
was approximately 45 minutes to an hour long. Professionals from the Finnish lm
industry, such as producers, cinematographers, art directors, location scouts, and
technical crew, as well as regional lm commissions were among the respondents,
Film productions as a part of the regional identity 181
and they were mainly reached through professional websites and networks. None
of the interviewees were of Indian origin. This means that the scene is set in a Finn-
ish context. Nevertheless, similarities are probably to be found in the other Nordic
countries as well as in other rural areas in Europe.
Rural areas, regional identity, and the creative industries
In Finland, 89% of the country’s territory is considered predominantly rural
(OECD 2008) and according to the Finnish Environment institute (SYKE 2020),
about 72% of the population reside in the urban areas of the country, which means
that 28% live in rural areas. Putting these numbers in a European context, the cor-
responding numbers are that around 20% of the population lives in predominantly
rural regions, and that rural regions make up approximately half of the continent
(European commission 2021). These gures show that in Finland, both the territory
considered as predominantly rural and the number of people living in such areas is
higher than in the rest of Europe.
According to the Finnish geographer Anssi Paasi (2011), a region’s identity is
developed by the acts of its citizens, while at the same time the actions of the
people of that region are inuenced by larger-scale entities, such as the state
and the global system. As a result, regional identity is a dynamic process that is
simultaneously produced, practised, and impacted by the local populace and larger
entities, continuously.
Regardless of whether the region is considered rural or urban, all places have a
brand, whether it is in print or not. A place brand is the sum of the associations that
exist around the place, for residents and for the outside world (Nordström 2018).
Today many regions, municipalities, cities, and towns are working strategically to
dene their own place brands, with the aim of attracting new residents, visitors and
business establishments (Logar 2022). In this process, lm and TV productions can
be a powerful tool and resource (Nordström 2018; Lind 2019).
Film is a multi-faceted eld which, in addition to direct values from production
and consumption, contributes to inspiration, identity creation and lifting places and
regions. The medium’s main strength lies in its narrative format, which creates and
conveys representations of our world, and where certain lms aects us personally
while others have an inuence on a collective level (Lind 2019). Film production
can also create powerful synergies between dierent competences and industry
areas and enable exchange of experience and collaborations. Economist Pierre
Luigi Sacco points out how the creative industries, including lm, strengthens
and develops innovation, welfare, sustainable development, social cohesion, and
learning (Sacco 2011).
Film and television productions are mobile and are often produced in places
where the economic and productions conditions are to their best advantage.
When trying to attract lm productions to a place, eective marketing of the
location’s qualities is of great importance. If these productions are associated
with the place and exposed to an international audience, it can mean exten-
sive marketing values, while also strengthening the location’s self-image and
182 Therese Sunngren-Granlund
identity for those who live there – so-called secondary values (Lind and Kris-
tensson Uggla 2019).
Research by Pier Luigi Sacco (2011) and Richard Florida (2002) has contrib-
uted to a new and revitalised view of the creative industries’ value creation and
contribution to places, cities, and regions. According to Florida, the development
of the creative class is important in order to develop both creativity and innovation
in a region (Florida 2002). Sacco, on the other hand, talks about Culture 3.0, stat-
ing that the creative industries’ contribution to society cannot be reduced to direct
and short-term eects alone. Typical of research on creative clusters placed outside
urban centres, including those related to the lm industry, is that it often focuses
on how the creative industries impact and develop their geographical locations
from a regional development perspective (Hedling 2012). More unusual is to turn
the question around, that is, how does the fact that the place is peripheral aect the
creative cluster (Sand 2020).
However, previous research shows that lm industry clusters tend to form in
a “natural” way (Medel and Gossel 2015), meaning that most of the world’s lm
industry clusters have congregated in highly populated regions, where urban amen-
ities are easily accessible. Since the production system within the lm industry is
mainly project based, being close to actors participating in the production process
is a strong incentive for businesses and creative individuals to stay near each other
(Rosenfeld and Hornych 2010).
On the other hand, in more remote regions with a scattered populace, develop-
ing a strong and sustainable lm milieu is often a great challenge (Sand 2017).
Therefore, trying to impact the emergence of these types of structures or clusters in
peripheral and/or not so densely populated regions through external inuences can
be demanding, for reasons such as poor production volume, brain drain, and lack
of resources in the form of sucient critical mass.
Film funding and regional development in a Nordic context
Initiated by the country council of western Sweden, the rst regional lm fund
in the Nordic countries, Film i Väst, was founded in Trollhättan, 1992. The main
objective of Film i Väst was to promote professional lm and media production in
order to revitalise the region, which was struggling after economic crisis, industrial
decline, and growing unemployment (Hedling 2012). Since the beginning, Film
i Väst, or “Trollywood”, has had remarkable success with attracting numerous
international actors and directors. Unlike regional lm funds in the other Nordic
countries, Film i Väst changed the geography of lm production in Sweden. How-
ever, during the 1990s, lm production in Sweden decentralised into three regions:
Filmpool Nord in the north, Film i Skåne in the south, and Film i Väst in western
Sweden (Dahlström and Hermelin 2007). Stockholm, the capital, did not get its
own regional lm fund until 2007 (Sand 2020).
In 1999, the Northern Film and Media Foundation (POEM), an audiovisual pro-
duction resource centre, was established in northern Finland. The aim of POEM was
to develop and promote the lm industry in Northern Finland (Lähteenmäki-Smith
Film productions as a part of the regional identity 183
2005; Sand 2020). Some years later, POEM’s project portfolio was merged with
that of BusinessOulu. Today the Finnish lm commission operates as the rst point
of contact for all international inquiries about lming in Finland, utilising produc-
tion resources and services and obtaining funding. The Finnish lm commission
consists of a consortium of seven regional lm commissions located across the
country: Finnish Lapland Film Commission, North Finland Film Commission,
East Finland Film Commission, Southeast Finland Film Commission, West Finland
Film Commission, Film Tampere, and Åland Film Commission (Film in Finland
2022). Using joint resources, the regional lm commissions are pooled together to
promote Finland as a single international location for lm production (Janta 2021).
Inspired by their Nordic neighbours, local investors and public authorities estab-
lished Norway’s rst regional fund, Film 3 in Lillehammer in 2001. At the time,
the lm industry in the region was more or less non-existent, and the intention of
Film 3 was to increase the creative development of the region (Sand 2017, 2020).
Today, the Norwegian Film Institute (NFI) operates as the main lm nancing
body in Norway. NFI collaborates with the Norwegian Film Commission and the
four regional lm commissions, as well with the ve regional lm funds (Norwe-
gian Film Commission 2022).
In Denmark, Den Vestdanske Filmpulje, DVF, was founded in 2002 in Aarhus.
Like the regional lm funds in the neighbouring Nordic countries, the intention
here was also to strengthen the local lm industry (Sand 2020). DVF has since been
joined by two more Danish regional lm funds: Copenhagen Film Fund and Film-
Fyn. Today the regional lm funds collaborate with The Danish Film Institute –
DFI, Denmark’s national agency for lm and cinema culture, as well as with the
regional lm commissions in Denmark (Det Danske Filminstitut 2022; Ol 2022).
In comparison with the other Nordic countries, Iceland is a bit of an exception.
Because of the country’s size, lm production in Iceland is not concentrated to any
specic region (Skúladóttir 2005; Sand 2020). Iceland, however, has oered a tax
rebate since 1999. Today the tax incentive is 25%, and in some cases even up to
a 35% refund on production costs (Film in Iceland 2022). Other Nordic countries
oering national, government-funded lm and television production incentives are
Finland, Sweden, and Norway. The latter oering an incentive of a 25% cash rebate
on local spending, with a possibility to increase the total incentive by combining it
with regional funding (Northern Norway Film Commission 2022).
In Finland, the national lm production incentive is administrated by Business
Finland (Business Finland is a Finnish public-sector company promoting tourism
and international investment in Finland), while also providing services for inter-
nationalisation and funding of innovative projects, with a maximum of 25% cash
rebate of production costs (Business Finland 2022). Combined with regional incen-
tives, it is possible to get up to a 40% cash rebate when lming in Finland (Film in
Finland 2022). In Sweden, Film i Väst launched a regional production tax-rebate
programme in 2019 (Economou 2019), and in August 2022, the Swedish govern-
ment announced that they will set aside SEK 100 million yearly in lm production
incentives (Kazinik 2022). Denmark in 2022 still did not oer any government
funded lm and television lming incentives. However, several regional lm funds
184 Therese Sunngren-Granlund
are oering dierent incentives; the conditions for eligibility may vary between
regions though (Fixer in Denmark 2022; CPH Film Fund 2022).
A challenge shared by all the Nordic countries at the time of starting to establish
regional lm funds was that they were all struggling with retaining their creative
talents, who tended to move to larger creative metropoles for more job opportuni-
ties (Chow and Sand 2020).
Strategies for attracting international lm productions to Finland
In this part, the results of the interviews with stakeholders from the Finnish lm
industry are discussed. Thematically, the section covers strategies for attracting
lm productions to Finland and identifying pull factors, discusses Indian lm pro-
ductions shot in Finland – experiences and lessons learned – and nally suggests
potential opportunities for regional niches. These are discussed in detail later.
The interview ndings reveal that one of the main reasons for international lm-
makers to come to Finland corresponds to the common notion of the nation as an
Arctic landscape covered with snow, as seen in both the Indian lm productions
War (2019) and Shamitabh (2015).
However, other locations, seasons, and weather conditions are equally promi-
nent, and Finland can oer a variety of scenery and settings from the archipelago in
the south, through the picturesque historical wooden towns and modern cityscapes,
to the lake lands and the endless forests with midnight sun and northern lights.
Finland is often presented as a new and uncharted location for lm productions,
and nding unique locations that haven’t been used in other lm productions is
therefore often not a problem. As one respondent states:
I would say that the main things that the foreign companies are looking for
are the locations. So, if you’re looking for snow, that’s denitely an advan-
tage for Finland. Especially now with the climate change, you get less and
less snow in central Europe. So, some of those productions are now moving
up to Scandinavian areas. So obviously the nature and locations are one
[advantage].
(R3)
Compared to the neighbouring countries, primarily the Nordics and Baltic states
but also to some extent Russia, another important competitive advantage for Fin-
land is the well-developed infrastructure. Even more remote locations are easily
reachable by road, and even in the wilderness, mobile phone coverage and Internet
connectivity are usually not an issue. Finland also has ve international airports
with Helsinki-Vantaa airport serving as an international hub, being the gateway for
Asia to the rest of Europe. One respondent also mentions accessibility and good
infrastructure as a possible competitive advantage:
[What] we have is accessibility, and very good infrastructure. So Finnish
Lapland, because of the longstanding tourism and even before that, because
Film productions as a part of the regional identity 185
of the logging industry, so we have like, roads going everywhere, and then
we have hotels, so accommodation, and everything is working well, and air-
ports. So, you can get to these wilderness landscapes easily. And then you
still have a hotel on the other side of the road. So, I think those are the things
that kind of make us, sort of, compete.
(R6)
Several respondents also emphasised the value of punctuality in the lm industry
and the fact that the high quality of Finnish work is an important selling point
internationally. This can be compared to Switzerland, which is a well-known
destination in Bollywood cinema, continuously attracting lmmakers because of,
among other things, its excellent infrastructure (see Chapter 7).
I would also think that one key selling point is the Finnish quality of
work. Finns are reliable in the productions, and what we say usually
means that the thing is being delivered on time, in budget. And so the
production budgets tend to be slightly less in Finland than elsewhere in
the Nordic area.
(R3)
Another important key aspect of lm production in Finland, often brought up by
the respondents, is the low level of bureaucracy. On publicly held land, which
makes up a large portion of Finland’s surface area, permits are often not required
due to a national law known as “Everyman’s Right”. If a permit is required, the
process is typically quite fast and simple, with the local regional lm commission
or the Finnish production company being able to handle the permits in just a short
period of time.
However, several of the respondents emphasised that none of the previously
mentioned pull factors individually constitutes a sales advantage when promoting
Finland as a lming location. It is rather the sum of all the factors, that is, the com-
bination of locations, incentives, logistics professional and creative local crews that
determines whether an international lm production chooses Finland as a lming
location or not.
Indian lm productions in Finland
In Finland, there has so far been two Indian lm productions. Shamitabh (2015),
directed by R. Balki, was partly shot in several locations in Helsinki and in Finnish
Lapland, and War (2019), directed by Siddhart Anand, which was partly shot in
locations close to the Arctic Circle and the city of Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland
(see Chapter 3).
Shamitabh is the rst Indian lm shot in Finland. The opening weekend gross
in India was EURO 2.7 million which proved the lm to be a box oce success
(Snapper Films 2015). According to the Finnish Lapland Film Commission, the
lm War is the largest lm production so far to have been shot in Finnish Lapland
186 Therese Sunngren-Granlund
(Lapland. 2019). In India, Wa r was also the highest-grossing Bollywood action
lm in 2019 (Bollywood Hungama 2022).
Even though the Indian lm industry is one of the largest in the world (Josiam
2014), the in-depth interviews showed that there are no specic strategies or meas-
ures to attract Indian lm productions to Finland. Several of the respondents said
that it is rather the other way around: Indian cinema has already for decades been
interested in shooting abroad and therefore Indian productions are often the ones
taking the rst step into a collaboration. None of the respondents has any explana-
tion as to why there have not been more Indian lm productions in Finland, but the
lack of active marketing towards Indian lm productions and the lack of networks
within the Indian lm industry are probably part of the reason. However, according
to the interviewees there is both potential for and interest in further collaboration
with Indian lm producers from the Finnish side.
Experiences and lessons learned from the Indian lm productions
The rst-hand experiences from both the Indian lm productions are gener-
ally perceived as positive by the respondents, although some dierences in
the production culture were often brought up by the interviewees. The dis-
parities, however, were more often referred to as nds, rather than as negative
dierences.
One distinguishing factor often mentioned was the dierence in the range of
responsibilities in relation to the size of the crew, where the Finnish crews usually
were smaller and had more comprehensive tasks, while the Indian crew members
occasionally had very limited specialisations or ambiguous job descriptions. This
was also pointed out by two of the interviewees working on set:
The dierence come; I would say mostly because of the crew sizes. In India
it’s 400 people crew. In Finland we seldom have over 40.
(R4)
Yeah, the crew was massive even though it was like a mini unit. . . I don’t
remember how many people. But the people who was own to the mountain-
side was like 52 people or something.
(R9)
Another cultural dierence on set which was often mentioned by the respondents
was the Indian crew’s ability to adapt to a new situation if required or given the
opportunity. The interviewees often described it as a way of working that was new
for them and sometimes time-consuming, but on the other hand also stress-free and
creative. Several of the respondents also highlighted that they learned a lot from the
Indian lm crew during shooting:
That’s more like a cultural dierence, also, between Scandinavia
and India, is that they have more time. Like we, here, tend to prepare
Film productions as a part of the regional identity 187
really well, but then shoot really fast . . . in Indian productions, they
have more days to accomplish the same thing, so it allows people
to also, you know, plan on the set. Like we go to a location that they
have chosen, or that we have chosen together, and then basically we
start from zero on that day, that kind of OK, this is what we will do
today, and this is the plan . . . and denitely there is more time to do
the things that are needed. So, both ways are really good, and I think
the most special thing I experienced, I’ve never experienced in my life
in any other lm cultures: they are totally ne with changing plans . . .
and that was the most signicant thing that I love to work with Indian
productions, it’s that it’s very laid back, because of this attitude.
(R5)
I think we learned a lot from the Indians, they are so . . . they have been
shooting all over the world and they are really really experienced people.
And really good in what they do.
(R4)
Finally, the importance of serving qualitative Indian food on set was also some-
thing that often was commented on, however it was commonly accepted that the
importance of food quality was just another factor that needed to be taken care of.
The prevailing notion was that if the catering didn’t meet high standards, neither
the Indians nor the Finns on set would be happy. One of the respondents recalls
tasting the food at the recce, which is something that is not usually done:
When they went to do the recce, they wanted to taste the food on the premises.
So, they made them to cook for them, and they liked, they loved it, and then
it was OK. I don’t know if I’d ever tasted the food, if I went on a recce, never
ever, I think.
(R4)
Opportunities for a regional niche
British place marketing expert Simon Anholt believes that a place’s narrative capi-
tal is not forever given and that the established perception and reputation of a place,
region, or country regularly needs to be earned and reinforced. This reinforcement
of the narrative capital of the place can, for example, come from a lm reaching a
wide audience (Lind 2019), which is something that could be desirable for a region
that wants to increase its number of tourists and/or population.
According to the researcher Joakim Lind (2019), the rst step for a region which
in the future wishes to be present on the international lm map is to develop knowl-
edge about the lm industry’s value-creating and consider the lm industry as a
central part of their regional development.
Based on the answers from the interviews, it can also be concluded that all lm
industries do not have similar needs. Meaning, a region or location that wants to
188 Therese Sunngren-Granlund
attract international lm industry or a specic lm genre could, instead of trying
to attract just everyone, nd it benecial to start by focusing on one, and learn as
much as possible about their specic needs, whether that is the Indian lm industry
or any other.
The interviews also revealed that there is close co-operation between the Baltic
states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and the Nordic countries due to the proximity
both geographically and historically, meaning it is possible to think of the entire
Nordic and Baltic region as one production hub where crews and equipment can
move around easily (Janta 2021). For regions wanting to be more present on the
international lm map, networking and collaborating with other already- established
actors and learning from them along the way could be a both a constructive and
quite feasible way to get started.
Conclusions
The purpose of this chapter has been to discuss the potential for using lm produc-
tion as a tool for regional development in a Nordic and European context. What
can be learned from other regions and previous productions, which networks and
infrastructure are needed, and what are the possible advantages and diculties of
luring lm projects to a remote area. The research is based on a review of existing
lm policy documents from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland, as
well as on the ten in-depth interviews with Finnish lm industry stakeholders that
were conducted during 2020–2021.
The rst regional lm fund was Film i Väst, founded in 1992 in Sweden. Soon
after its funding, Film i Väst inspired the other Nordic countries to establish their
own regional lm funds during the 1990s and early 2000 (Sand 2020). At the time
of starting to establish regional lm funds, a challenge shared by all the Nordic
countries was that they were all struggling with retaining their creative talents, who
tended to move to international creative hubs for more job opportunities (Chow
and Sand 2020). Today, all Nordic countries have regional and national lm funds,
and all, except Denmark, oer government-funded lm and television lming
incentives.
According to the ndings from interviews with stakeholders in the Finnish lm
industry conducted as part of the FilmInd project, an Arctic landscape covered
in snow, as depicted in both Indian lm productions War (2019) and Shamitabh
(2015), is one of the primary draws for foreign lmmakers to come to Finland.
Other important pull factors are the well-developed infrastructure, with ve inter-
national airports, roads across the country and national mobile phone coverage not
being an issue even in more remote locations. In addition to this, the low level of
bureaucracy and the Finnish quality of work were factors often mentioned as posi-
tive aspects by the Finnish respondents themselves.
It was, however, emphasised among the respondents that none of the previously
identied pull factors individually constitute sales advantages, when promoting
Finland as a lming location. It is often the sum of all these aspects, that is, the
Film productions as a part of the regional identity 189
combination of locations, incentives, logistics, professional and creative local crew
that determines whether an international lm production chooses Finland as a lm-
ing location or not.
Even though India has one of the largest lm industries in the world (Josiam
2014), the in-depth interviews revealed that no special tactics or actions have been
taken to draw Indian lm productions to Finland. One reply even saying that it is
rather the other way around, with Indian lm already having a long history of inter-
est in shooting overseas and frequently being the ones to initiate a collaboration.
However, it is clear from the experiences of the two Indian lm productions that
were held in Finland that there is interest on the part of the Finnish side in increas-
ing the collaboration with the Indian lm industry.
A region’s rst step towards being visible on the global lm map is to learn
about the value that the lm industry creates. Viewing lm as a key component of
their regional economy could be an important rst step towards becoming more
“visible” on the international lm map (Lind 2019). Second, it is important to
identify unique local and regional strengths in order to be able to market them
eectively.
The interview responses made it evident that dierent lm industries possess
distinct requirements. This implies that if a particular region or location aims to
attract the global lm industry, it may be more advantageous for them to initially
focus on a specic lm industry or genre and gain extensive knowledge about its
specic needs. This applies to the Indian lm industry as well as any other lm or
creative industry.
