Sushant Singh Rajput - Kai Po Che! - Page 34

Lights,camera,Gujarat!

B-Town filmmakers are eyeing Gujarat as one of the hottest destinations for their film shoots

TANVI TRIVEDI


Gujarat is now emerging as a favourite stopover for Bollywood,as a slew of big names in BTown are arriving in picturesque locations in Gujarat to shoot their films.In the past,only a few scenes from films were shot in Gujarat Lagaan was shot at Mandvi Palace in Kutch,Sanjay Leela Bhansalis blockbuster Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam was shot at Orchard Palace of Gondal and Vijay Vilas Palace,Mandvi,Border and Refugee were shot in Rann of Kutch,Sooryavansham at Balaram Palace.Today entire films are being shot in the state.
Abhishek Kapoors Kaipo Che was shot in Vadnagar and Ahmedabad,Tigmanshu Dhulias Saheb Biwi aur Gangster and its sequel were shot at Devgadh Baria Palace near Vadodara,Vishal Bhardwajs Matru ki Bijlee Ka Mandola with Imran Khan and Anushka Sharma was shot at the Wankaner Palace,and Nikhil Dwivedis Captain was shot in Ahmedabad.Shortcut Romeo that stars Neil Nitin Mukesh,Puja Gupta,will be filmed at Dhordo in Kutch,and Surendranagar,while plans to shoot more films in the state are underway.
Reportedly Rakesh Roshans Krrish 2,Sunny Deols Ghayal Returns and Arbaaz Khans Dabangg 2 are also lining up for Gujarat shoots.Krrish 3 will be shot in the Rann of Kutch,while Ghayal Returns might head to MS University for an action sequence.Big B is so impressed with the locations in Gujarat,that hes producing a Gujarati film Saptapadi (starring Swaroop Sampat and Manav Gohil) which will be shot in Saputara.Sanjay Dutts Sher based on the life of Gujarati gangster Sarman Munja will be shot in Porbandar.
Filmmaker Abhishek Kapoor says,I am not promoting tourism in Gujarat,but the state is very rich historically.There are enough stories hidden somewhere in the remote areas of Gujarat. Says actor Sanjay Dutt,The Gujarati backdrop will help give my film (Sher) a different look.
The Gujarat government is keen on showcasing Gujarat in Bollywood films to give tourism a leg up.Kirti Thakar,Manager,Fairs and Festivals,Gujarat Tourism credits Amitabh Bachchan and the tourism campaign for Bollywood filmmakers current interest in the state.He says,Mr Bachchan used to write about the picturesque locations of Gujarat on his blog which made his Bollywood filmmaker friends to notice them.Plus,the government has extended full support to filmmakers to showcase the state in their films and this year,a stall was setup at the Cannes Film Festival where we interacted with many international filmmakersl.Gujarat has many heritage sites and can become interesting backdrops for films. Riteish Deshmukh who is acting in Grand Masti,being shot at Laxmi Vilas Palace,says,I think the Laxmi Vilas Palace is an amazing heritage site for a films backdrop.
So with Bollywood making a beeline for the state,Gujarat is well on its way to becoming a hotspot.