Bollywood films shot overseas is not a new concept at all. Right from the sixties, you can see glimpses of Alpine mountains, Swiss meadows, hip European cities and even parts of Japan featured in Hindi movies. The United States of America, though, is a different story altogether. It wasn’t until the 1997 film Pardes that movie goers in India saw America on the big screen. If Pardes showed the contrast between Eastern and Western lifestyle and values, with heavily didactic examples of the ‘cultureless’ West, Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003) was all about glorifying the lifestyle of suburban NYC. In addition to that, it wasn’t a short sequence or a single song but an entire movie plot that was set in America. In a way, Kal Ho Naa Ho set the trend for that decade and multiple Bollywood movies up to 2011 had the USA featured prominently in the story. This show features several of those movies and the locations where they were shot as well as songs from those movies. The complete radio episode is the top of this post. Below are a few glimpses of these amazing vistas as featured on the Bollywood screen.
Kal Ho Naa Ho
Brooklyn Bridge as the backdrop and Shah Rukh Khan with his arms spread out is the most memorable image of Kal Ho Naa Ho. Other locations where the film was extensively shot are Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, Tribeca, Manhattan and Old Westbury Gardens, Long Island and Central Park.
English Vinglish
One of my favourite feminist movies about Shashi, an Indian homemaker who visits America and ends up enrolling for an English speaking course. In doing that, she not only discovers her skill for learning new things swiftly but also finds self worth and confidence that she couldn't due to her lack of proficiency in English. In the USA portions of the film you can spot downtown Manhattan, Hoboken train station and a New Jersey neighbourhood.
Dostana
The beaches of Miami were splashed all over the big screen when Dostana released in India in 2008. The film set in Miami, Florida and some of the areas spotted in the movie include Bayfront Park, South Beach Ocean Drive and Bel Harbour.
Anjaana Anjaani
This 2010 rom-com was shot extensively in different parts of the USA. The story follows two protagonists from George Washington Bridge in NYC to Las Vegas, en route featuring some great shots of the scenic deserts of Arizona, Nevada and Utah. The song ‘Hairat’ has some of the best visuals.