Limitations and future research
It should be noted that no Indian respondents were included among the interview-
ees. The reason for this is that during the time the interviews were conducted, it
was not possible to reach any Indian stakeholders who were involved in the lm
productions shot in Finland. Although this is acknowledged as a limitation, it is
also a possible future research step.
In line with the increased interest in northern Europe as a lming location
(Lunde 2022), the number of Indian lm productions is also expected to increase,
which makes it likely that there will be additional opportunities to both broaden
and deepen this research in the future.
Acknowledgement
FilmInd project – The Indian lm industry as a driver of new socio-economic
connections was carried out within EU-India Platform for Social Sciences and
Humanities and nanced by national funding of the participating countries. Novia
University of Applied Sciences acknowledges funding from the Academy of
Finland. The author would also like to thank the interviewees from Finland for
their kind cooperation in the research.
190 Therese Sunngren-Granlund
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Part IV
Beyond the screen
Socio-spatial impact of lm
Figure 4 The statue of Bollywood director Yash Chopra (1932–2012) “Ambassador of
Interlaken” with a note: “Numerous scenes of his renowned lms were shot in the
Bernese Oberland. These famous scenes prompt numerous guests from India to
visit Interlaken”.
Source: Hania Janta
DOI: 10.4324/9781003293347-14
DOI: 10.4324/9781003293347-15
This chapter has been made available under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Human geographers and lm scholars have been astute to the importance and
benets of examining geographies inscribed by and in cinema.1 However, the
attention to non-human geographies or what Sarah Whatmore (2002) has called
‘more-than-Human’ geographies is recent to both geography and cinema studies.
Responding to Edward Said’s call for an ‘imaginative geography’ (1978, pp. 54–55,
71–72), Whatmore (2002), Philo and Wilbert (2000) et al. emphasise the need to
decentre the human and move beyond a singular focus on the human subject to
a ‘revived animal geography’ (Philo and Wilbert 2004, p. 4) that focuses on the
‘complex entanglings of human-animal relations with space, place, location, envi-
ronment and landscape’ (Philo and Wilbert 2004, p. 4). In the received schema of
‘anthropocentric geography’, there is a neat classication of lived spaces into the
city, countryside, and wilderness – zones of human settlement, agriculture, and
unoccupied territories, where each zone is associated with pets/companion animals
(cats and dogs), livestock animals (sheep and cows), and wild animals (wolves and
lions), respectively (Philo and Wilbert 2004, p. 11). Thus anthropocentric geography
tends to ‘x animals in a series of abstract spaces – “animal spaces” – which are
cleaved apart from the messy time-space contexts, or concrete places, in which these
animals actually live out their lives as beings in the world’ (Philo and Wilbert 2004,
p. 6). A focus on non-human geographies can reveal the spatial practices of non-
human animals, the ways in which they disrupt or negotiate boundaries between the
human and non-human and their complex entanglements with human lives.
Similarly, the ‘animal turn’ in lm studies is of recent vintage even if the history of
the moving image has been entangled with animals. Jonathan Burt (2002) claims that
it was the desire to understand the animal body in motion that led to the early cinema
experiments of Eadward Muybridge, Jules Etienne Marey et al. in the rst place,
yet animals have been typically overlooked in the study of cinema. In the last few
years, however a critical body of scholarship has produced diverse ways of looking at
the animal in narrative and non-ctional representations.2 How can we combine the
insights of the ‘animal turn’ in geography and cinema scholarship to understand how
cinema represents and produces its non-human animal geographies? How can we go
beyond the study of segregated animal spaces such as the wilds3 (indeed much schol-
arship tend to be focused on wildlife lms), or enclosures such as the zoo (Berger
1980)? From the boundedness of animals on screen – ‘the cinematic zoos’ – to Anat
11 Beastly places
European encounters with
Bollywood’s non-human
geographies
Veena Hariharan
196 Veena Hariharan
Pick’s more complex formulation of the ‘cine-zoo’ – ‘cinema as a zoomorphic stage
that transforms all living beings – including humans – into creatures’ (2011, p. 106),
the looking relations between humans and animals have been studied in fascinating
details. This chapter attempts to study animals in both on and o screen spaces of
lm. O-screen spaces here include location, pro-lmic realities at the time of shoot-
ing, and the discursive worlds of law, religion, and politics that inuence animal–
human relations and their on screen representations.
What can a study of animals on location tell us about the spatial practices of
animals and in turn how can they reveal new geographies for cinema? Priya Jai-
kumar’s expansive denition of location as ‘lmed space’ – ‘that captured artifact
of an encounter between a camera and its environment’ (2019, p. 18), enables us
to think about the entanglements of real locations, and their traces, with the on
screen image and it’s afterlife. In this case, location refers to more specically,
location shooting with animals, in other words – animals on location. Thus, the
paper looks at diegetic as well as pro-lmic spaces, their representation on screen
as screen animals and on location as empirical, live, embodied and material beings.
Staging an encounter between Bollywood, Europe, and the inscription ‘No Animals
Were Harmed in the Making of This Film’, I propose that this ubiquitous sign is
a cinematic palimpsest tied to the entangled life worlds of animals and humans,
regional cartographies, national and international animal laws, technologies of
special eects and narratives of animal care. I look at ways in which Bollywood
negotiates animal rights movements, legal debates on animals, censorship, politics
and religion, via a case study of the 2017 lm Tiger Zinda Hai (Tiger is Alive)
and the star text of Salman Khan. With its pre-existing knowhow (in this instance,
Hungarian animal trainer Zoltan Horkai) and animal infrastructures already tapped
by Hollywood, I show how Europe is a central node in these navigations.
‘No Animals Were Harmed in the Making of This Film’
‘No Animals Were Harmed in the Making of This Film’ is the trademark certica-
tion of the American Humane, an organisation established in 1877 that ‘monitors
animals in lmed media’ and hands out certications to productions only if they
meet the stringent requirements set in its guidelines on pro-lmic animals. Even
though The Indian Cinematograph Act 1952 mentions censorship of scenes depict-
ing ‘needless’ ‘cruelty to, or abuse of animals’, it is not until 1973 (Performing
Animals Rules and Performing Animals Registration Rules 2001) and as recently
as 2004 PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) versus CBFC (Central
Board of Film Certication) that the registration of every performing animal along
with a No Objection Certication (NOC) from the AWBI (Animal Welfare Board
of India) and from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, in the case of wild
animals, became mandatory for a lm’s release. ‘Performing animals’ are dened
as ‘any animal which is used for the purpose of any entertainment to which the
public is admitted through the sale of tickets’ and later expanded to include ‘ani-
mals used in lms and for equine events’.4 The rules pertaining to performing
animals are derived from and cite two landmark judgements that determined the
Beastly places 197
screen discourses around domestic and endangered animals in independent India:
The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (1960) and The Wildlife protection Act
(1972). Along with these acts, the legal apparatus, governmental and monitoring
institutions (AWBI and CBFC), and dramatis personae (Rukmini Devi Arundale,
Chinny Krishna, Justice KS Radhakrishnan, Maneka Gandhi, and naturalists M
Krishnan, Salim Ali, AP Gee et al.); civil society and international activist bodies
that exert inuence on policy – WWF (World Wildlife Fund), and PETA, lm per-
sons have also been very involved in propagating animal causes. PETA’s India
Chapter, launched in 2000, and its youth channel PETADishoom routinely ropes
in celebrities from the entertainment world to champion animal causes – famously,
Dia Mirza sporting a leopard skin outt to protest animal practices in the leather
industry or Lara Dutta in a gown of leaves and owers promoting vegetarianism,
while releasing hard hitting investigative videos on human cruelty in animal prac-
tices (livestock farming, vivisection, bullghting, circuses, etc.). Thus an ethnogra-
phy of lm industry practices vis-à-vis animals and their human trainers, wranglers,
handlers, and pet suppliers also reveals the processes of lming animals on screen
in accordance with the Performing Animals Rules and Guidelines.
Animals in Bollywood
Animals are not new to Bollywood, actors have shared screen spaces with pigeons,
peacocks, elephants, camels, cows, snakes, tigers, monkeys, horses, pigs, dogs, cats,
even ants and turtles, as pets and companion species or as animals to be hunted or
escaped from. We can count nearly 100 odd lms where animals take up substantial
footage in Bombay cinema alone, though this is not a large number, considering
the size of the lm industry (nearly 150 lms per year). Indian lm directors have,
by and large, stayed away from featuring animals owing to several reasons, a few
of which are listed here. The paucity of adequately trained animal trainers – most
of them segued from the circus to lms and the others who raised animals on their
farms were not necessarily up to speed about how to train them for lm shoot-
ing or how to sustain the high pressures of a shooting environment or shooting
schedules that involved travel, long hours, the presence of large crowds and heavy
lights and equipment. Added to this, the laws regarding animal certication for
lms that involved cumbersome bureaucratic rigmaroles from registration, tness
certication and vaccinations, and transportation rules, acted as disincentive for
many lmmakers. Echoing the sentiment of many lmmakers, Kaushik Ganguly,
the director of Kishore Kumar Junior (Bengali language lm 2018), complains:
Getting permission to shoot with camels is very tough and my lm’s censor
certication got delayed because of it. What’s more, in Kedara, where I play
the protagonist, the pigeons had to be turned white by using computer graphics
as usage of white pigeons is against the norms! Problem is, neither can you
show rural Bengal with cows moving around nor can you show horses in a
period lm. Getting permission to shoot with elephants is by far the toughest.
(Sen 2019)
198 Veena Hariharan
The Performing Animals Act (2001) all together bans shooting with monkeys, pan-
thers, lions, and tigers. Animal activists protesting the abuse of animals on set,
followed by public interest litigations on their behalf, have also made lmmakers
wary of using animals in their lms. Recently, the Animal Welfare Board of India
(AWBI),5 the statutory advisory body to oversee the use of performing animals
in lms, issued an advisory to lm, OTT content producers, and advertisers ‘to
prioritise the use of modern methods such as computer-generated imagery (CGI),
visual eects (VFX), and animatronics over live animals to prevent the iniction
of unnecessary pain and suering’ (Jha 2021) on performing animals. This advi-
sory was a result of PETA’s complaint following the death of a horse on the sets of
Mani Rathnam’s Tamil language historical spectacle, Ponniyin Selvan (upcoming
release). Some lmmakers like Prabhu Solomon say ‘there is a confusion running
in the industry that making lms with animals is complicated business and it’s
hard to get a Censor clearance’ (Bandhopadhyay 2021). He seems to have had an
exceptionally smooth path with his tusker lms – Kumki (2012) and Haathi Mere
Saathi (2021). Others nd ways around this problem by using a combination of
real, dummy, and CGI animals – example Suraj Barjatya’s Tota Raj – the multi-
coloured talking parrot in Main Prem ki Deewani Hoon (2003).
Animatronics and CGI
AWBI’s advisory in turn created a huge demand for CGI (computer-generated
imagery) animals (the tiger in Life of Pi (Ang Lee 2012) or the parrot in Main
Prem ki Deewani Hoon) and animatronics. Directors ocked to Prasun Basu and
Gawri Tiwari’s animatronics studio based in Naigaon, Mumbai, to cast mechanical
animals for their historical spectacles – from the realistic looking elephants in Man-
ikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi (Kangana Ranaut 2019) to the hyper-real horses in
Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (Om Raut 2020), Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (Suren-
der Reddy 2019), Housefull 4 (Farhad Samji 2019), Panipat (Ashutosh Gowarikar
2019; Venugopalan 2019), etc. Action director Shyam Kaushal explains:
In the 1980s, a scene where a horse topples could be shot with real horses,
but today, it would be illegal . . . today the mechanism installed inside the
dummy horse accurately interprets the rhythm and bounce that a rider would
receive on a real horse.
(Guha 2022)
Basu and Tiwari take special pride in their painstakingly created realistic looking
horse heads developed with inputs from Ted Heines (who worked on the SFX in
Avatar and Jurassic Park) and India’s leading taxidermist Dr Santosh Gaikwad’s
inputs about fabrication. Nick Powel, Manikarnika’s stunt director (of X-Men,
Bourne Identity fame)
ew down one of the best wranglers in the world to attest that the ‘eect on the
body while riding was natural’, the duo claimed adding that ‘In Hollywood,
Beastly places 199
there’s only [creature eects artist] Mark Rappaport (The Revenant) who has
a couple of horses similar to ours’.
(ibid.)
The 100% CGI menagerie of the much celebrated RRR (S Rajamouli 2022) states
in its disclaimer at the outset of the lm: ‘No animals were harmed in the making
of the lm. Horses, oxen, birds, tigers, wolves, bears, leopards, deer, sh and snake
shown in the movie are all computer-generated’.
Advantage Europe
Thus, in a modern reversal, it is not for state-of-the-art technology but for expert
handling of real animals, that we see Bollywood directors looking towards Europe
as a shooting location as I demonstrate in a later section on Zoltan Horkai, the
animal trainer. More importantly, shooting the lm abroad meant that the lmmak-
ers had to follow the rules of that country, therefore sparing the lmmakers the
bureaucratic hassles of shooting with animals in India.6 Zoya Akthar director of Dil
Dhadakne Do says she chose to set the lm overseas – much of the lm’s action
takes place aboard a Mediterranean cruise liner – to avoid the tedium of having to
convince the Animal Welfare Board of India that the dog wasn’t harmed in any of
the scenes.7
I would have had to have a representative of the Animal Welfare Board of
India to tag along everywhere and everyday on my Mediterranean cruise to
vouch that the dog wasn’t harmed in any of the scenes if we shot in India but
this was not required for the overseas production!
While the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (1960, pp. V, 22) prohibits the use
of monkeys, bears, lions, panthers, and bulls as performing animals in lms, there
is no mention of wolves. Furthermore, wolves are found aplenty in India, at least
2000–3000 of them according to a census (Kukreti 2001).8 Even so, wolves seldom
found their way into Indian movies. Shooting the lm in Austria enabled the lm
crew access to both the animals and their trainers while avoiding the red-tapism of
Indian bureaucracy.
Rules Pertaining to Performing Animals9
Not that dogs were harmed on the sets of Dil Dhadakne Do or wolves on the sets
of Tiger Zinda Hai but the cumbersome processes involved in the use of perform-
ing animals in lms led both directors to locations outside India. Complying with
AWBI rules for the shooting involves applying for registration to use the animals
and certication on completion of the lm, both of which may be granted only if the
Board is fully satised about the scenes with animals. The physical condition of the
animals, their vaccination proofs, and tness certicates needs to be veried by
the veterinary doctor who has to be present on set and ratify this on the completion
200 Veena Hariharan
of the lm. In case of animals such as wolves, listed in the Wildlife Protection
Act, the ownership of animals also needs to be proved. The Board also needs to
be convinced that the training methods deployed did not inict ‘unnecessary pain
or suering’, that the owner does not deprive the animal of food or water in order
to compel them to ‘perform a trick’, and that the owner shall ‘train an animal as a
performing animal to perform an act in accordance with its basic natural instinct’.
There is a ban on using sick, pregnant or injured animals and their on-screen rep-
resentations. There are also other rules about transportation and stay – animals had
to be transported in cages of stipulated sizes and not for more than 8 hours continu-
ously and the owners have to ensure feeding and watering enclosures on site. There
are also other details that need to be ensured such as the animals’ proximity to ‘sud-
den loud noises’, res, explosives, and sharp objects. Furthermore, the performing
animal is not to be exposed to articial light over an intensity of 500 lux. Finally,
getting a certicate of approval on completion of the lm that ‘No Animals Were
Hurt’ during the making of the lm, without which the lm could not be released in
theatres involves a cumbersome process of waiting, negotiation, censorship quib-
bles and sometimes rumours involving on-set cruelty as reported by animal activ-
ists or concerned citizens.
Tiger Zinda Hai
Tiger Zinda Hai features the iconic Indian superstar ‘Tiger’ Salman Khan combat-
ing a pack of wolves. Hungarian animal trainer, Zoltan Horkai, also called ‘Wolf
Man’ was hired by the lmmakers to execute the spectacular stunt sequences. The
sequence is shot in Austria’s Tirol region – the forests of Praxmar and the quiet
alpine capital town of Innsbruck.10 While the sporting town of Innsbruck provided
the skiing facilities, snow mobiles, and the specialised gear and equipment, the
mountainous forest region, teeming with bears and wolves, oered the perfect set-
ting to stage RAW (India’s premier foreign intelligence agency) agent Tiger’s hide-
out and his dramatic face-o with the wolves.
Curiously, this is also a stand-alone segment in the lm as there is no reference
in the rest of the lm to this, and is in the lm mostly to introduce the star – his
masculinity, prowess, and cunning. Later in the lm, we also see a brief scene involv-
ing the star riding a horse through the alley ways of war torn Iraq (shot on location
in Abu Dhabi and Morocco standing in for Iraq), in combat with his pursuers who
are on a motorbike. As the camera opens with a monumental score and a dynamic
long shot of a mountainous expanse of snow, we see Tiger and his young son Junior
walk uphill. The next shot reveals a signboard ‘Beware of wild animals’ and Junior
reading out from his tablet: ‘Nature gave every animal an instinct to run so it can sur-
vive’. Tiger, using his axe to chop rewood, listens indulgently to his son who asks
in English, ‘Don’t human beings also need to run to survive?’ Some good humoured
banter on the love for the English language in mother and son ensue between the
two. ‘A man’s identity is in his zabaan’ – Junior is made to recall a moral lesson that
he has been taught by his parents. Zabaan is a double play on the word tongue as
in language as well as the Urdu word for promise – or word – a man is as good as
Beastly places 201
his word. Thus, the segment establishes the location as a high risk zone, Junior as a
modern child versed in English, digitally literate and curious about the ways of the
wild, and Tiger as a moral being, a man of his word, simultaneously a man of the
world and familiar with the harsh terrain of the wilds. The next segment establishes
Tiger’s jungle know how: as a salivating wolf faces Junior, Tiger instructs, his back
still turned to the camera and the approaching wolf: ‘Look straight into his eyes and
don’t break eye contact’. As Junior turns to run, Tiger warns ‘Wait!’ Wolves never
hunt alone, only in packs . . . there are more coming’. The scene cuts to a pack of
wolves emerging behind the one we saw in the previous scene.
As the wolves advance, Salman utters the lm’s famous line: ‘Everyone hunts
but none better than Tiger’ – referring both to himself and the namesake animal.
When Junior is concerned that dad is going to kill all of them singlehandedly,
Tiger quips that if he doesn’t hunt them it would be Junior served on the dinner
table instead. Now Junior throws him the gauntlet: ‘If you can save me from here
without killing the wolves, then I accept that you are indeed the real Tiger’. Tiger
accepts the challenge and throws away his weapons. As Tiger rolls down the snow,
in a high-octane chase comprising a series of mid-air somersaults, captured in slow
motion helicam shots, he displaces tree trunks and logs that throw the wolves o
their trail. Finally, with a little ingenuity, and coordination between Tiger and Jun-
ior, the last of them with an intention of pouncing on Junior, jumps straight into the
parked SUV in a beautiful slow motion shot, as Junior holds the door open for him.
The scene ends with Tiger and Junior exchanging a hi-ve, both are pleased with
the outcome, Tiger and son have survived and so have the wolves – literally point-
ing to the o screen dictum – ‘No Animals were hurt in the making of this lm’.
The larger vision of the lm, however, remains a largely anthropocentric one,
that assumes the human–animal hierarchy, and the superior intelligence, cunning,
and skill of humans to overpower the animal, albeit appealing to his kindness,
again a virtue, that the lm implies only humans are capable of.
Figure 11.1 The snow-capped Praxmar Mountains.
Source: From the lm Tiger Zinda Hai (2017)
202 Veena Hariharan
The Paratexts of Tiger Zinda Hai
O-screen spaces can refer to the material and imaginary referents outside the cin-
ematic frame pointing to the continuity of the action before and beyond the tempo-
ral and spatial frames of the diegesis – ‘what the screen shows us seems to be part
of something prolonged indenitely into the universe’ (Bazin 1967, p. 166). In this
chapter, I take o screen spaces to include the pro-lmic realities of shooting with
animals on location and the legal, religious, political, and environmental discourses
surrounding animal–human relations and their lmic representations. One of the
key access points that enables a look at o screen spaces of the animal sequence in
the lm are the paratexts of the lm.
Figure 11.2 Encounter between Tiger and the Wolf. He combats the wolf single-handedly.
Source: From the lm Tiger Zinda Hai (2011)
Figure 11.3 A pack of wolves approach Tiger and Junior.
Source: From the lm Tiger Zinda Hai (2011)
Beastly places 203
As a composite practice involving the principles of documentary as well as pro-
motional lmmaking, the making-of-video is a ubiquitous artefact of our times and
accompany most lm productions – big and small. Making of videos come in all
forms and sizes and from dierent quarters – usually an ocial video sanctioned
by the production company and any number of fan videos on the internet or show
reels for the crew. From its evidentiary documentary value to its promo/trailer like
qualities, showcasing of the lm’s big moments, and behind-the-scenes endeavours
of its crew or their use of state-of-the-art technology, the making-of-videos can give
us valuable insights into what happened on location during and in – between shots
or how certain dicult scenes were rehearsed, executed and achieved. A typical
making of video can contain location footage, interviews, bytes, candid moments,
green room clicks, and may be shot with a hand held, cell phone, or a high-end
digital camera in the style of a home movie, documentary, or a glossy lm. Such
making-of-videos are also referred to as ‘paratexts’ (Gray 2010; Hight 2005) – the
‘greeters, gatekeepers, and cheerleaders for and of the media, lters through which
we must pass on our way to the “text itself” ’(Gray 2010, p. 17). In her discussion
of the making of music videos that she calls a ‘paratext of a paratext’, Pavitra
Sundar notes:
They (paratexts) may appear in the ‘Extras’ section of a DVD, on television
shows and websites promoting the lm, or on YouTube and other digital ven-
ues. They may be stand-alone features or part of a broader narrative about the
making of the lm. Making-of videos rarely use an authoritative voice-over,
relying instead on the music and the talking heads’ comments for a connec-
tive thread. Thus, while they purport to de-mystify the process of lm-song
production, what they do in fact is celebrate that process.
(2020, p. 222)
In this section, I look at three paratexts – the making-of-video of the lm made by
Saif Akhtar, Tiger vs Wolves (2017); Zoltan Horkai’s own showreel, and the 6-part
Discovery series on Zoltan the Wolf Man. Tiger vs Wolves, the making of video of
Tiger Zinda Hai, acts as a paratext that demysties the processes of shooting with
wolves on location, by introducing us to the techniques employed by Zoltan Horkai
specially hired for the job along with his team of wranglers and handlers. It also
showcases his unique methods and skills for handling wolves. The lm also serves
as a promotional for the star – the ‘brave’ Tiger, Salman Khan, uninching in his
scenes with the erce wolves even receiving an endorsement from Zoltan: ‘He (Sal-
man) is straight and natural, he loved the animals and the animals loved him back’.
The video also introduces the details of the location and elaborate arrangements to
accommodate the wolves including cages, and electric wire fencing for the shoot.
It is also a documentation of best practices – the ethical, respectful, and loving
treatment of the animals in the lm. No accidents of crew or wolves were reported
says, director Abbas Ali, whose favourite shooting moments involved the ‘beauti-
ful wolves’. The goals of ethical cohabitation and jungle know-how permeate the
204 Veena Hariharan
entire crew. An instance of this can be seen in the way Abbas Ali himself started to
recite the mantras and know how on living in the wild:
They are wild animals treat them with respect and they will love you back. . . .
Don’t close your hands, they will believe that you have something to hide
and attack you . . . open your hands, let them sni you, etc.
It is evident in other ways too, for example in the way the entire crew including
Salman and Junior familiarised themselves with the wolves, even attributed a name
and character to each wolf on the set. Along with Zoltan, and the wolves crew of
animal handlers – Peter Ivanyi, Dori Ujvary, and Gergo Benkoczy, the end credits
also include the names of the screen wolves – Nelson, Rufus, Volko, Dakota, Mar-
cus, and Dante and the real wolves who played them – Eda, Lobo, Morius, Bobi,
Szami, and Hogan. Dakota is designated as the director’s favourite; Dakota and
Volko were ‘great with kids’; Nelson is the angry one, Eda was ferocious look-
ing but ‘supercute’. At the same time, everyone was aware of their all-too-human
borders with the wild. For safety, the shooting location was fenced on all sides
with electric wires. For some of the shots in the lm, example, when Tiger is on a
skateboard being chased by wolves – they had to repeat this action several times
to get the perfect shot, but no one inched. Though we know from the lm’s less
talked about production notes that this high risk stunt sequence was performed by
Salman’s usual body double Parvez Kazi.11
The Black Buck Case
This allows me to segue into another o screen detail that has a bearing on the ways
to read this lm. In 1998, during the shooting of the multi-starrer Hum Saath Saath
Hai (Sooraj Barjatya, Rajshri Productions 1999), the lm’s stars – Salman Khan
along with Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, and Sonali Bendre – allegedly hunted down two
black bucks in the Kankani village of Rajasthan. Following a case led by the vil-
lage’s ever-vigilant Bishnoi community, Salman was convicted under Section 9/51
of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972)12. Schedule I of the Act names the black buck
(Antelope Cervicapra) as an ‘endangered species’. After many a twist and turn
in the case, in 2007, the star was sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment and ned
Rs 25,000/-. He spent a week in the Jodhpur prison and was released soon after
on bail.13 The case, all but forgotten by everyone, except the Bishnoi community
who continued to appeal against Salman’s violation of the wild life habitat, was
reintroduced in the courts and in public discourse, again in 2016. Many see this as
a politically motivated campaign by a Hindu right wing government to pin down
an iconic Muslim star. In 2018, the actor was ned Rs 10,000 and 5 years imprison-
ment while the others charged in the case were acquitted.
The Bishnoi community of Western Rajasthan claims their lineage to Guru
Jambheswara and his bish noi (29 principles) that emphasise reverence and com-
passion for all animals. The legendary environmental Chipko movement, where
women of Uttarkhand hugged trees to resist government supported felling, has
Beastly places 205
been linked to the Bishnoi community’s Amrita Devi Bishnoi of Khejadali who
protected the region’s khejadi trees by hugging them against marauders of Mahara-
jah Abhay Singh of Jodhpur. Ramachandra Guha cautions against this ‘postmodern
myth’ as a ‘spiritual’ and ‘romantic stereotype’ that ‘obscures Chipko’s origins in
the specic conditions of Uttarakhand’ and suspects that it was in all probability
mobilised by Sunder Lal Bahuguna to revitalise a agging environmental move-
ment (2013) while acknowledging the role of Bishnois ‘assiduously protecting . . .
blackbuck, chinkara, neelgai and peafowl’, as one of the strands of the wildlife
conservation movement in India (1995, p. 98). Pankaj Jain characterised the com-
munity’s erce guard of wildlife in the region, in terms of ‘dharmic/religious’
environmentalism’ (2011, p. 60). The photograph of a native Rajasthani woman
feeding her baby and a baby fawn at the same time featured in Rajesh Bedi’s book
of photographs, Rajasthan: Under the Desert Sky (2013). Several versions of this
photograph have circulated on the internet since then, and even if apocryphal or
photoshopped, it serves as the community’s calling card – its religiously anointed
vocation to safeguard the wildlife habitat that includes the ‘sacred antelope’ – the
black buck. Against this, Salman Khan’s excesses were not forgiven though he
continues to be a popular draw in Jodhpur, as the box oce success of his action
thriller series Dabanng (2010, 2012, 2019), Ek Tha Tiger (2012), and indeed Tiger
Zinda Hai proves. The Bishnoi model of zealous environmentalism is pitched
against a more modern (read western) environmental model embodied by the star
in Tiger Zinda Hai.
Thus, it is possible to see the messaging of the lm as an antidote to Salman
Khan’s public image vis-a-vis animals accrued from his earlier encounter. The
lm’s vision of sustainable environmentalism – the combination of jungle sensi-
tiveness and jungle know how – focalised through the child gure -and delivered
by the star could be understood as an exercise in star image building or in this case
image reparation. Director Sooraj Barjatya has been associated with the introduc-
tion of unforgettable animal protagonists to Bollywood – from Tuy in Hum Aapke
Hai Kaun to the multi-coloured CGI parrot in Main Prem ki Deewani Hoon while
Salman Khan’s namesake production company, Salman Khan Films continues to
be associated with children and animals in lms like Chillar Party (Nitesh Tiwari
and Vikas Bahl 2011).
Zoltan the Wolf Man
Director Abbas was himself primarily motivated by commercial values and the
desire to make what he calls a ‘Hollywood-looking’ lm, to this end, he hired Hol-
lywood stunt choreographer, Tom Struthers of Inception and Dark Knight fame,
and Zoltan, who Abbas refers to as the best animal trainer ‘in the world’. The
wolves themselves were cast for their ferocious cinematic beauty. Abbas regrets
that Indian lmmakers and producers rarely use animals in their lms these days,
at best maybe horses and livestock. The sequence lasting less than 8 minutes in the
2.5-hour-long lm, took 14 days to shoot. Director Abbas attributes this to the two
unpredictable factors on the set – the presence of the child actor and the performing
206 Veena Hariharan
animals – both of whom were uncontrollable and whimsical and subjected the crew
to the vagaries of their moods.14
All the paraphernalia for the shooting of this sequence came from Budapest
along with the wolves who were brought in by road with their wranglers and chief
trainer Zoltan. The desire to ‘keep it real’ drove Abbas to shoot with real wolves
rather than post-production animals achieved with CGI, VFX or manipulated stock
footage. This also meant that shooting preparations were elaborate with little margin
for error. The shots involving the wolves was storyboarded in minute detail When
Zoltan listened to the brief he knew that there was a challenging shoot ahead –
he trained intensively with his wolves in his workshop farm in Budapest for two
whole weeks before arriving on location. But when he did, there was no doubt as
to who was helming the sequence: we see him announce in the making of video –
‘as long as the wolves are not in the trailer, or not on leash, I am in charge, nobody
else’. In the making of video we can see Zoltan and his crew of wranglers, han-
dlers, and trainers – women and men in intimate interactions with the wolves –
feeding, petting, and playing with them. Everyone is working in sync, united by a
shared camaraderie, joy, and sheer love of animals.
Zoltan Horkai’s unique animal training philosophy of ‘Natural Motivation’ is
critical to the vision espoused by his centre – the Horkai centre whose motto reads:
‘We Understand. We know. We Care’. A six-episode biographical series Zoltan
the Wolf Man (directed by Darius Miniotas 2015), aired on Discovery and Animal
Planet captures the intricate details of Zoltan’s work and philosophy. The series
reveals how Zoltan distances himself from the methods of the circus as far as possi-
ble. He never beats, threatens, or uses power to achieve his lm objectives; instead,
he uses the positive drive that the animal naturally possesses to motivate it to do the
required action by its own volition. This is primarily based on Zoltan’s unique tal-
ent to get under the wolf’s skin, or any other animal for that matter – he also works
with bears, grizzlies, foxes, wild boars, deer, lynxes, and even ies and wasps.
After listening to the director’s brief, he ‘translates’ the scripted action into the
wolf’s language – a ‘wolfspeak’, so to speak, and a ‘wolsh’ way of thinking. Zol-
tan is an exemplar of wranglers and handlers who possess such embodied knowl-
edge built through everyday interactions with animals, what Michael Polanyi in
another context refers to as ‘tacit knowing’.15 (Polanyi 2009) It could be a drive
for food, security, it can be jealousy or competition, or play with hierarchy – any
natural instinct which Zoltan then uses to motivate the animal to perform the neces-
sary action. Then he divides it into tasks by the motivation needed by the wolf to
perform it and later assembles it into one continuous action needed for the shot. For
example, in Tiger Zinda Hai, the scene where the wolf runs and pounces on Tiger
is achieved by rst releasing a hungry wolf from a cage for a high speed run and a
second wolf on a leash is let loose so that it can lunge on to Salman/Parvez’ body
to which pieces of meat are tied.
In the coda to the lm, Wolf Man, we are told that in Budapest, the last survi-
vors of this endangered canid can only be found in Zoltan’s training centre. In the
last episode of the series, we witness a rediscovery of a handful of grey wolves in
Budapest, as they cross over from the forests of bordering Slovakia.16 The episode
Beastly places 207
ends with Zoltan addressing schoolchildren in a talk about wolves. At the close of
the talk, he invites each one of them to the podium encouraging them to pet the
wolves to gift them a childhood memory that will never allow them to hurt wolves
when they are adults. A gesture that alludes to the history of wolves in Europe –
captured, contained, and hunted as dangerous threats to livestock and to a future of
conservation and co-existence. To add a caveat here, Zoltan Horkai’s, (the animal
trainer whose) principles of ‘Natural Motivation’, we see ample amounts of care
and understanding of animals and no ostensible display of cruelty but these are
evidence based on the self-documentation of his commercially viable enterprise.
Conclusion
The use of animals in lms is always already implicated in the exploitative dynamic
of the entertainment industrial complex that animal activists have protested time
and again in connection with the circus, animal sport, performance, etc. Do we
become part of the solution, complying with the covenant – ‘No Animals Were
Harmed’ by abandoning the use of performing animals altogether or make possible
an inclusion of ‘beastly spaces’, the vital presence of animals in the cinematic land-
scape, as in our lives, in ethical ways? In this chapter, I have shown how the inscrip-
tion, No Animals were harmed, is both a sign and a palimpsest – the unravelling of
its multiple layers reveals the complex web of animal–human entanglements with
location, technology and special eects, tactical knowledge and animal expertise,
local and global cartographies, stardom, law, and politics. Through a case study of
the lm Tiger Zinda Hai and the star vehicle of Salman Khan, I show how the lm
attempts an ethical approach to the deployment of animals while recuperating the
actor with an embattled history vis-à-vis animals. With its prior expertise (in this
instance, Hungarian wolf trainer Zoltan Horkai) and animal infrastructures already
mobilised and tapped by Hollywood, I show how Europe is as a primary vector, a
force-eld even, for the staging of these encounters.
Notes
1 Aitken and Zonn (1994), Beeton (2005), Burgess and Gold (1995), Clarke (2007),
Escher and Zimmerman (2001), Jameson (1992), Kennedy and Lukinbeal (1997), Urry
(1992), Soja (1989), Bruno (2018), Conley (2007), Jaikumar (2019), Escher (2006).
2 Baker 2001; Berger 1980; Burt 2002; Cahill 2019; Haraway 1991; Hediger 2020; Lippit
2000; Pick 2011; Smaill 2016.
3 Bousé 2000; Chris 2006; Mitman 2012; Vivanco et al. 2012.
4 Section 2(b), of the Performing Animals Rules 1973, and Section 2(h) of the Performing
Animals (Registration) Rules 2001.
5 The Animal Welfare Board of India is a statutory advisory body on Animal Welfare
Laws and promotes animal welfare in the country. Established in 1962 under Section 4
of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 (No. 59 of 1960), the AWBI was the
rst of its kind to be established by any Government in the world and has since then
been the face of the animal welfare movement in the country.
6 The encounter between well-meaning animal protection laws in India and their imple-
mentation mired in red tape, is well documented by Nayanika Mathur in her work on the
bureaucracy surrounding the protection of Big Cats in India.
208 Veena Hariharan
7 Although that rule is about to change now, according to the news article” “Films shot
abroad will need “no animal cruelty” tag, Ohri, ET Bureau, 03.10.2015.
8 Two recent documentaries Treasures of the Grasslands (Mihir Godbole and Makarand
Dambhare 2019) and Walking with Wolves (Senani Hegde 2014) highlight the neglect of
wolves and their grassland habitats. Although listed as a protected species in Schedule
I of the Wildlife Protection Act, the wolf got less attention than the other charismatic
megafauna on the list namely tigers, lions, rhinos and elephants.
9 The Indian Cinematograph Act 1952; Performing Animals Rules 1973; Performing Ani-
mals Registration Rules, 2001; The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960; The
Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
10 Along with Praxmar and Innsbruck, the lm’s end credits mention that the lm was shot
in original locations in Tirol including Kaunertal, Kuhtai, the Holfburg Ball Room, and
the Golden Roof, Townsquare, Innsbruck while the Austria Film Commissioner and the
Mayor of Innsbruck are specially thanked along with the Cine Tirol Film Commission
and Innsbruck Tourism.
11 The credits of the lm mention the name of Parvez Shaikh in stunt support and Chad
Martin Guerrero as stunt double.
12 Some of the details of this episode can be found in Joshi, N. (2019). Reel India: Cinema
o the beaten track.
13 Qaidi No 210, a lm based on Salman’s experience of his few days in prison, was
mooted but never released.
14 Ali Abbas, 2020. Interview, Equip EQUIP-ICSSR research project “FilmInd: The Indian
lm industry as a driver of new socio-economic connections between India and Europe”.
15
Scientist-turned-philosopher, Michael Polanyi, dierentiates between two kinds of
knowing – the tacit and articulate – in his deceptively simple formulation: “We can
know more than we can tell” (1966, p. 4). One of his examples, is the human capac-
ity to know an individual face, recognizing it among millions of others, yet we can-
not tell exactly how we recognize a face we know – this inability to articulate the
“how” of knowing, Polanyi refers to as the tacit, ineable dimension of knowledge.
In the same vein, we can think of examples from the animal world – how did Sibe-
rian cranes know to migrate all the way from the arctic tundra to winter in India’s
tropical sanctuaries, or the Swedish moose to walk across the melting ice to reach
their summer pastures in the foothills? Yet this is knowledge that is passed on from
generation to generation of the species ineably, tacitly.
(Hariharan 2022)
16 As captured on WWF Hungary’s camera trap in Aggtelek National Park in Northern
Hungary.
References
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Filmography
Chader Pahar (Kamaleswar Mukherjee 2013).
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Dil Dhadakne Do (Zoya Akthar 2015).
210 Veena Hariharan
Haathi Mere Saathi (Prabhu Solomon 2021).
Hum Aapke Hai Kaun (Sooraj Barjatya 1994).
Hum Saath Saath Hai (Sooraj Barjatya 1999).
Housefull 4 (Farhad Samji 2019).
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Kumki (Prabhu Solomon 2012).
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Tiger v Wolves (Saif Akthar 2015).
Tiger Zinda Hai (Ali Abbas Zafar 2017).
Treasures of the Grasslands (Mihir Godbole, Makarand Dambhare 2019).
Walking with Wolves (Senani Hegde 2014).
Zoltan the Wolf Man (Darius Miniotas 2015).
DOI: 10.4324/9781003293347-16
This chapter has been made available under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Introduction
A silent lm Bilat Pherat (1921) showed the tension between Indians living in
India versus Indians returning from abroad. From the 1960s to the 1980s, only a
handful of Indian lmmakers shot their lms in international locations. One cat-
egory of these lms belonged to the ‘Holiday’ genre pioneered by Raj Kapoor
(Around the World in Eight Dollars and Sangam), Shakti Samanta (An Evening in
Paris, The Great Gambler), and Pramod Chakravarty (Love in Tokyo). Such lms
showed foreign locales as tourist destinations (Jain 2019a). Another genre of lms
dealt with more contested issues such as cultural Nationalism or immigration. One
lm that stands out in this genre is Purab Aur Pachhim. Purab Aur Pachhim (PAP
for short), the East and the West, brought Indian immigrants to the screen. Fortu-
nately for him, even with such a non-formulaic and unconventional subject, PAP
emerged as the fourth highest-grossing Hindi lm in 1970,1 beating many other
lms with established plotlines, actors, and directors. Its underlying message, artic-
ulated primarily through its melodious songs and unique narrative about the Indian
encounter with a former colonial ruler and emphasising the cultural uniqueness
and superiority of Hindu culture, makes the lm relevant for study even though
50 years have passed since its release.
While the post-1990 lms about NRI characters (NRI refers to non-resident
Indians, i.e. Indians living abroad) such as Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Kabhi
Khushi Kabhi Gham, and Kal Ho Na Ho targeted the NRI audience, proclaiming
the arrival of a resurgent India as a soft power and garnered new respect for the
diasporic Indians, the earlier lms made in Europe looked at Indians settled abroad
through the disparaging gaze of a ‘deserter’. Of this, PAP is a striking example.
Manoj Kumar, a multi-faceted cinema personality, actor, writer, director, and
producer of commercially successful lms, was admired for his patriotic lms.
Looking back at PAP more than ve decades after its release in the context of
present-day political conditions in India makes for an insightful analysis. PAP’s
signicant box oce success after its release in 1970 implied that the ideology
propagated in the lm was unquestionably accepted by a large population of the
middle-class cinema-going public. We suggest that the lm’s popularity allows us
to see a template for Hindu Nationalism before it came into electoral power after
12 Film as a majoritarian
framework of Hindu nationalism
The case of Purab Aur Pachhim
Pankaj Jain and Ajay Raina
212 Pankaj Jain and Ajay Raina
the 1990s. As per the tenets of Hindu Nationalism enunciated by its chief articula-
tor Savarkar (2007), there can be social and community unity only between India’s
indigenous faiths, the Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains. Muslims and Christians
cannot be included, because their holy land is not India. In this chapter, we analyse
how the narrative and the image-making (mise-en-scene) promote the idea of the
superiority of India’s cultural past over the West and how, through the propagation
of Hindu Nationalism, it becomes an early template for a majoritarian discourse
currently in full bloom over vast swathes of India’s political landscape.
More than ve decades after its release, PAP raises some intriguing questions
in the context of India’s present-day political trajectory. Such questions could not
be asked at the time or in the many years after its release because the ideology of
Hindu Nationalism was not a potent political force then. The subliminal ideologi-
cal framework of nation, citizenship, and the past and present of civilisation was
not implied in their Hindu context in the 1970s. It did not seem to alarm so much
then. In the second decade of the 21st century, the eects of Hindu Nationalism and
its majoritarian discourse unleashed upon India are palpable. Our reading of the
lm demonstrates that compared with current standards of stridency in discourse
over Nationalism, identity, culture, and religions, PAP seemed to have succeeded
as a Hindu nationalist project without resorting to an overtly chauvinist or trium-
phalist discourse. In this chapter, we rst survey East versus West tropes in Indian
literature and lms. Afterwards, we analyse PAP’s plot in various subsections,
from the opening scenes to the Indian hero’s visit to the UK, the British heroine’s
visit to India, and nally, the climactic sequence. In conclusion, we summarise our
analysis of the lm.
The East–West Divide in Indian Film Culture
The ideological basis of PAP reects the history of encounters between India and
the West. In the 21st century, the interactions among the cultures of the East (Asia)
and the West (Euro-America) are breaking the old barriers. In the context of India
and the West, Wilhelm Halbfass (1988) reminds us:
For Indians, preservation [of their traditions] is also an act of responding to
the West. In modern times, responding to the Western presence and the global
phenomenon of Westernisation is no longer a matter of personal choice or
preference. Even withdrawal, silence, armation, and continuation of tradi-
tional forms are ways of responding.
Non-Western cultures, such as India, were forced to respond to Western hegemony
from the 18th century onwards. In the heyday of the British Raj, Rudyard Kipling
(1940) pitted the cultures of the East and the West in his verse, ‘Oh, East is East,
and West is West, and never the twain shall meet’, in his poem The Ballad of East
and the West (1940). The inuence of this verse can be seen in the titles of the lms,
such as East Is East (1999) and West Is West (2010). Shortly after Kipling (1940)
noted this dichotomy, a dialogue between the East and the West started as Swami
Film as a majoritarian framework of Hindu nationalism 213
Vivekananda began his speeches in Chicago on September 11, 1893. The enthu-
siastic reception by Americans led some to call him the bridge between the East
and the West. Many of his articles from 1900 to 2001 were later anthologised as
The East and the West (1909), reecting the planet’s two intellectual and spiritual
spheres. Although critical of a Western materialistic lifestyle, he often advocated
for a union of East and West (1909), ‘It is undoubtedly true that just as the too
active Western mind would prot by an admixture of Eastern introspection and the
meditative habit, the Eastern would benet by somewhat more signicant activity
and energy’.
In 1909, Mahatma Gandhi wrote his seminal work Hind Swaraj, one of Western
civilisation’s ercest critiques. Here is a glimpse from this work showing the deep
distrust he had against the West (Gandhi 1909, pp. 54–56):
The Indian civilisation tends to elevate the moral being, and that of the Western
civilisation is to propagate immorality. The latter is godless, and the former is
based on a belief in God. So, understanding and so believing, it behoves every
lover of India to cling to the old Indian civilisation even as a child clings to the
mother’s breast. India has evolved not to be beaten in the world. Nothing can
equal the seeds sown by our ancestors. Rome went, Greece shared the same
fate, the might of the Pharaohs was broken; Japan has become Westernised;
of China, nothing can be said; but India is still, somehow, or other, sound at
the foundation. The people of Europe learn their lessons from the writings of
the men of Greece or Rome, which exist no longer in their former glory. In
trying to learn from them, the Europeans imagined they would avoid Greece
and Rome’s mistakes. Such is their pitiable condition. In the midst of all this,
India remains immovable, and that is her glory. It is a charge against India
that her people are so uncivilised, ignorant, and stolid that it is impossible
to induce them to adopt any changes. It is a charge really against our merit.
What we have tested and found faithful on the anvil of experience; we dare
not change. Many thrust their advice upon India, and she remains steady. This
is her beauty: it is the sheet anchor of our hope. Civilisation is that mode of
conduct which points out to man the path of duty. Performance of duty and
observance of morality are convertible terms. To observe morality is to attain
mastery over our minds and our passions. So, doing, we know ourselves. The
Gujarati equivalent for civilisation means ‘good conduct.’ If this denition is
correct, as many writers have shown, India has nothing to learn from anybody
else, and this is as it should be.
Some such criticism found its way into two songs in Hindi lms, such as Navrang
(1959) and Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965). In PAP, Manoj Kumar was inuenced by
Western civilisation’s critiques by Gandhi and the East–West’s conuence by Vive-
kananda. In his earlier lms also, Manoj Kumar paid rich tributes to Indian leaders
such as Bhagat Singh in Shaheed (1965) and Lal Bahadur Shastri in Upkar (1967).
In addition to showing Swami Vivekananda’s portraits in the lm, the crew also
visited Kanyakumari to capture a few scenes from Vivekananda Rock Memorial,
214 Pankaj Jain and Ajay Raina
where Vivekananda received the inspiration to travel to the United States in 1893.
In line with Vivekananda’s thoughts, PAP starts with the bold statement that India
is the heart of the East, the East that has given all the religions and their charismatic
founding gures to the world, including the Buddha, Jesus Christ, and Prophet
Muhammad. Like his earlier lms, PAP has no other reference to any Muslim
character, which led some critics to call him a right-winger or a Hindu national-
ist. However, his subsequent lms, Shor (1972) and Kranti (1981), had prominent
Muslim characters.
As the global migration pathways opened, the people of the ‘East’ and those of
the ‘West’ started mingling in the latter part of the 20th century. In 1965, American
Immigration Law permitted the immigration of Asians into the United States, and
this new law paved the way for thousands of Indians into the United States. Later
in the 1990s, the oodgates opened for Indian IT professionals into the United
States and elsewhere (Jain 2019b). Around the same time, in 1995, the lm Dil-
wale Dulhania Le Jayenge heralded the era of Hindi lms portraying the emerging
Indian diaspora. This new wave of Hindi lms led to books and articles analysing
diaspora lms. Although most recent studies have paid adequate attention to con-
temporary cinema, they have made only cursory references to PAP. Dudrah (2012)
notes that the 2007 lm Namastey London is inspired by PAP and even mentions
that explicitly in one of the scenes. Mishra (2002), Desai (2006), Gehlawat (2015),
and Chopra (2016) note that PAP shows the inuence of Westernisation on Indians
living abroad. Dudrah (2012) and a chapter in the volume by Domínguez and Des-
mond (2017) mention Gurinder Chadha’s Bride and Prejudice (2004) and Bhaji on
the Beach (1993), paying tribute to PAP. Krämer (2016) quotes Gurinder Chadha in
detail and explains that Chadha, who grew up in Britain, strongly reacted to PAP’s
stereotypical portrayal of Indians in Britain. She called the lm innovative and pro-
vocative (as cited in Macnab 2009) and counted Manoj Kumar as one of her lms’
inspirations. This review of various texts and lms demonstrates the relevance of
PAP even after ve decades of its release.
Plot Analysis
According to an article published in a popular lm magazine (Vijayakar 2000),
Manoj Kumar’s wife suggested the story idea to him after her disappointment with
one of her relatives who abandoned India and settled abroad. In the 1960s and
early 1970s, India was still beset with myriad political problems at the centre and
in its dierent states. The nation brewed with many discords and disagreements
on languages, regionalism, and internal and external security issues. India had to
ght wars on many fronts after becoming an independent country in 1947, such
as conicts with Portugal as India claimed territories such as Goa in 1961 and
Dadra and Nagar Haveli in 1954 (Rubino 1995) and full-scale wars with China
in 1962 (Garver 2011) and with Pakistan in 1947 and 1965 (Bajwa 2013). It was
still a country grappling with crippling poverty, food shortages, and a struggling
economy. It was a basket case that needed nancial help to nd its place as a self-
condent nation. In one of the PAP songs, there is a direct reference to a potentially
Film as a majoritarian framework of Hindu nationalism 215
evil neighbour from which Indians must remain vigilant. Therefore, when PAP
was released and achieved its box oce success in the early 1970s, it must have
appeared to have a healing eect on a starved nation; a worthy attempt at rejuvenat-
ing the national pride of Indians in its spiritual and cultural heritage at a time when
everything else around appeared bleak and disheartening.
Opening Scenes and Prologue
The lm opens as a tribute to the revolutionary Indian freedom ghters portrayed
in an earlier black and white movie, Anand Math (1952). To stress the more right-
wing portrayal of the freedom struggle of the 1940s, PAP begins with an overlap
of religious fervour and patriotic passion. The lm is set in India’s heartland of
Allahabad in 1942 at the height of the Quit India movement, a nonviolent, secular
action led by M K Gandhi and the Congress Party. The choice of Allahabad could
also be imagined as a conuence point not just of the signicant Indian rivers
Ganga and Yamuna as well as religious traditions of Hinduism and Islam but also
of the great cultures of the East and the West that this lm portrays. The houses
adorn Hindu deities and Indian reformist leaders such as Rabindranath Tagore and
Swami Vivekananda.
In the prologue, we see the patriarch, known as Guruji (respected teacher),
played by Ashok Kumar. He is garbed as a Hindu sage and embodies the family’s
moral certitude steeped in conservative Hindu traditions. The extended family of
the patriarch consists of his two sons, Harnam and Om, their wives and assorted
cousins, and other relatives. The daughters-in-law in the family are named Ganga
and Kaushalya, after mythical characters from the Indian epics Ramayana and
Mahabharata. The elder son Harnam, played by Pran (an archetypal Indian lm vil-
lain), betrays Om, his freedom ghter brother, to the British. In a gesture recalling
a hoary tradition from Hindu customs, the martyred revolutionary’s wife declares
herself forever married. She refuses to be called a widow. Echoing this theme of a
forever married woman (Sada Suhagan, or eternally married – as martyr’s wives
liked to be called), we see that India as a nation is also referred to as a forever
married lady in the lm’s rst song, in contrast, a traitor’s wife achieves similar
respect only after she removes her jewellery and other makeup and starts living like
a widow. At the same time, the image of goddess Durga hovers over her highlight-
ing the feminine power, Shakti. Both the women depict their strong agency as one,
despite being a widow, refusing to wear a widow’s attire, and the other takes upon
a widow’s garb as her husband betrays the nation.
The scene of Om’s betrayal and martyrdom takes place in the main square of
the small Indian town during a rainy night, alluding to the story of the child Lord
Krishna (another epic gure). He is carried to safety by his father during a heavy
downpour to protect him from the evil king. While making the connection between
the Evil king and the British Empire transparent, the sequence also suggests the
eternal divide that ruled Indian polity then; the divide between the Indians who
favoured or emulated the British (the West) and those who wanted to live by the
age-old Indian traditions. According to this scheme, Bharat, the martyr’s orphan
216 Pankaj Jain and Ajay Raina
son, will become a hero and be pitted against OP, the villain, the son of a traitor
who has escaped to England to further his progress. Here, the lm introduces its
main claim about the cultural and moral superiority of Indians vis-à-vis the West,
to be extended in-depth into the later parts of the lm.
The lm credits roll as India attains its freedom on August 15, 1947, with
the British ag coming down and a Hindu religious song playing in the back-
ground. Simultaneously, Bharat (played by Manoj Kumar), the protagonist’s name
and India’s ancient name, is born. The lm now acquires all the colours after the
rst 17 black-and-white minutes. As the religious prayer ends, Bharat becomes
a handsome man singing inside the Hindu temple with his mother and Guruji by
his side; Guruji retains his overarching spiritual presence throughout the lm. In
a cinematic eect much used in Indian popular cinema to show the growing up
of a hero from a child through a leap of 20 years, we see the baby Bharat (pre-
Independence) become a boy and then a young man (of present times) in three
time frames bridged by a devotional song Om jai Jagdish hare performed at the
town temple. The mis-en-scene of the scene shifts from monochrome to colour not
only to indicate the transition of India from the time of its independence, when
the Indian tricolour is raised to replace the British ag, to its striving as a prospec-
tive industrial and agricultural economy, but also to suggest the deeply inculcated
spiritual inuence of Hindu scriptures, saints, and gods. Considering reading the
lm narrative’s exposition, it would not be out of place to suggest that the town
square and the temple have shaped Bharat’s idea of India and his mental makeup in
profound ways, as we shall see further.
After this spiritual prayer ends, Bharat goes to New Delhi to perform and sing in
a college show on Indian Republic Day, which falls on January 26. At this college
function, while one group of students insists that the programme announcer speaks
in English, the other remains adamant that they would like to be addressed only in
Hindi. Wedged in a situation where the stage manager feels forced to talk in two
languages, the hero, in a typical Indian lmic fashion, comes to the rescue with a
song. The song’s lyrics celebrate India’s 20th birthday as the lm was released in
1970 (India became the Constitutional Republic on January 26, 1950). Paradoxi-
cally, the situation that frames this song’s occasion emerges from an unresolved
and divisive contestation in Indian polity over language and the continuing nature
of North and South India relations. Although Hindi is now widely spoken and
understood across India, partially due to the prevalence of Hindi lms and popular
songs, political resistance against Hindi remains strong in southern Indian states.
The Song of One India
Though PAP may be forgotten today, its songs such as ‘Om jai Jagdish hare’,
‘Raghupati Raghav raja ram’, ‘Hai preet jahan ki reet sada’, and ‘Dulhan chali,
pehen chali’ continue to remain embedded in the collective memory of Indians to
this day. Many of these songs evoke national pride in India’s ancient heritage, its
culture of inclusiveness, its superiority over the West, and its devotion towards
free India’s founding gures. On Independence Day, Republic Day, and Gandhi’s
Film as a majoritarian framework of Hindu nationalism 217
birth anniversary national celebrations, one can hear many PAP songs on televi-
sion, radio, and loudspeakers in many towns, villages, colleges, and schools.
One of the prayers in the lm Om jai Jagdish hare was written in the 1870s by
Shardha Ram Phillauri. The song preceded the lm, but its inclusion may have
increased its immense popularity among Hindus worldwide (Manuel 1993, p. 108).
The same verse, Om jai Jagdish hare, was earlier used in Anand Math (1952). Sim-
ilar prayer songs were used in other Hindi lms, including Bhakt Prahlad (1959),
Abdullah (1980), Aashiq Awara (1993), Namak (1996), Om Jai Jagdish (2002),
and Baghban (2003). This prayer, Om jai Jagdish hare and its many versions con-
tinue to be sung in many temples during morning and evening prayers. The back-
ground song on the lm’s opening credits earlier, an energetic rendition of Vande
Mataram, an ode to Mother India, alludes to the sacrices many patriotic Indians
made to liberate India from the British. It appropriately frames the genre of PAP as
a ‘patriotic lm’ for the audience. The sense of patriotism that PAP is imbued with
lters down to the audience in measured dosages through many other songs.
The song of One India, Dulhan chali, is a celebratory, vigorous, and rhythmic
composition that imagines India as an innocent bride representing India’s freedom
struggle, which needs nurturing and protection from the enemies within and at the
border. The three colours in the ‘teen rang ki choli’ allude to the tricolour Indian
national ag. The image of an inclusive and secular India that the song evokes
begins with references to the glory of the East, respect, and ownership of all reli-
gions that Indians practice, and contains a surfeit of references to India’s hoary
past, the Taj Mahal, Ajanta, the Himalayas, the Ganga and Yamuna rivers, and
the stalwarts of Indian Freedom struggle. In a regurgitation of the statist hype that
most Indians growing up in post-Nehruvian, socialist India of the 1960s and 1970s
would have imbibed from their homes and schools and through mass media, the
song counts the many attributes of India as one nation of much diversity. This is all
clearly a regurgitation of the statist hype that most Indian’s growing up in post –
Nehruvian, socialist India of the 1960s and 1970s have imbibed from their homes,
schools, and through mass media.
Bharat – That Is India
After a few scenes, the grown-up Bharat leaves India for higher studies in the UK,
reminding the audience of the norm for several Indian leaders in the 19th and 20th
centuries, including Gandhi and Nehru. Guruji gifts him the Bhagavad Gita as he
leaves the favourite text of Indian sociopolitical and religious leaders in the last
couple of centuries. Bharat accepts it humbly and reminds Guruji (and the audi-
ence) that he is going abroad only to acquire scientic knowledge (Vigyaan). For
him and his Guruji, India will always remain the land of spiritual and cultural wis-
dom (Gyaan) (Brosius and Yazgi 2007). The idea that India’s freedom from con-
stitutional colonialism must lead to independence from cultural colonialism makes
this the essential premise of the lm. The values and attributes of India Bharat is
tasked to protect from corruption in his encounter with the West are a romanticised
version of a newly independent nation-state striving to nd its place in the world.
218 Pankaj Jain and Ajay Raina
The idealised version of India he represents is unrepresentative of many parts of
India’s diverse cultures, classes, and religious traditions. The lm does not display
such diversities xing it and its protagonists as representatives and articulators of a
dominant caste, class, religion, and region (North India).
Bharat’s host in London, JP Sharma, is an old friend of his martyred father
and had migrated to England after the Partition. His family comprising his young
hippie son and his cigarette-smoking wife and daughter are also there for shock
and eect. The surprise is from knowing that this family is completely alienated
from their Indian roots, religion, and ‘culture’ and being told that changing one’s
name, life partners, and family is considered fashionable in London. After Bharat
is appropriately startled to see the heroine Preeti smoking cigarettes and wearing
miniskirts, the last part of the lm’s title, Pachhim (i.e. West), appears. Surpris-
ingly, many writings have used the spelling Paschim to refer to the lm’s title
even though the spelling used is Pachhim in the lm’s censor board certicate
and the lm’s title scene. The latter spelling highlights the local UP dialect while
the former refers to the version closer to the Sanskrit term for west direction.
The West (Pachhim) is iconied by the westernised heroine Preeti while the East
(Purab) is iconied by the hero Bharat, who proudly clings to his Hindu cultural
traditions.
As the protagonist meets other Indians in Britain, he is surprised that they are
either ignorant about India or ashamed of their Indian roots. In a later scene, the
British-raised Indian heroine, Preeti, mistakenly calls Bhagavad Gita, a novel
whose heroine’s name is Gita, highlighting the ignorance of Indians that grow up
in Western countries. The protagonist politely declines oers of smoking, drinking,
or dancing, greets everybody with a namaste and tries to remind everybody about
the Indian cultural and sociopolitical iconic gures, texts, and places. The heroine,
Preeti, the chain-smoking, blonde daughter of JP Sharma, a second- generation
British citizen of Indian descent, is a typical London-bred English woman in every
sense – in dress, demeanour, and outlook. She dresses ‘provocatively’ in short west-
ern dresses and high heels, chain-smokes, drinks heavily, and is in open, friendly
relationships (though not sexually) with many men at the same time, particularly
with the villainous OP (played by Prem Chopra), who is, in fact, Bharat’s cousin.
The East and the West
These scenes are followed by a short montage of London nightlife replete with
images of neon-lit billboards of Coca-Cola and assorted products and advertise-
ments of sex shops and bare bodies gyrating to fast-paced music – the rst indi-
cator of how the East’s encounter vis-à-vis the West would be presented in PAP
through the rest of its discourse to strengthen its argument. Even among the many
attractions that London oers its visitors, the only place Bharat wants to visit is the
memorial dedicated to Udham Singh, who fought the British for India’s freedom.
Bharat’s idealised vision of India in PAP contrasts sharply with the assault on
the senses we face in scenes when Bharat is in London. The camera movements
comparing the nightlife and hippie culture of 1960s London with the Indian culture
Film as a majoritarian framework of Hindu nationalism 219
of purity and serenity is a fascinating contrast of values. While most of London’s
shots are dark, with women showing cleavages and bare legs with playboy shots
and smoking and drinking youth, the landscape of the town where Bharat has
grown up; shot in broad daylight and vivid colours, does not seem to have changed
at all in the two and a half decades of lmic time lapse. In this town, as portrayed
in PAP, there is no milling of crowds, shopkeepers and hawkers on the streets, no
ugly grati on the walls, and no trac noise or people sounds. Instead, India has
been enveloped in a time warp away from the sweat, grime, heat, and dust which
typify an ordinary small-town street in India.
Bharat’s subsequent encounters and relationships in London with other charac-
ters of Indian descent fall neatly into three or four categories signifying a down-
ward gradation in stages of their alienation from the ideal Indian that Bharat claims
to be. In the rst group are the male members of Bharat’s host family. While the
father, JP Sharma, is nostalgic for a country left behind long ago, his son, who calls
himself an ‘Orphan’, is in the process of connecting back to India through a gradual
process of reclaiming his Hindu origins with the help of his hippie friends and fol-
lowers of ISKCON, International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a Hindu new
religious movement started in New York in the late 1960s. In the second group are
the female members of his host family; the mother and the daughter are western in
their outlook, behaviour, and attire for a signicant part of the lm. Bharat claiming
these women for his idea of India forms the lm’s central plot.
The third group is the traitors and the betrayers; the uncle, Harnam, who escaped
to London after betraying Bharat’s father, and an Indian student who came to Lon-
don to study but is so swayed by the temptations of the West that he refuses to go
back. In true, popular Indian lm fashion, both, with a bit of help from Bharat, will
repent their errors and return to reclaim their respective abandoned families and
country. However, it is the fourth group, Bharat’s cousin, OP, and a mixed group
of hoodlums of Indian and British descent who remain a challenge to Bharat until
the end. Crucially, this group is also a representative of all the signs and symbols
of Western culture’s decadence that PAP can manage to bring up in contrast with
the pristine nature of Indian society. In addition to disparaging the Indian values
and traditions of respect for women and the elderly, of family ties and abstinence
from vices, etc., this group is more than naturally preoccupied with all sorts of so-
called depravities – partying, boozing, drugs, sexual licentiousness, and disrespect
of women and of the elderly – which, from the perspective of Bharat, seems to
constitute the West in its totality.
In the world of PAP, London is a decadent and hopelessly materialistic waste-
land lacking morally upright and decent British citizens who could aord a foil to
the moral degeneration of its society. Through its stress on the dark underside of
Western Culture and omission of any morally liberating redress, PAP suggests that
England is a spiritual desert that can only be saved by a Hindu spiritual movement
that acquires a near revolutionary momentum in the lm by its aggressive proselyt-
isation of Hindu spiritual values through the chanting of Hare Rama Hare Krishna
and singing of Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram on the streets. This shallow and reduc-
tive impression of England that we see from the perspective of Bharat and Manoj
220 Pankaj Jain and Ajay Raina
Kumar (producer, writer, and director) is obviously at signicant variance from the
colonial or postcolonial experience of the diverse richness of European life that
Indians have known from its literature, music, philosophy, architecture and cultural
references, which abound in Indian landscape and cultural life even now.
In reading the PAP text, we must remember that in the period this lm depicts,
the 1970s, there was no internet or similar easy access or reach to the West in India.
Most non-English speaking Indians were unaware of the profound experience of
the colonial and postcolonial history of India’s encounter with Britain. Therefore,
for most such Indians, the idea of the West would come from Hollywood lms or
lms like PAP and similar Indian lms shot abroad or from word of mouth of some
of their rare relatives. The latter may have lived or travelled to the West. The eect
of such images on cine-going audiences in 1970 would be at the same level and of
similar nature as WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook forwards and sharing in present
days, where the authenticity or genuine nature of the shared media cannot be veri-
ed. The natural pretentiousness of cinema to appear ‘real’ and therefore ‘authen-
tic’ engenders a suspension of disbelief in audiences, which is more accurate in the
case of Indian popular cinema, where cine-goers approach the staged unfolding of
events on the cinema screen with a certain sense of loyalty or devotion and jouis-
sance towards the acts and travails of their screen heroes and heroines. PAP entraps
its audiences into a similar cul-de-sac-like narrative regarding how it is led to per-
ceive their hero’s labours in his encounter with the West.
After the hero rescues the heroine from an attempted rape by OP, she falls in
love with him. Saira Banu played Preeti’s character well, perhaps because she
had lived a similar life in Britain growing up. But why Bharat feels attracted to
her is not explained in the lm. His choice of Preeti as his would-be soulmate
seems paradoxical given his disinterest in anything British and his background as
a fanatically, tradition-bound nationalist Indian male who has grown up to respect
convention-bound women who suer and obey men stoically (his mother, aunt,
and cousin). But this is not a love story in the conventional sense of a typical Bol-
lywood romance where the lovers face obstacles to their conjugation from their
families or the traditions of their society. Here, the love story’s obstacle is the hero
himself and his dogged insistence on returning to India with or without his heroine.
From Bharat’s point of view, this is an act of self-sacrice at the altar of his idea of
India as a culturally superior nation compared to the decadent West. Their marriage
proposal hangs in the balance as the heroine refuses to move to India. After some
negotiation, Bharat convinces her to a trip to India before the wedding, hoping that
the journey will impress her with Indian cultural values.
British Heroine in India
When Preeti comes to India to full her part of the bargain, her impressions of the
country are at rst of a typical western tourist. For her, India means only fearful
multi-armed, skull-garlanded goddesses, and the venomous fangs of a cobra at a
temple. Therefore, she demands to visit only the Taj Mahal wary of other stereo-
typical Hindu elements. As she lives with Bharat’s family, she smokes and wears
Film as a majoritarian framework of Hindu nationalism 221
western clothes. However, nobody in the family or village judges her lifestyle or
choices, and she continues to experience their love and aection. But, through a
series of gentle initiations into Hindu rituals and customs, lively and joyful encoun-
ters with the nationalistic and spiritual inheritance of Bharat and his household,
introduction to the concept of devotion, diverse cultural heritage of the fairgrounds,
songs of the seasons, and visits to pilgrimage sites spread across India, her tour
in India turns into a process of gradual transformation leading to her embrace of
Hinduism in the climactic scene. Preeti slowly appreciates Indian cultural elements
such as bashfulness and obedience of Indian ladies, the ritual of kanyadaan at the
wedding ceremony, prohibition of alcohol, nature worship, and parental love. In
this transformation and acceptance of India, she also questions her western values
and upbringing and gives up drinking, smoking, and even her western wear.
The lm’s premise is that India’s freedom from colonialism must lead to cultural
colonialism. This requires that the transformation we see in Preeti would be con-
sidered far-reaching and conclusive only if it is manifested in her complete giving
up the inuences and attractions of the West and surrendering to Indianness in her
body and spirit. This happens in the lm’s last scene, an event staged as a surprise
for the characters and the audience. The British – Indian characters have returned to
India from the UK, and the villain has been appropriately punished. Preeti has quit
drinking and smoking already. The resolution of the other subplots aids her recon-
version process in the lm, most importantly centred around her brother’s complete
submission to the ISKCON by implication Hinduism, and by returning to India and
expression of remorse by Gurnam, the prodigal uncle. It is also no accident of the
plot that the lm’s penultimate sequence is played out when the entire family and
the British – Indian guests are on their way to the Badrinath temple shrine in the
Himalayas, one of the most sacred Hindu pilgrimage sites. Here, two sub-pivotal
events take place. First, Gurnam, having expressed remorse and regret for his past
deeds of betrayal of India, nally annihilates his evil ospring, OP, who bears all
the West’s evils in his character. At the same time, in the death of the patriarch
Guruji in the sacred environs of the Himalayas, we see the symbolic passing up of
the legacy of India’s age-old cultural values to the new heir, Bharat.
Happy Hindu Ending
The lm’s climax is a dramatic ourish that makes the audiences sit up. We are
almost stunned to hear Preeti, who is dressed for the rst time in an Indian bridal
saree, a family heirloom gifted to her by Bharat’s mother, sing the same old devo-
tional bhajan, ‘Om jai Jagdish hare’, that had bridged Bharat’s growing up years
in the early part of the lm. The connection of this particular bhajan with Bharat’s
cultural and spiritual coming of age, and its evocation by Preeti in the lm’s
denouement, as she goes through the same awakening process into an Indian, can-
not be missed. From the perspective of Preeti, who is not shown to have followed
any religious practice back in England and has lived her life as a typical English
citizen, her act of putting on the bridal sari, visiting the temple, and singing the
bhajan, Om Jai Jagadish Hare, may come across to Indian audiences like an act of
222 Pankaj Jain and Ajay Raina
shuddhikaran. Her Ghar Wapsi thus culminates the lm’s arc towards its desired
project of liberating the Indians and its audiences from the cultural colonialism of
the British, 20 odd years after the political independence of India was achieved.
Shuddhi in Sanskrit (and other Indian languages) means purication, and it is a
term used for reconverting those deemed to have been converted from Hinduism
back to Hinduism (Mehta 2020). Ghar Wapsi (meaning Home Coming) is a series
of reconversion activities facilitated by various Hindu Nationalist organisations to
convert Christians and Muslims to Hinduism (Katju 2015).
Conclusion
Sheikh Mujibur Rehman in his review of a book by Partha Chatterjee (I am the
people) about populism and the rise of the Hindu Right writes:
In this grand narrative (about Hindutva), the idea of the people – nation is as
old as Indian civilisation. And the upper caste Hindu male, speaking a north-
ern Indian language is the most legitimate Indian, and every other identity is
to be dened and placed with respect to the authentic Indian identity.2
The most cursory recollection of the foundational tenets of Hindu National-
ism articulated by its prominent ideologues in their writings and practised by its
committed or unselfconscious adherents reminds us that it is a product of social
and political thought, particularly of India’s traditionally upper-caste male. It has
inconvertible conceptions about who other Indians are or should be, as per beliefs
and attitudes that have come down to them from ancient India’s spiritual and cul-
tural traditions. It automatically assumes xed denitions of Indianness based on
caste, religion, and specic moral attributes (or lack of) that people carry from birth
or have given up on; as in the case of many British Indians in the lm, who though
upper caste and Hindu, are alienated from their Hindu cultural and religious roots
and cannot be proper Indians till they are brought back home or converted back.
From the survey of the narrative and lmic discourse of PAP, it is amply clear
that Bharat and his family are at the centre of PAP story because of their upper-
caste Hindu status. Their conception of India and its rightful citizens is derived
exclusively from their unquestionable acceptance of its Hindu past and traditions.
Not only does PAP completely elide the subjectivities of other faiths, communities,
and marginalised India, but also there is not even a token mention or represen-
tation of any other Indian religious faith, non-Hindu community, or non-Hindu
traditions in its entire discourse spanning three hours of lm duration. Assuming
the mantle of an ideal Indian citizen as an inherited right by being the son of a
martyred freedom ghter, Bharat espouses his idea of India zealously in his songs,
religiosity, and eagerness to convert the lapsed Indians. He is the sole judge who
can be considered Indian, anti-Indian, partially Indian, or a lapsed Indian needing
reconversion. Those who hold contrasting views about India’s poverty and social
evils or even look up to the British culture favourably (e.g. OP, Gurnam) are not
his friends if one were to say it mildly, but anti-nationals, if one were to use the
Film as a majoritarian framework of Hindu nationalism 223
language prevalent in current nationalistic discourse. The only accomplices he can
muster in his ‘Greatness of India’ project are those (from his host family in Lon-
don) who are already on their way to reclaiming India by nostalgic remembrance
or interest in Hinduism.
This chapter has highlighted innumerable instances from the narrative, the plot-
line, and visual design of PAP to illustrate how under the veneer of a patriotic
lm, in its conscious and unconscious biases, it projects a majoritarian, upper-caste
Hindu and exclusive idea of India, derived from the core ideas of Hindu National-
ism. There is no evidence that this lm may have been produced with the conscious
intention to propagate Hindu Nationalism. Still, there can be many conjunctures
about how its narrative has been short-circuited to turn it into a vehicle for broad-
casting the values and anxieties of a dominant class of Indians. Indeed, there can
be no doubt that about 100 years of propagation of the idea of Hindu Nationalism
would undoubtedly aect arts and artists. The history of the trajectory of Hindu
Nationalism would certainly not leave many parts of Indian society unaected by
its inuence. The vacuum left after the abject collapse of the long rule of the secu-
lar Congress party is being lled up by other points of view on India’s future.
Notes
1 Available from: www.imdb.com/list/ls000041304/ (access date 14.07.2022).
2 Available from: https://frontline.thehindu.com/books/book-review-i-am-the-people-by-
partha-chatterjee-discusses-populism-and-the-rise-of-the-hindu-right-hindutva-politics-
in-india/article34115734.ece.
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Filmography
Anand Math, 1952. Hemen Gupta, dir.; starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Pradeep Kumar, Bharat
Bhushan, Gita Bali; in Hindi.
Bhaji on the Beach, 1993. Gurinder Chadha, dir.; starring Kim Vithana, Jimmi Harkishin,
Sarita Khajuria, in English.
Bride and Prejudice, 2004. Gurinder Chadha, dir.; starring Aishwarya Rai and Martin Hen-
derson; in English.
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, 1995. Aditya Chopra, dir.; starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol,
and Amrish Puri; in Hindi.
East Is East, 1999. In English, Damien O’Donnell, dir; starring Om Puri and Linda Bassett.
Jab Phool Khile, 1965. Suraj Prakash, dir.; starring Shashi Kapoor, Nanda; in Hindi.
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, 2001. Karan Johar, dir.; starring Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya
Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Kajol, Kareena Kapoor; in Hindi.
Namastey London, 2007. Vipul Shah, dir.; starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif; in
Hindi.
Navrang, 1959. V. Shantaram, dir.; starring Mahipal, Sandhya; in Hindi.
Pardes, 1997. Subhash Ghai, dir.; starring Shah Rukh Khan and Mahima Chaudhry; in
Hindi.
Purab Aur Pacchim, 1970. Manoj Kumar, dir.; starring Manoj Kumar and Saira Banu; in
Hindi.
Upkar, 1967. Manoj Kumar, dir.; Manoj Kumar, Asha Parikh, Prem Chopra; in Hindi.
West Is West, 2010. Andy De Emmony, dir.; Om Puri and Linda Bassett; in English.
DOI: 10.4324/9781003293347-17
This chapter has been made available under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Introduction
Bollywood lms are making waves across the international stage, not only with
their perfectly synchronised dancing but also in their depiction of Indian travel
behaviours. This industry is one of the largest lm industries in the world, produc-
ing over 1,000 movies every year. It is a $72 billion industry selling six billion
tickets annually (Desai 2005; Lovgren 2004; Minocha and Stonehouse 2006). Its
commercial size grew at the robust rate of 58% in the ve year period between
2001 and 2005 (Lorenzen and Täube 2008). Film exports also expanded 30–50%
year on year during the same period and were forecast to increase by a further 20%
to 2010 (2008). A large chunk of this movie output from India comes from the city
of Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay. Hence, the moniker of Bollywood was
given to the Indian lm Industry.
As a rapidly developing country, India has seen tremendous growth in its
300 million strong middle class (Rempel 2007) and their purchasing power in the
past two decades. This growth boom has impacted all sectors of the Indian econ-
omy, including outbound international tourism. The combination of these forces
has created an opportunity for growth in overseas tourism destinations, often inu-
enced by Indians’ perception of Bollywood lms. A noteworthy piece of evidence
of the Indian market potential is the recent surge of Indian tourists to Spain after
the release of the Bollywood lm – Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, set against a Span-
ish backdrop (Harjani 2011). Six months after its showing, the Spanish tourism
board saw a 32% upswing of visitors from India to Spain (Harjani 2011). Similarly,
Mr. Yash Chopra, a major producer/director of Bollywood movies, idealised Swit-
zerland as a romantic destination in his lms and subsequently caused an increase
in outbound travel from India to Switzerland, increasing the outbound travel from
India by 30% (Dubey 2008). With the proliferating number of consumers of Bol-
lywood lms, destination marketers are eager to capitalise on this crown jewel of
the Asian market.
Evoking positive perceptions of the destination through image presentations
has become an eective way to catapult the target destination into the tourist’s
consideration set. Images of lm locations eect the audience’s selection of
one destination over another and their subsequent behaviours in the destination
13 ‘Namastey London’
Bollywood movies and their impact
on how Indians perceive European
destinations1
Bharath M. Josiam, Daniel Spears, Kirti Dutta,
Sanjukta A. Pookulangara, and Tammy L. Kinley
226 Bharath M. Josiam et al.
(Bandyopadhyay 2008; Han and Lee 2008; Young and Young 2008; Kim and
O’Connor 2011). Not surprisingly, the tourists who travel to a place depicted in
a movie arrive with expectations and images about the location similar to what is
shown on screen (Butler 2011). The images of the lm thus aect some destination
image components and heighten tourists’ interest in visiting (Kim and Richardson
2003). Beverley and Niki (2009) suggested that media-induced tourism helps tour-
ists full fantasies of being in the lms via the vicarious experience of actually
travelling to the sites where they were lmed.
Tsiotsou and Ratten (2010) advocated that tourism marketers should heed gen-
eral shifts in the population in order to identify the changing habits and demands of
tourists. A number of convergent trends make it imperative to study the Indian out-
bound tourism market. First, with its swelling 300 million plus middle class (Rem-
pel 2007), India has become an important member of the global consumer market.
Second, there has been a tremendous growth of outbound international tourism
from India, which is expected to continue for years to come. Millions of Indians
now not only aspire to travel abroad but also actually possess the means to do so.
Third, the size and scale of the multi-billion dollar Bollywood movie industry, and
its role in lming movies in Europe, thus showcasing international destinations to
Indians for decades, is now enabling Indians to move from the fantasy world of
lms to the real world of travel to featured destinations.
Given the potential growth of Bollywood and its growing clout on the Indian
audience, a close look at their perceptions of European destinations, as seen through
Bollywood lms, will help open the door of European tourism wider for the Indian
market (Kaur 2002; Miglani 2006). The purpose of this chapter, thus, is to inves-
tigate the proles of Indian lm viewers and their perceptions of major European
destinations through the images of Bollywood cinema. The in-depth analysis of
this growing segment can help destination marketers gain insight into the travel
needs of the Indian market.
Objectives
The objectives of this study are:
1. To determine the demographic prole of Indians who watch Bollywood movies.
2. To determine Indians’ engagement with Bollywood movies.
3. To determine the relationships between perceived images of European countries
and their portrayal in Bollywood movies/TV.
4. To determine perceived images of European countries as destinations, and the
attractions and activities they present to tourists.
Literature review
Film-induced tourism
Film tourism is dened as a ‘tourist visit to a destination or attraction as a result
of the destination’s being featured on television, video, or the cinema screen’
‘Namastey London’ 227
(Hudson and Ritchie 2006b, p. 387; Beeton 2006). Evidence from around the world
arms that tourists are increasingly visiting destinations as a result of those places
being depicted or featured in lm or television (Connell 2005; Im and Chon 2008;
Iwashita 2008). ‘Destinations, landscapes, events and their contained cultures can
be signicant factors in the communication of tourism’ (Crouch 2007, p. 72). Films
not only inuence destination choice but also impact the tourism industry. ‘Film-
induced tourism is partially based on tourist demands to escape reality to a better
world represented in lms’ (O’Connor et al. 2008, p. 434). This makes it important
for destination marketers to carefully craft their role in the lming process in order
to portray an image that best reects the location.
Motivations for travelling to screened locations
The AIETA Model (Rogers 1962) in consumer behaviour suggests that consumers
go through a linear process of Awareness, Interest, Evaluation, Trial, and Adoption.
Taking consumers through each of these steps is an expensive and time-consuming
process for the marketer. According to Kotler et al. (2010), few methods in practice
eectively ‘take the consumer all the way from awareness to purchase’ (p. 365).
Time and money can be saved by giving free samples to consumers, eectively
moving consumers to the Trial stage in one step. ‘When you have a new or rela-
tively unknown product, you need to generate awareness; prospects simply won’t
buy unless they are aware of your product’s existence’ (5MetaCom 2006). This is
also true for destination marketing. Generating interest in a destination is the key
to increasing visitation. Using the AIETA model as a guideline, lms can act as a
means of marketing a destination to millions of viewers, eectively taking view-
ers from the Awareness stage straight to the Trial stage of marketing, as they are
‘taken’ to a destination on the movie screen (Hudson and Ritchie 2006a).
Mannell and Iso-Ahola (1987) identied two motivational forces or dimen-
sions of escaping and seeking that operate simultaneously to stimulate and result
in tourist behaviour. An individual’s travel behaviour is inuenced by the desire to
escape from one’s routine personal and/or interpersonal environment while seeking
rewarding personal and/or interpersonal experiences (Iso-Ahola 1983). Further-
more, according to Macionis and Sparks (2009), the two primary motivators for
travelling to screened locations are novelty and fantasy.
Hudson and Ritchie (2006a) indicated that eight of ten residents of the UK
remarked in a 2004 survey that they got the idea for their vacation destination
through movies. VisitBritain (2006) estimated that one in ve international tour-
ists to the UK are inspired by movies or TV. ‘The estimated nancial value of
movie-induced tourism in United Kingdom alone is about 1.6 billion pounds’
(Suni and Komppula 2012). Though no established methods yet exist to measure
lm-induced tourism, lm inuences on tourism are evident in the increase in
visitor numbers after a movie has been released (Singh and Best 2004). Their
study followed the lm-induced tourism prompted by the release of the Lord
of the Rings trilogy. The authors found that the main motivation to visit Hob-
biton (movie set/backdrop) was to experience the natural scenery of that place.
This indicated that travellers motivated by a movie expect to see the views/
228 Bharath M. Josiam et al.
sceneries as shown in the movie. After the release of the Lord of the Rings tril-
ogy, marketing material produced by Tourism New Zealand was created con-
necting locations from the lms to the scenery of New Zealand displaying a
documented eect on how movies can impact tourism (Croy 2004; Suni and
Komppula 2012).
New Zealand, a lm-friendly destination, is a prime example of a place that has
successfully collaborated and leveraged o the success of The Lord of the Rings
trilogy. Industry integration and collaboration between stakeholders are crucial
for sustainable lm-induced tourism to occur. The tourism and lm stakeholders
should work closely with each other to help promote their destination tourism and
marketing strategies as well as their product dierentiation more eectively.
Movies seen and places visited
The tourism literature is replete with studies that identify specic movies and then
examine how they have induced tourism to destinations worldwide. In the UK, the
relationship between lm-induced tourism and destination branding of Yorkshire
has been studied by O’Connor et al. (2008); Frost (2006) has studied the impact
of the historical lm – ‘Braveheart’ and its impact on the destination image of
Scotland. Furthermore, Iwashita (2008) has examined how Japanese tourists are
motivated to visit the UK by lms and television dramas. In addition, O’Connor
(2011) has examined lm-induced tourism to Ireland. Im and Chon (2008) studied
the long-felt impact of ‘The Sound of Music’ on tourism to Salzburg, Austria.
In addition to studies on movie-induced tourism to Europe, scholars have also
studied how Korean TV dramas have attracted tourists from the Middle-East to
Korea (Kim et al. 2009; Lin and Huang 2008). Frost (2010) has studied the impacts
of movies on the Australian outback on tourist perceptions. Shani (2009) and Hud-
son et al. (2011) have studied the impact of movies on tourism to South America.
Soliman (2011) has examined the impact of movies on domestic tourism within
Egypt. Law et al. (2007) have critically examined the role of foreign tourists in
Thailand.
Bollywood and travel motivations
In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, romantic sequences in Indian lms were primarily
shot in the mountainous region of Kashmir in India, widely regarded as ‘heaven on
Earth’. Bollywood directors were mesmerised by the beauty of Kashmir, so much
so that the mountains in Kashmir became synonymous with romance in Bolly-
wood. However, when terrorism threats in the late 1980s made the region dicult
to reach, and later inaccessible, Bollywood directors began seeking substitute loca-
tions overseas (Qureshi 2012).
Fascination with foreign locations within Bollywood began in the mid-1960s
when Raj Kapoor (Bollywood Producer/Director/Actor) shot his rst colour lm,
titled Sangam, in Italy, France, and Switzerland. This started the foreign locations
trend in Indian cinema. The trend accelerated in the 1970s to 1990s when actors
‘Namastey London’ 229
were transported to striking foreign locations like the Swiss Alps and Britain’s
Summer Isles, which were the primary backdrops of many Yash Chopra produc-
tions (Shah 2012). More than 200 Bollywood titles have been shot in Switzer-
land over the past two decades alone (Global Tourism Industry News 2008). Many
Indians ock annually to Swiss locations in which popular Bollywood lms were
shot to recreate and relive scenes from their favourite lms. ‘Most of the Swiss
sequences are dream scenes in which lovers dance or romp on Alpine meadows
strewn with owers or roll in the snow in unlikely imsy Indian garb on wintry
slopes’ (Tagliabue 2010).
Veteran Bollywood director Mr. Yash Chopra, noted as one of the greatest lm-
makers in the history of Indian cinema, singlehandedly boosted tourism in Swit-
zerland by regularly featuring the country’s lakes, misty valleys, and snow-capped
mountains as the backdrop for his song and dance sequences during his career
spanning 53 years (Dubey 2008). So grateful was the Swiss Tourism Authority that
they named a lake after him. The director also played a part in promoting Britain
as a glamorous destination. His classic lm Lamhe (1991) was shot in London and
the Lake District. When he produced Mujhse Dosti Karoge a decade later, Chopra
again returned to England’s Lake District to lm aboard one of the steamers which
ply between Glen Ridding and Pooley Bridge, reveling in the twisting lake, rolling
hills, and winding roads of the national park (Quereshi 2012).
Some of the biggest blockbusters of Bollywood that were shot in Western
Europe and impacted Indian Bollywood viewers are An Evening in Paris (France
and Switzerland), Chandani, Lamhe, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (UK, mainly
Switzerland), Bachna Ae Haseno (Italy and Switzerland), Taal (Britain), Kabhi
Khushi Kabhi Gham (UK), Tal (UK), Namastey London (UK), Cheeni Kum
(UK), and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (Spain). Many articles in the popular press
have reported that Indian audiences and even non-Indian audiences who watch
Bollywood movies on a regular basis visit the destinations shown in the movies
(Tagliabue 2010; Munshi 2012; Lovgren 2004; Padmanabhan 2010).
To capitalise on this lm-induced tourism, destination marketers must crea-
tively advertise to these Bollywood viewers. An example of this type of creative
marketing occurred in England when the Britain’s Tourism Authority created a
‘Bollywood map’ (Bollywood movies shot in Britain) depicting the most visited
destinations by Indian tourists in Britain (‘Bollywood gives a boost’ 2008), pulling
Indians directly to locations shown in Bollywood lms.
Another major attraction and integral part of Bollywood movies are the elab-
orate song sequences. Almost every Bollywood movie has song sequences and
dance numbers contributing to its earnings/prot and these elaborate numbers are
often a major deciding factor in determining whether the movie will be a hit or a
op. Often, movie songs are shot at a scenic destination outside India, even though
the rest of the movie is lmed within India. This creates an exotic appeal within
the movies and plays a major role in attracting viewers. Movie soundtracks, music
videos, and even remixed versions of songs of the Bollywood movies released
in India and abroad are major pull factors to attract viewers to the theatre
( Padmanabhan 2010).
230 Bharath M. Josiam et al.
Top tourist destinations in Europe
With over 81 million visitors worldwide in 2011, France ranks highest in tour-
ist arrivals among all European destinations. Besides France, among the top ve
European countries with most tourist arrivals are Spain, Italy, Turkey, and the UK.
Germany, ranked at #6 in tourist arrivals, had just over 28 million inbound visi-
tors in 2011. Interestingly, Switzerland ranks at #16 among European countries in
terms of tourist arrivals, with a 2011 total of 8.3 million worldwide visitors (Market
Research Division, Ministry of Tourism 2011).
When looking at outbound travel, Indian tourists show dierent travel prefer-
ences to Europe. In 2010, outbound Indian tourists totalled just fewer than 14 mil-
lion, a 7.7% increase from the previous year (Market Research Division, Ministry
of Tourism 2011). The most popular European countries for outbound travel from
India vary from those of the rest of the world. Not surprisingly, the UK is listed
as one of the top destinations for Indian tourist. This preference for travel to the
UK by Indians is likely because India and the UK have linkages dating back to the
1800s, with England as colonial master until 1947. Furthermore, there are millions
of Indian immigrants living in the UK. Additionally, the UK is also prominently
featured in many Bollywood lms. These factors each amplify the levels of expo-
sure most Indians have to the UK. Even though there are strong perceived ties
between the UK and India, France attracts 50% more Indian tourists than UK (Alli-
ance, T 2012), giving it top rank among most travelled to countries by outbound
Indian tourists.
Though listed at #16 among worldwide rankings, Switzerland ranks as a top ve
destination for Indian tourists, with over 135,000 outbound travellers during 2009,
nishing just behind Italy among outbound Indian travellers (Market Research
Division, Ministry of Tourism 2011). Spain, also a current top ve global desti-
nation, reported 52 million international visitors in 2009, but a surprisingly low
number of only 12,800 were from India. However, numbers increased dramatically
after the 2011 release of the Bollywood blockbuster Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.
The number of reported Indian tourists in Spain in 2011 topped 115,000, increasing
the arrivals from India by nearly 1000% (Munshi 2012).
Need for the study
The literature review has shown a number of convergent trends that contribute
to increasing tourism to Europe from India. However, this phenomenon has not
been addressed in the tourism literature. Furthermore, while there have been many
articles of the impact of movies on international travel and tourism, no study has
addressed the impact that Bollywood movies may have on outbound Indian travel-
lers to Europe. Furthermore, no study has attempted to link a genre of movies (such
as Bollywood) – and their impact on the image of multiple countries. These gaps
in the literature on lm-induced tourism need to be addressed. The purpose of this
chapter, thus, is to investigate the proles of Indian lm viewers and their percep-
tions of major European destinations through the images of Bollywood cinema.
‘Namastey London’ 231
Methodology
The population of this study consisted of Indians 18 years old or older. A total
of 670 respondents participated in this study. A survey questionnaire was con-
structed on the basis of previous studies on movie-induced tourism, destination
image, and tourist consumption activity. Using a convenience sampling method,
students in a post graduate marketing class, under the supervision of one of
the co-authors, were employed to collect data. Students approached potential
respondents at malls and metro stations in the national capital of India, New
Delhi. Respondents were screened for their ability to complete a survey in the
English language and by age.
The questionnaires included sections about movie preferences, levels of
involvement with foreign travel/tourism, destination choices based upon mov-
ies viewed, and perceptions of attractions and activities at the destination based
upon the inuence of Bollywood movies/TV. The instrument consisted of six
parts, all ranked on a 5-point Likert scale from ‘strongly disagree’ (1) to ‘strongly
agree’ (5). The survey explored: (a) Indian Movie/TV preferences, (b) Sources
for travel ideas, (c) Movies/TV inuenced travel activity. Respondents also were
asked about their perceptions or images of countries in Europe and what they
oer for Indian tourists. Within this question, respondents were given ten Western
European countries and asked to choose from varied perceptions such as great
fun, great shopping, relaxing, and cultural and historic sites, among others. In
the last three sections of the questionnaire, respondents were asked to (d) rate
their level of involvement in international travel and tourism; (e) recall up to
three Indian movies/TV programmes as well as the places that have inspired their
choice of a travel destination abroad (outside of India); (f) complete questions
regarding personal demographics, which would be used to determine the general
characteristics of the sample. Descriptive statistics were used in the analysis of
the survey results.
Findings
Objective 1: Demographic characteristics
The survey was successfully completed by 670 respondents. Table 13.1 illustrates
demographics of the sample. Results show that 59% of respondents were male.
The largest age cohort included respondents aged 22 to 29 years (58.1%). Most
respondents were married (57.2%) and spoke Hindi, the national language of India
(68.7%). The majority of respondents were employed full time (58.2%), though
nearly a quarter indicated that they were students who were unemployed (24.0%).
Furthermore, over 80% of respondents had a bachelor’s degree or higher. More
than half (55%) of respondents had monthly household incomes between U.S.
$1,000 and U.S. $ 2,000. Table 13.1 also shows that almost half of the respondents
have previously travelled outside India (48.5%). The sample demographics reect
the urban, English-speaking, upper middle class of the Indian population who have
the means and ability to travel to international destinations.
232 Bharath M. Josiam et al.
Objective 2: To determine Indian’s engagement with Bollywood movies
Results indicate that Indians are highly engaged with Bollywood movies
(Table 13.2). Over half of respondents (51.5%) seek information and gossip about
new Indian movies before their release, and 39.1% of respondents indicate they
watch movies in the theatre as soon as they are released. In addition, respondents
Table 13.1 Demographic prole of respondents.
N (670) %
Gender
Female 275 41.0
Male 395 59.0
Age
Under 21 years old 75 11.2
22–29 years old 389 58.1
30–39 years old 130 19.4
40–49 years old 50 7.5
50–60 years old 26 3.9
Marital status
Married 383 57.2
Single 286 42.6
Mother Tongue
Hindi 460 68.7
Punjabi 68 10.1
Bengali 42 6.3
Other 100 14.9
Employment status
Not Employed (Student) 161 24.0
Not Employed (Non-Student) 55 8.2
Employed Part-Time 64 9.6
Employed Full-Time 390 58.2
Monthly household income
Less than U.S. $1,000 175 26.1
U.S. $ 1,000 to U.S. $2,000 372 55.5
More than U.S. $1,000 123 18.4
Highest level of education
High school or lower 21 3.1
Some college 88 13.1
Bachelor’s degree 323 48.2
Graduate degree 228 34.0
Have travelled to
Asia 71 10.6
South East Asia 25 3.7
Middle East 36 5.4
Africa 41 6.1
Australia/New Zealand 22 3.3
Europe 58 8.7
North America 22 3.3
South America 13 1.9
Travelled to multiple continents 37 5.5
I have not travelled outside India 345 51.5
Source: Own elaboration.
‘Namastey London’ 233
were asked the number of Indian movies they watch per week in movie theatres, on
TV, and on the internet. Nearly half (48.1%) of respondents watched Indian movies
on TV three or more times per week, and 25.1% indicated that they watched three
or more lms weekly in movie theatres.
Objective 3: To explore the relationships between perceived images of
European countries and their portrayal in Bollywood movies/TV
To explore the relationship between Bollywood movie watching behaviour and
international travel and tourism, respondents were asked to recall names of three
movies that have inspired their choice of travel destination abroad. As illustrated
in Table 13.3, almost a third (30.7%) of respondents said that Zindagi Na Milegi
Dobara was one movie motivating them to travel to Europe. Multiple survey
respondents indicated that this Bollywood lm specically inuenced travel plans.
One respondent stated ‘[Bollywood lms are a] great inuence! Specically from
Indian movies, one of my friends had gone to Europe and planned another trip for
Spain just after watching Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’. Another respondent states
‘one of my friends went to Europe after watching Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’
and a third said ‘my family has been to places seen in the movies. My father has
Table 13.2 Enthusiasm and engagement with Bollywood movies.
N (670) %
Movie Viewing Preference
Seek information/gossip about new movies before release 345 51.5
Movie ‘Bu’ or ‘Super-fan’ 194 29.9
I watch movies on the rst day of release in theatres 193 28.8
I watch movies as soon as they are released in theatres 264 39.1
Weekly Consumption Behaviours:
Watched 3 or more movies in Movie Theatres 168 25.1
Watched 3 or more movies on TV 322 48.1
Watched 3 or more movies on the Internet 171 25.6
Source: Own elaboration.
Table 13.3 Top Bollywood movies inducing travel to Europe.
Name of Indian movie Filming location N (670) %
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara Spain 206 30.7
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge Switzerland, UK 182 27.2
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam Italy 102 15.2
Namastey London UK 101 15.1
Don2 Germany, Switzerland 79 11.8
Bachna Ae Haseeno Italy, Switzerland 75 11.2
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham UK 48 7.2
Rockstar Czech Republic 46 6.9
Source: Own elaboration.
234 Bharath M. Josiam et al.
been to Europe and brother plans to go to Spain’. Table 13.4 shows that 45.7% of
respondents wanted to travel to the UK after they watched movies, while 40.9% of
respondents were motivated by Bollywood movies to travel to Switzerland.
Objective 4: To determine perceived images of European countries as
destinations, and the attractions and activities they present to tourists
One of the main objectives of this study was to determine respondents’ perceptions
of European destinations; researchers wanted to understand what image comes to
the respondent’s mind when they think of a particular country. Respondents were
presented with a list of ten Western European countries and a list of attributes for
each of these countries. To facilitate concise presentation, this discussion catego-
rises the ten countries into two groups – the ve most popular and the ve least
popular among Indians (Tables 13.5 and 13.6).
It is intriguing to note that the UK was perceived to be the best place for shop-
ping followed by France and Italy. Over 60% of respondents perceived UK to be
their favourite shopping destination.
Over 69% of respondents said that they perceived Switzerland to be a romantic
destination. Just over 40% perceive France and Italy as romantic destinations. It
is noteworthy that Switzerland has nearly twice as many references as a romantic
destination as its nearest competitor further suggesting that Switzerland has been
romanticised in Bollywood lms.
Table 13.4 Top European countries Indians want to visit
induced by Bollywood movies.
Country N (670) %
UK 306 45.7
Switzerland 274 40.9
Italy 256 38.2
Spain 164 24.5
France 107 16.0
Germany 65 9.7
Source: Own elaboration.
Table 13.5 Top ve European countries and their destination attributes as seen by Indians.
Good
shopping
Romantic Good
recreation Relaxing
Nature/
scenery
Cultural
sites
Great
fun
Things
to see
Switz.192 422 213 150 361 103 219 202
UK 356 223 178 161 200 226 224 271
Italy 202 260 147 141 194 202 184 118
Spain 143 192 229 144 223 163 191 173
France 211 253 151 171 189 140 138 107
Source: Own elaboration.
‘Namastey London’ 235
Additionally, more than 69% of respondents said that they perceived Switzer-
land to be the best location for scenery, followed by Spain (35.8%) and the UK
(32%). Switzerland was referenced by twice as many Indians for its scenery, prob-
ably, because hundreds of Bollywood lms have been shot there.
About a third of respondents indicated Spain and Switzerland as destinations
with good recreation. Similarly, these countries are perceived by approximately
30% of respondents as ‘great fun’. Often, recreational activities at these destina-
tions are featured in Bollywood movies. For example, the scuba diving, sky diving,
and Running With the Bulls in Spain are featured in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara,
likely enhancing Indian’s perception of Spain as ‘great fun’ and a destination with
good recreation.
Again, the UK, Switzerland, and Spain all rank highest in the ‘things to see’
category, with many Indian’s indicating that each country has plenty of things to do
and see (25–40%). This study also found that over 35% of respondents perceived
Greece, Italy, and the UK as excellent cultural sites.
Overall, it is seen that countries in the Top 5 list in unaided recall are cited most
often and in multiple categories (Figure 13.1). They are perceived to be destina-
tions that oer a rich and varied palate of places to see and activities to do. Further-
more, as seen in Figure 13.2, they also have a very low ranking in the category of
‘no image’. The strength of the perceived image of the UK, Spain, and Switzerland
is likely due to the prevalence of these top three attribute-rich locations as back-
drops for many Bollywood lms. Because exposure to these settings is high in Bol-
lywood lms, Indian viewers can formulate stronger opinions of their perceptions
of these countries.
Summary and implications
The ndings of this study are consistent with the literature. Hudson and Ritchie
(2006a, 2006b) have pointed out that some lms are more successful than others
in inducing tourism. They have also identied some critical factors that contribute
to destination promotion. If the story line and the site are inter-linked, the audience
is more likely to be emotionally involved with the lm (Tooke and Baker 1996).
Table 13.6 Bottom ve European countries and their destination attributes as seen by
Indians.
Good
shopping
Romantic Good
recreation
Relaxing Nature/
scenery
Cultural
sites
Great
fun
Things
to see
Germany 126 141 162 133 153 164 154 104
Austria 143 187 170 154 167 53 90 76
Greece 92 145 101 106 162 219 82 80
Netherlands 82 111 113 107 135 82 78 64
Portugal 64 81 97 89 103 163 83 86
Source: Own elaboration.
‘Namastey London’ 237
The box-oce success of a lm can be a good predictor of movie-induced tourism
(Grihault 2003). It seems that the popularity of Spain with Bollywood movie fans
as a result of a single recent blockbuster hit (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara) supports
both of these contentions. Filmed primarily in Spain, the lm played as a full length
advertisement for Spanish Tourism, featuring the Bollywood actors participating
in the La Tomatina Festival and the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona. Though not
nancing the lm, the Spanish tourism board contributed location support and an
additional $660,000 in subsidies (Munshi 2012). Since the release of the lm in
the Indian market, Spain witnessed a marked increase in Indian tourist, increas-
ing numbers by 65% from 2011 to 2012 (Munshi 2012). Subsequently, the movie
boosted Spanish tourism directly from India by more than 30%, especially in loca-
tions shown in the lm (Harjani 2011).
Repeating exposure to the destination would lead to a higher level of engage-
ment, familiarity, attachment, and identication. The popularity of Switzerland,
UK, and France with Bollywood audiences is not surprising, given the number
of movies that have showcased these countries over the decades, starting with
the 1960s. Furthermore, many of these Bollywood movies were blockbuster hits
in India.
Alarmingly, 35% of respondents said that they had ‘no image’ of Portugal or the
Netherlands as tourism destinations (Figure 13.2). Though the scenery in Portugal
is similar to its neighbouring country of Spain, this eect is likely because no major
blockbuster Bollywood hit has been lmed to date in Portugal. Similarly, no major
Bollywood blockbuster has been lmed in the Netherlands to date, thus the image
of the country has not been portrayed to most Indian Bollywood viewers.
Interestingly, Portugal has seemed to take a cue from the success of its neigh-
bouring country. PicturePortugal signed an agreement with a Mumbai company for
the production of Indian lms in Portugal in the hopes of spurring tourism growth
of Indians to Portugal (New Protocol with Bollywood 2012), a country of which
most Indians currently have little to no perceived image. Indian visitor numbers
are low, at around 13,000 annually (Dev 2012). Depending on the success of future
Bollywood movies lmed in Portugal, future research can compare and contrast
Indian perceptions from the current study with the future.
Though featured in past Bollywood lms, countries such as Greece, Austria, and
the Netherlands have yet to be featured within a successful Bollywood blockbuster,
or have failed to be identied as the correct country. For example, Silsila, directed
by the famous Yash Chopra, was not a box oce success but has since risen to cult
status among Bollywood viewers (Jha 2011). Filmed partially in the Netherlands,
the scenes of the Keukenhof Tulip Gardens are intertwined with mountains covered
in snow with the main characters running about, potentially confusing the audience
with images similar to those shot in Switzerland. Likely due to the confusion of
country identity, the Netherlands has a high prevalence of Indian Bollywood view-
ers who rated it as ‘no opinion/image’. Similarly, multiple Bollywood lms have
featured Grecian backdrops, including Chalte Chalte, Tashan, and Wanted, though
only one was commercially successful – Wanted reached blockbuster status as the
238 Bharath M. Josiam et al.
highest grossing lm in Bollywood in 2009. It is likely that the limited exposure of
Greece in lms has contributed to the lack of image among Indian viewers.
Looking at the graph of ‘no image’ countries (Figure 13.2), it is evident that
those countries with little to no blockbuster Bollywood movie exposure were
noted as ‘no image/opinion’ more often than those frequently featured in Bolly-
wood lms, or in major Bollywood blockbusters. Taken together, the two graphs
(Figures 13.1 and 13.2) seem to be an inverse of each other, with countries that
appear high on one list, falling low on the other.
Conclusions
This study makes a strong and unique contribution to the literature on movie-
induced tourism. First, Bollywood movies, as a major global movie genre, have
not been addressed in the literature. Second, few studies have examined the impact
of outbound tourism from India as major trend in global tourism. Third, no studies
have linked multiple movies to tourist perceptions of multiple attributes of destina-
tions in multiple countries. The current study is the rst one to address these three
major gaps in the literature.
The ndings of this study suggest that perceived destination image of European
countries is strongly inuenced by Bollywood lms among a large segment of the
Indian population. As noted earlier, through immersion in Bollywood lms, Indian
moviegoers go from the Awareness stage directly to the Trial stage, skipping the
Interest and the Evaluation stages of the AITEA process (Rogers 1962). View-
ers vicariously experience an alternate fantasy world set in Switzerland or France
within Bollywood lms (Nayar 1997). Thus, many viewers become immersed in a
fantasy lm world and use the portrayal of the country on lm as a representation of
what that country oers in reality. This is consistent with the assertion by Macionis
and Sparks (2009) that the two primary motivators for travelling to screened loca-
tions are novelty and fantasy. Indeed, J. Tagliabue (2010) has discussed how many
Indian tourists in Switzerland re-enact scenes from Bollywood movies while tour-
ing the Swiss Alps, literally acting out their fantasies.
This strong level of inuence has a signicant impact on the marketing of tour-
ism destinations through lm. As Bollywood lms seem to have such a signicant
inuence on perceived image and travel intentions of Indian viewers, it is critical
for destination marketers to concern themselves with Bollywood lms in order to
tap into the emerging market of auent Indian tourists.
Limitations and future studies
Though a large sample was obtained, this study utilised a convenience sample
to gather data. Thus, the ndings of this study may not be generalisable to the
entire Indian population. Future studies should utilise a random sampling proce-
dure to gather a sample more representative of the entire population. Additionally,
no verication procedures were utilised to check activity or purchase behaviour;
the survey simply asked respondents to specify personal behaviour, which could
‘Namastey London’ 239
have been exaggerated, understated, or incorrectly recorded. Adding more specic
questions in future data collection could aid in the verication of the inuences of
media on travel intentions and image perceptions.
Future studies could use a longitudinal design to look at how perceptions of
destination image vary over the years as more and more Bollywood movies are
lmed abroad. Additionally, the study design can be adapted for use in other Asian
countries to see how Bollywood lms inuence the destination perceptions of other
Asian populations and compare the eects to the results identied in this research.
Furthermore, the scope of the study can be expanded to analyse the perception of
worldwide destinations featured in Bollywood movies, including the United States,
Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand.
As increasing numbers of Indians travel worldwide, future studies can examine
if Bollywood movies play a lesser or greater role in motivating Indians to travel
to specic destinations. As movie producers shift location shooting to Spain, Por-
tugal, and other countries, the country rankings found in this study will certainly
change. For example, the impact of one movie as a motivation to visit Spain is
likely to fade over time. Future studies can examine these issues.
Note
1 This chapter was originally published as Josiam, Bharath M., Spears, Daniel, Dutta, Kirti,
Pookulangara, Sanjukta A., and Kinley, Tammy L. (2014) “Namastey London”: Bolly-
wood Movies and Their Impact on how Indians Perceive European Destinations, Hospi-
tality Review: Vol. 31: Iss. 4, Article 2.
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DOI: 10.4324/9781003293347-18
Part V
Conclusions
Figure 5 Warsaw, with its iconic Palace of Culture and Science, is a symbol of a modern and
rapidly developing city. Warsaw’s downtown has been the setting for many Polish
and international lms, including the Indian action lm Kick (2014).
Source: Wojciech Zieliński / stock.adobe.com
DOI: 10.4324/9781003293347-19
This chapter has been made available under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Setting the scene
When the idea of this edited book rst emerged in late 2020, the mobility of
people and products, including work in the creative industry sector, came to a still.
Suddenly, studying the phenomenon of Indian–European connections through lm
production as part of the international research project FilmInd (The Indian lm
industry as a driver of new socio-economic connections between India and Europe)
became more complex than rst anticipated. Some of our research plans, includ-
ing participatory observation and unstructured interviews with an Indian lm crew
working in a European setting, became impossible to realise. International travel
came to a halt, and so did maintaining and building new connections between
Indian creative industries and European destinations. Today, three years later, the
world seems to be catching up with lost time and opportunities although not all
travel has resumed: “lockdowns” and restricted international travel continue, for
example, in China or Japan. To what extent the restrictions have transformed the
relationships between the creative industries, tourism and travel is yet to be seen.
Could lming in European locations be less appealing in the post-COVID world?
The globalisation of the lm industry in India is no longer a new phenomenon
(Mazumdar 2011), yet it has taken a new turn with the signicant upsurge of regional
and national lm commissions. After international travel resumed, in October 2022,
the India International Film Tourism Conclave (IIFTC) took place in Mumbai again,
attracting various global destinations ready to woo Indian producers (Everything
Experiential 2022). Indian–European collaboration seems to be renewed. Although
our edited volume analyses predominantly the Indian–European connections in the
lm industries prior COVID-19, the collectively gathered lessons learnt from the
pre-crisis period provide a useful input for the processes of redevelopment and rees-
tablishment of cooperation between Indian and European lmmakers.
Film and Place in an Intercultural Perspective lls an important gap in schol-
arship by exploring lmmaking in Europe by Indian producers. Our collection
addresses three themes that are of importance to the current state of research: a) the
representations of Europe on Indian screens: the diversity of the landscapes used
and meanings they attempt to convey; b) push and pull factors, including various
organisational arrangements and institutional mechanisms that play a key role in
14 Conclusions
Film as a driver of new socio-economic
connections between India and Europe
Hania Janta, Krzysztof Stachowiak,
Jani Kozina, and Therese Sunngren-Granlund
246 Hania Janta et al.
attracting Indian lm producers to specic European destinations; and c) social,
cultural, environmental and economic impacts that Indian lmmaking in Europe
has on destinations in both (sub)continents.
This edited book provides the observations of Indian and European research-
ers who represent various disciplinary strands, methodologies, and approaches to
studying this emerging topic: the changing geography of lm production. Based on
the output of the project FilmInd (2019–2022) as well as three additional papers
(Chapter 6: Cucco and Scaglioni; Chapter 13: Josiam et al.; Chapter 12: Jain and
Raina), this collection seeks to advance this topic further by addressing the com-
plexities of the changing geography of lm production. These processes and con-
sequences can be researched from dierent angles and this book oers a collection
of various perspectives and ways of looking at the phenomenon.
The chapters of this edited collection oer various methodological approaches,
such as in-depth interviews, surveys, textual analysis, ethnographic research, or cin-
ematic analysis. The book examines various territorial contexts, such as “dreamy”
Switzerland (Janta and Herzog this volume), “exciting” Italy (Cucco and Scaglioni
this volume), “modern” UK (Jain and Raina this volume), as well as newly emerging
destinations in much less studied Central and Eastern European and Nordic contexts:
“historic” Poland (Balcerak et al. this volume) and “diverse” Slovenia (Kozina and
Jelnikar this volume) as well as “snowy” Finland (Sunngren-Granlund this volume).
This way, the book brings new evidence on Indian lmmaking from dierent corners
of the European territory, stretching from east to west and south to north.
The collection also provides fascinating insights into cinematic aspects of vari-
ous old and new lms, which take us on a trip to the UK (Purab Aur Pachhim
1970), Switzerland (Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, The Big-Hearted Will Take the
Bride 1995), Spain (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara 2011), or Austria (Tiger Zinda Hai
(Ali Abbas Zafar 2017). As noted by Jhingan (this volume), the changing style of
song sequences in recent lms highlights the diverse soundscapes of European
locations. Not only has the perception of these places changed radically but the
places themselves have also been transformed by the lms (Josiam et al. this vol-
ume, Janta and Herzog this volume).
How to research the nexus of lm and place?
The authors published in this collection represent dierent disciplines and exam-
ine this multifaceted phenomenon through dierent theoretical and methodological
perspectives. Sometimes this means taking advantage of theories and tools through
a number of disciplines: geography, cultural studies, media studies, or management.
In other cases, it means providing a singular perspective from which a phenome-
non is studied. Film studies scholars examine cinematic aspects of using European
locations in selected lms, which includes the lm’s storyline and/or sound, in rela-
tion to the specic locations used, sometimes supporting the insights with quali-
tative data. On the other hand, geographers are interested in studying place and
space, representation, and the meanings of spaces featured in lms. Management
researchers focus on various impacts deriving from lming in foreign locations,
in destination branding and regional development. Increased tourism, its planning
Conclusions 247
and promotion, and the management of sometimes undesired consequences of lm/
screen tourism ows are important themes for tourism researchers. Film policy is
investigated by media studies experts. Other key aspects related to the changing
geography of lmmaking are infrastructure, clusters, and knowledge transfer –
topics that are sometimes studied by both geographers and management research-
ers. Film and Place in an Intercultural Perspective highlights these various
perspectives, providing insights into novel cases of globalisation of lm production
and the signicance of Europe for Indian lmmaking. Researching this topic from
dierent perspectives through various research methods has the potential to provide
a fuller, more insightful and data-rich portrayal of the contemporary geography of
lm production. Finally, an important contribution of the collection lies in its bal-
anced views: the book oers the voices of Indian as well as European researchers.
What is next? Future studies
As shown in Chapter 2 (Stachowiak this volume), lm has a complex and multi-
faceted relationship with place. On the one hand, a lm’s setting can be a central
element of its narrative, helping to dene the characters and their motivations, as
well as providing a backdrop against which the story unfolds. For example, a lm
set in a small town might examine the themes of community and isolation, while
a lm set in a bustling metropolis might explore themes of anonymity and urban
alienation. At the same time, the lm can also be used to examine and represent the
culture and history of a particular place. Filmmakers often draw upon the unique
qualities of a location to evoke a sense of authenticity and realism in their stories
and can use the lm’s setting as a way to comment on social and political issues
relevant to that place. Furthermore, the lm can also have a transformative eect
on the places in which it is set. The attention and publicity generated by a lm can
help revitalise struggling neighbourhoods and bring tourism to previously over-
looked destinations. In some cases, the lm’s depiction of a place can even shape
the way it is perceived and remembered by both locals and outsiders. The complex
and dynamic relationship between lm and place is worth further investigation.
Whether used as a backdrop, a reection of culture and history, or a catalyst for
change, the connection between lm and place is an integral part of the cinematic
experience.
This book refers broadly to the eld of lm geography by attempting to take
a step forward in understanding the complex relationship between lm and place
and space by looking at it from an intercultural perspective. Contemporary lm
geography moves beyond the role of lm as a medium and attempts to deconstruct
complex lm-space relationships by drawing on humanistic approaches. As Lukin-
beal and Sommerlad (2022, p. S1) note in the introduction to the special issue of
GeoJournal devoted to lm geography:
nowadays, a critical perspective on lm is central, which no longer considers
the medium merely as a text, but rather as a social practice – a perspective
that continues to focus not solely on the meaning of representations, but on
what representations do and how they do it.
248 Hania Janta et al.
Further research could then consider lm not only as social practice but also as spa-
tial practice (Roberts 2020) in order to better understand the creative engagement
with place mobilised through dierent lmmaking practices.
Next, this book addressed the absence of scholarly work on the increase in
Indian lmmaking in European locations. Although the consequences of Indian
lmmaking in Europe has been researched, to some extent, as part of screen/lm
tourism (Frank 2016; Gyimóthy 2018; Nanjangud and Reijnders 2022; Josiam et
al. this volume), we noted while preparing this book some other important gaps
that oer future research opportunities. Through our studies, as well as in our Fil-
mInd project, we observed that collaboration remains limited between creative
industries and other sectors who are interested in the productions, such as lm
commissions, Tourism Destination Management Organisations, and other public
bodies. There are rare examples of collaborations between all the stakeholders
from the pre-production phase (Tobías 2017). Set in the Spanish backdrop, Zindagi
Na Milegi Dobara presents such one successful case and invites the spectator, a
tourist-to-be, to explore Spain by car, plane and on foot (see Mazumdar this vol-
ume). Such collaborations can lead to outstanding results in country-branding and
increased tourism numbers (see Josiam et al. this volume).
The tourism numbers are indeed mentioned by the producers who negotiate
with destinations – a topic that requires careful planning and management. How
to manage the unwanted consequences of lm tourism? How to make cinematic
destinations sustainable? These are some of the important questions to be asked
when making lms in foreign locales. In their study of Bollywood-inspired tourism
to Iceland, Nanjangud and Reijnders (2022) observe limited interest in the actual
destination, rather than following a cinematic experience: a search for loved char-
acters dominates the tourism trip. Touring fans in Switzerland, England and France
act out their fantasies, chasing the “romance” they know from the screen (Josiam
et al. this volume). Technology also plays a vital role in shaping the experiences:
the “check in” features on social media sites may be more important for the movie-
lovers than the actual historic Europe.
The topic of sustainability and addressing the Sustainable Development Goals
goes beyond lm tourism – it is becoming important in relation to the whole envi-
ronmental footprint of media production and distribution (Pabiś-Orzeszyna and
Keilbach 2021). As postulated by Pabiś-Orzeszyna and Keilbach (2021), engaging
in climate communication through lm can be one way of “greening” media. Hari-
haran (in this volume), contributes to this debate by examining the deployment of
animals for the Tiger Zinda Hai 2017 lm shot in Austria. In analysing the lm,
Hariharan points to the attempts to pursue an ethical approach through its lm
inscription “No Animals Were Harmed in the Making of This Film”. She further
scrutinises how Bollywood negotiates animal rights movements and debates on
animals.
Other questions that require more academic attention relate to the location set-
ting. Film production culture (Caldwell 2008; Balcerak et al. this volume) has
rarely been a focus of the investigation. While working conditions on the lm set
have been previously researched to some extent (Blair 2001), Mazumdar (2015)
highlights the lack of research on media workers who “will continue to remain
Conclusions 249
hidden, reinforced systematically even by academic Scholarship” (p. 27). Indeed,
research on “invisible workers” – lower-end workforce of the creative industries –
remains another neglected topic.
Will the increased competition between destinations change the landscape of
Indian lmmaking? To what extent do economic incentives play a role? Which col-
laborations will survive? From the comparative perspective, we can observe, on the
one hand, that some traditional and well-established destinations, such as Switzer-
land (Janta and Herzog this volume), have already exceeded their saturation index,
while on the other hand, new players from once neglected Central and Eastern
(Kozina and Jelnikar this volume; Balcerak et al. this volume) and Nordic contexts
(Sunngren-Granlund this volume) are gaining their momentum. This constellation
of ranges between territories calls for a deeper understanding of new challenges for
old markets and new opportunities for emerging markets.
Through our research we also noted some limited attempts (see Urbanc et al.
this volume) to examine Europe on Indian screens from a quantitative perspective.
Which destinations and landscapes specically are attractive? Does their appeal
change over time? Such questions can be answered using quantitative approaches.
The previous research has rarely put any analytical focus on the territorial back-
grounds portrayed in Indian lms, although they represent a key scene in most
of the song sequences. It is clear that the Indian producers search for new and
exotic places to be mobilised into their lmmaking. However, less is known about
what types of landscape patterns, landforms, and natural and cultural heritage are
favoured by Indian lm producers and audiences. Future studies should deepen our
understanding of the European place-specic characteristics and/or requirements
of Indian lmmakers. Such basic knowledge could then be more eectively trans-
lated into territorial branding, management, and tourism strategies.
Overall, this collection of papers expands our understanding of the globalisa-
tion of lm production, looking specically at Indian lmmaking in Europe. We
hope that this book opens a new route of interdisciplinary dialogue between those
interested in researching and practising this exciting phenomenon.
Acknowledgement
FilmInd project – The Indian lm industry as a driver of new socio-economic con-
nections was carried out within the EU-India Platform for Social Sciences and
Humanities (EqUIP) and nanced by national funding from the participating coun-
tries. The authors acknowledge receipt of funding from the Ministry of Education,
Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia and Slovenian Research Agency
(Research program P6-0101), Swiss National Science Foundation (Project No.
IZEQZ1_180340), Academy of Finland (69 037; 324796), Polish National Science
Centre (Project No. 2017/27/Z/HS4/00039).
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Index
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198; rules pertaining to performing
animals 199 – 200
animals 11, 195; in Bollywood 197 – 198;
CGI 198 – 199; performing
196 – 197; see also Tiger Zinda Hai
animatronics 198 – 199
anthropocentric geography 195
architecture, heritage 57, 59
Arctic landscape 11, 69, 70; Finland 184;
snow 45
Australia, Gold Coast 120
Austria 200, 228, 237
authenticity 9, 32 – 33, 35; setting 28
background: mountains 73; songs 8, 85, 86,
87, 88, 90, 94
Bishnoi community 204 – 205
Bollywood 9, 12, 120, 121, 122, 140, 196,
225; animals 197 – 198; dance songs
95; lming in Switzerland 126, 229;
massalah-lms 125 – 126; portrayal
of European countries 233, 234;
song sequences 229; tours 121
bureaucracy 126; Finland 185
business relationships: contracts 168 – 169,
175 – 176; personal contacts
171 – 172, 173, 174; Polish-Indian
cooperation 170 – 172, 173, 174;
trust 163, 168, 171, 172; see also
collaboration; informal relationships;
intermediaries; interpersonal
relations; production culture
capital: narrative 179, 187; social 169 – 170
cartography 24, 33 – 34, 42; cartographic
consciousness 8; “performative”
59; in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
49 – 50, 51, 52 – 53
caste 165
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) 8, 9 – 10,
136 – 137; as a destination for
Indian lmmakers 139 – 140; as a
lm shooting destination 137 – 139;
urban settings 70, 72; see also
Poland/Polish; Slovenia/n
chase scene: Fan 57, 59, 60; War 45, 48, 49
Chipko movement 204 – 205
Chopra, Y. 86, 121, 122, 125, 132, 139,
225, 229, 237
choreography 95; see also dance songs
cinematography 32; Indian 162
cine-zoo 196
clusters, lm industry 182
Cold War 44 – 45
collaboration 159, 175, 249; co-production
151, 152, 155, 248; informal
relationships 168 – 169;
interpersonal relations 162 – 164;
network embeddedness 170 – 172,
173, 174
colonialism, cultural 217 – 218, 221
communication, cross-cultural 152 – 153
computer-generated imagery (CGI) 30 – 31,
198, 199
connectedness 126, 133
contracts 175 – 176; informal 168 – 169
Copenhagen Film Fund 183
Corsica 53 – 54, 55, 94 – 95
countryside 8, 72, 79
COVID-19 pandemic 101, 105, 124, 141,
245
252 Index
creative industries 181, 182; see also lm
commission/s
Croatia 57
cross-cultural communication 152 – 153
cultural colonialism 217 – 218, 221
cultural diplomacy 118, 120
cultural geography 5, 17
cultural studies 6, 161; spatial turn 33, 35
culture 161 – 162
Czech Republic 140
dance songs 8, 86, 94; see also song
sequences
Delhi 56
delocalisation 9, 102, 103, 104, 105, 108,
112, 140
Denmark: Copenhagen Film Fund 183;
Danish Film Institute 183; Den
Vestdanske Filmpulje (DVF) 183;
Film-Fyn 183
depiction 18, 20, 22, 24; see also
representation
destination branding 4, 6, 179; see also
place branding
destination management 7, 12, 229; see
also lm tourism
dialogue 21, 85
diaspora lms 214
diegesis 19 – 20, 28
diegetic music 90; Jab Harry Met Sejal
94; Rockstar 92, 93 – 94; Tamasha
94 – 95; Tiger Zinda Hai 95 – 96
diegetic song sequences 92, 93
diegetic space 25, 28 – 30, 32, 34
digital techniques 18 – 19, 93; see also
computer-generated imagery (CGI)
diplomacy, cultural 118, 120
displacement aspect 120, 130
diversity, landscape 78
drone camera 45, 56, 57
dubbing 85
Dubrovnik 57
economic incentives 102 – 103
editing 25, 30, 31, 34 – 35, 44; Fan 60
Eiel Tower 87
electronic dance music (EDM) 89
embeddedness 160; network 170 – 172, 173,
174
embodiment 89, 160
Engelberg 121
environmentalism 205
espionage lms, War 44 – 45
ethnography 160
Europe 11; countryside 72; ctionalised
locations 70; Indians’ perception
of 233, 234, 235; landscape
diversity 78; mountains 72, 73;
recognisability 70; scene analysis
68 – 69; top tourist destinations 230;
urban settings 70, 72
European Union (EU) 137, 140
fake locations 120, 129, 133; see also
ctionalised locations
family: -owned business 162; trust 168
fandom 23
fatalism 163
feature lm 19, 30; shooting in Switzerland
127
ctional lm 19; diegesis 19 – 20
ctionalised locations 70
eld recordings, Paris 88 – 89
lm commission/s 102, 103, 104, 119;
Finnish 183; Occhi di Ulisse 105,
106, 109, 114; Slovenian 148;
Swiss 124 – 125
lm geography 5, 17, 33, 247; see also
place; space
lm industry, clusters 182; see also
production culture
lm policy 9, 101, 119, 247; green 115;
Swiss 130
lm production infrastructure 3, 4, 6, 8, 42,
48, 57, 119, 120, 138; Slovenia 70,
72, 151; Switzerland 78, 126 – 127,
133; War 47, 48
lm songs see song sequences
lm studies 6, 246; ‘animal turn’ 195
lm tourism 3, 4, 6 – 7, 12, 35, 111 – 112,
118, 120, 226, 227; box-oce
success as predictor 237;
demographic characteristics of
Indian tourists 231; marketing
226; motivations for travelling
to screened locations 227; New
Zealand 33, 228; Slovenia
153 – 154; Spain 225; survey 231;
Switzerland 121; top European
destinations 230; typology of
tourists 32; United Kingdom 227
lm/s 63 – 64; analysis 65 – 66; cartography
24; digital techniques 18 – 19;
editing 31; feature 19, 30;
ctional 19; image 30; location
18; massalah- 125 – 126; mirror
Index 253
metaphor 76; -place relationship
20; scene 66; sets 27; setting
18; space 25, 29 – 30, 35; -space
relationship 21 – 24
Finland 10 – 11, 45, 47, 48, 64, 69, 70, 179;
Business Finland 183; countryside
72; Indian lm productions
185 – 186; infrastructure 184 – 185,
188; low level of bureaucracy
185; Northern Film and Media
Foundation (POEM) 182 – 183;
permits 185; rural 181; snow
188; strategies for attracting
international lm productions
184 – 185; water 74, 75
exibility, Indian production culture 166
“y-in-y-out productions,” Switzerland
125, 128
framing 25, 29, 34, 59; War 45
funding: Nordic countries 182 – 184; public
103, 104 – 105, 169; see also lm
commission/s
geography/ies 16, 246, 247 – 248;
anthropocentric 195; cultural 5, 7,
17; human 16, 17, 25; mountains
64 – 65, 72, 73, 74; non-human 195;
water 65, 74, 75 – 76; see also lm
geography
geospatial technology 33
globalised lm production 85, 120, 133,
159, 245; Bollywood 125 – 126; see
also infrastructure
Goa festival 171 – 172
Google Earth 43
grants 140, 169
Greece 237 – 238
green policies 115
helicopter 48
heritage architecture 57, 59
high mountains 73
Hindu Nationalism 12, 211 – 212, 222 – 223
hospitality services 111
Hungary 120
Iceland 183
iconography, Indian 65, 74, 79
identity 6; regional 181
imaginary space 22 – 23, 33, 34
imagination 22
IMDb 65 – 66
immersion 51; sky diving 52; sonic 89
immigrants/immigration 11, 211; diaspora
lms 214
incentives for shooting abroad 6, 9; appeal
to non-resident Indians (NRIs)
103; audience appeal 103, 104;
business environment 126 – 128;
cash rebate 149, 183; CEE
countries 140; diverse settings
128 – 129; economic/nancial
102 – 103, 118, 159; landscape
diversity 78; logistics 102; luxury
accommodation 130 – 131; non-
economic 120; policy documents
180; production services 120; push
factors 102 – 103, 140; qualied
professionals 131 – 132; Slovenia
146 – 149; Switzerland 124 – 125;
tax credits 105, 109 – 110, 114, 183
India International Film Tourism Conclave
(IIFTC) 41 – 42, 245
Indian business culture 163; family 163;
spirituality 163; trust 163, 164
Indian lms and lmmaking 3, 102 – 103,
136, 248; comparative advantages
of lming in Slovenia 146 – 148;
East versus West tropes 212 – 214;
in Finland 185 – 186; iconography
65, 74, 79; interpersonal relations
162 – 164; No Objection Certication
(NOC) 196 – 197; in Slovenia 142,
143, 146, 153 – 154; water 76
Indian production culture 162; nancing
system 167; exibility 166;
hierarchical 165; Polish
lmmakers’ perspective 164 – 168;
rituals 167; wastefulness 166 – 167
informal relationships 168
infrastructure: Finland 184 – 185, 188;
Switzerland 185; see also lm
production infrastructure
intercultural: communication 6, 11; lm 4
Interlaken 121
intermediaries 114 – 115, 172, 175
interpersonal relations 10, 159; in the Indian
lm industry 162 – 164, 168 – 169; in
Polish lm production 169
Ireland 120
Italy 9, 101; lm commissions 104 – 105,
105, 114; Indian audiovisual
productions lmed in 106 – 107,
108, 109 – 110; landscapes
103 – 104; Lombardy 108, 110; tax
incentive programs 105
254 Index
karma 163
Kashmir 228
Khan, S. 11, 42, 55, 56, 57, 200, 203,
204 – 205
knowledge transfer 4 – 5, 11, 118, 120
Kuch kuch hota hai 83
landscape/s 8, 63; Arctic 11, 45, 69,
70, 184; in Chopra’s lms 121;
diversity 78; Italian 103 – 104;
Middle-Earth 33; neutral
76; recognisability 76, 77;
representation 79; Slovenia
146 – 148; stereotypes 76, 77;
see also geography
Lapland 45, 69, 70, 185; see also Finland
leisure 51
lip syncing 83, 86, 92
Lisbon 49, 94
listening 85, 89
literature 21, 22, 34
local identity 6
local public nancing 103 – 104
local talent 132
location/s 3, 27 – 28, 41, 66, 74, 196, 247;
Arctic circle 45, 46 – 47; diegetic
space 29 – 30; dissonance 120, 130;
fake 70, 120, 129, 133; framing
45; Italy 101; Lisbon 48, 49;
Portugal 48; recognisability 70;
scene analysis 69, 70; scenery 32;
scouting 151; summits 170 – 171;
tours 140; see also Europe
logistics 102
Lombardy 108, 110
London 56, 229; in Purab Aur Pachhim
218 – 220
Lord of the Rings, The 23, 33; computer-
generated imagery (CGI) 31; lm-
induced tourism 227 – 228
Lucerne & Central Switzerland Film
Commission 119 – 120, 124 – 125
luxury accomodation, Switzerland
130 – 131
“making of” videos 44; Fan 58, 59;
Tamasha 54 – 55; Tiger Zinda Hai
203 – 204; War 48; Zindagi Na
Milegi Dobara 51
maps and mapping 8, 24, 33 – 34,
42, 43 – 44, 54 – 55; see also
cartography
marketing 7, 181 – 182; to Bollywood
viewers 229; tourism 226
massalah-lms 125 – 126
“Matargashti” 54 – 55
meaning 20, 21, 29, 33
media industry studies 9, 102
mediated space 23 – 24, 32, 34, 35
Mediterranean 53
metaphor 23, 33, 34, 93; mirror 76
Middle-earth 23, 33
mirror metaphor 76
mise-en-scène 25, 29, 31
monologue 21
mountains 64 – 65, 72, 73, 74, 79, 118
muhurat shot 167
music/al: diegetic 90, 92, 93 – 95; festivals
89; networks 86
Mykonos 95, 96
narration 28
narrative/s 21 – 22, 24, 42, 72, 73, 76;
background songs 88; capital 179,
187; national 76, 77; place 180;
songs 85, 87
national stereotypes, landscape 76, 77
Netherlands 237; Amsterdam eld
recordings 88 – 89
network/s 41, 47, 48, 53, 60, 93; embeddedness
160, 170 – 172, 173, 174, 175; Indian
lm production 163; informal contacts
168 – 169; musical 86
neutral landscapes 76
New Zealand 33, 228
No Objection Certication (NOC) 196 – 197
non-human geographies 195
non-resident Indians (NRIs) 103, 120, 211
Nordic countries: cooperation with Baltic
countries 188; lm funding and
regional development 182 – 184
Northern Film and Media Foundation
(POEM) 182 – 183
Norway, Film 3 183
Norwegian Film Institute (NFI) 183
Occhi di Ulisse 105, 106, 109, 114
o-screen space 29; Hum Saath Saath Hai
204 – 205; Tiger Zinda Hai 202,
203 – 204
on-demand platforms 104, 111 – 112, 114
on-location shooting 28
Pamplona 52
paratexts 203 – 204
Paris 95; eld recordings 88 – 89
parody 83
party songs 112
Index 255
People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals (PETA) 196, 197, 198
“performative cartography” 59
performing animals 196; AWBI rules
199 – 200; Ganguly on 197 – 198;
regulation 198
Performing Animals Act (India, 2001) 198
peripheral regions, creative clusters 182
permits 127 – 128, 185
personal contacts 171 – 172, 173;
see also collaboration; interpersonal
relations
place 3, 4, 6, 7, 16, 17 – 18, 64, 247;
branding 181 (see also destination
branding); familiarity 21; mediated
23 – 24; Middle-Earth 33; narrative
capital 187; narratives 180; rural
69, 70; topophilia 21, 34; urban
69, 70
plot 34 – 35; and diegetic space 30; Purab
Aur Pachhim 214 – 215
Poland/Polish 10, 64, 69, 70, 78, 140;
Film Institute 169; lmmakers’
perspective on Indian production
culture 164 – 168; -Indian lm
cooperation 170 – 172, 173, 174;
production culture 169 – 170;
water 74
policy documents 180; see also lm
policies
Polish Tourist Organisation (PTO) 140
political economy 9, 102
pooja 167
Portugal 42, 48, 125, 237; cartography 49;
countryside 72
power 42; soft 78
Prague 42, 92, 93 – 94, 120
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act
(India, 1960) 197, 199
production culture 10, 102, 160 – 161,
175 – 176; Indian 162, 168 – 169;
interpersonal relations 162 – 164;
Polish 169 – 170
production studies 160 – 161
prolmic event 26 – 27
prolmic space 25, 26 – 28, 34, 44; location
27 – 28; studio 27; War 49
promotion 112, 150; Film i Väst 182;
Northern Film and Media
Foundation (POEM) 182 – 183
public funding 103, 104 – 105, 169
Punjabi music 90
Quit India movement 215
reading, imagination 22
real space 21
reality 20; virtual 30 – 31
recognisability: landscape 76, 77; location
70; Slovenia 143, 146
regional development 179 – 180, 182 – 184
regional identity 6, 181
regulation, performing animals 196 – 197,
198, 199 – 200
representation 16, 17, 18, 20, 32, 63;
diegesis 19 – 20; landscape 79;
maps 24, 33 – 34; spectator 20 – 21;
verbal 21, 22; visual 21, 23
risk 48, 51, 53, 163; bull run 52; scuba
diving 52; sky diving 52
rituals, Indian production culture 167
Romania 120, 140
romantic song sequences 71, 83, 111
rural setting 64, 69, 70, 79, 181; countryside
72, 79; mountains 70, 72, 79
scene/s 73; analysis 66, 68 – 69, 70;
romantic song sequences 71
Scotland 83
screen space 29, 44
secondary values 181 – 182
sky diving 52
Slovenia/n 10, 63, 64, 69, 70, 78, 137,
155 – 156; comparative advantages
for Indian lm shooting 146 – 148;
countryside 72; Embassy 150 – 151;
experiences of Indian lm shooting
in 151 – 153; Film Commission
148 – 149; lm production
infrastructure 151; lm tourism
153 – 154; impacts of Indian lm
shooting in 153 – 154; Indian
lmmaking in 142, 143, 146;
mountains 73; recognisability 143,
146; strategies to attract Indian
lmmakers 148 – 151; water 74
snow 45, 188
social capital 169
socialism 137
soft power 78
song sequences 8, 52 – 53, 79; background
songs 85 – 86, 89, 90, 94; Bollywood
229; Cocktail 90; diegetic 90,
92, 93 – 95; lming in Slovenia
146 – 148, 151 – 152; lip synced 83,
86; mountains 73; party 112; Purab
Aur Pachhim 216 – 217; Queen 89;
romantic 71, 111; synchronised
sound 85; transition 111 – 112
256 Index
sound: ambient 87, 88; eects 85; scape
85; synchronised 28, 87, 88; track
layering 89
space 3, 6, 7, 16; acoustic 89; diegetic 25,
28 – 30, 32, 34; lm 25, 29 – 30, 35;
-lm relationship 21, 22 – 24; lmed
196; framing 29; imaginary 22 – 23,
33, 34; immersion 51; Lisbon
48, 49; mediated 23 – 24, 32, 34,
35; Mediterranean 53; o-screen
29, 202, 203 – 204; prolmic 25,
26 – 28, 34, 44; real 21; screen 29,
44; virtual 30 – 31
Spain 49 – 50, 225, 237; Indians’ perception
of 235; see also Zindagi Na Milegi
Dobara
spatial turn, cultural studies 33, 35
spectator 20; imagination 22; topophilia 21
speed 45, 47, 48
spirituality, of Indian culture 163
sport 51
spy lms, War 45
stakeholders 10, 60; interviews 141
stereotypes 6; landscape 76, 77
studios 27; CEE 138
subsidies 159, 169, 237
sustainability 115, 205, 248
Sweden 64, 69, 70; countryside 72; Film i
Väst 182, 183
Switzerland 9, 64, 118, 121, 229;
Bollywood tours 121; business
environment 126 – 128; countryside
72; diverse settings 128 – 129; fake
locations 129; lm commissions
124 – 125; Film i Väst 188;
lm infrastructure 126 – 127;
lm permits 127 – 128; “y-in-
y-out productions” 125, 128;
Indians’ perception of 234, 235;
infrastructure 78, 133, 185; local
talent 132; luxury accommodation
130 – 131; mountains 73; qualied
professionals 131 – 132; water 74
synchronised sound 28, 85, 87, 88
Tamasha 8, 42, 53; diegetic music 94 – 95;
“making of” video 54 – 55;
“Matargashti” 54 – 55
Tamil lm industry 162
tax incentives 105, 109 – 110, 114
technology 85, 248; geospatial 33; sync
sound 87, 88; see also computer-
generated imagery (CGI)
thematic analysis 164
Ticino Film Commission 119 – 120,
124 – 125
Tiger v Wolves 203
Tiger Zinda Hai 11, 95, 200, 201; diegetic
music 95 – 96; “making of” video
203 – 204; paratexts 202, 203 – 204;
wolves, training 205 – 207
Tomatina 52 – 53
topophilia 21, 34
tourism 3, 78, 89; marketing 226
track layering 89
trade 8, 60
transition songs 111 – 112
transnational/ism 4, 11; collaboration 151,
152
trust 168, 171, 172; in business
relationships 163, 164
United Kingdom: lm tourism 227;
Indians’ perception of 235; London
56, 218 – 220, 229
urban settings 64, 69, 70, 72, 79
urbanism 4
value chains 4
verbal representation 21, 22
virtual space 30 – 31
visa: application process 126 – 127;
Slovenian 148–149
visual arts 23
visual culture 23 – 24
visual representation 21; see also
representation
Vivekananda 213, 214; The East and the
West 213
VOD platforms 101, 104, 111 – 112, 114,
138
War 8, 11, 42, 48, 185 – 186; Arctic
location 45, 46, 47; bike chase
48, 49; espionage 44 – 45; framing
45; ice sequence 45, 46, 47;
infrastructure 48; “making of”
video 48
water 65, 74, 75
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara 8, 42, 49,
237, 248; bull run sequence 52;
immersion 51; “making of” video
51; scuba diving sequence 51, 52;
sky diving sequence 52; Tomatina
52 – 53
Zurich Film Commission 119 – 120,
124 – 125
