Bollywood in America
They may not even have a passport or American visa but everyone from a farmer in an Indian village to a street urchin in Mumbai will have visited Times Square, Fifth Avenue and the skyscrapers of New York – thanks to all the Bollywood movies which are being shot in the US!
Indeed, location shooting in America seems to be one of the hottest trends in Indian cinema, and superstars like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukerjee, Katrina Kaif and Preity zinta have all danced their way through the streets of Manhattan. Right from ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ to the latest ‘English Vinglesh’, New York City has become almost a character in all these Bollywood movies. ‘Dostana’ and ‘Kites’ were shot in Miami, Las Vegas and New Mexico, and the upcoming ‘Dhoom 3’ starring Aamir Khan and Aishwariya Rai has been shot in Chicago.
Manhattan shines in ‘English Vinglish’
While Indian filmmakers have gone location shooting everywhere, the US, especially New York, remains hugely popular because America embodies so many immigrant dreams, high energy and the global youth culture. There is such a large NRI presence in the States that Indian filmgoers connect with the stories set in American cities.
So what goes into pulling together a movie set in the US? I spoke to several producers, casting folks and handlers to see how magic is created on the big screen. New York may not be Hollywood but making films is big business here. According to the NY Mayor Bloomberg’s office, the film, television, commercial and music video industry supports employment for 100,000 New Yorkers and contributes $5 billion to the City’s economy annually.
The first movie footage was shot in New York back in 1896 but the first modern movie to be shot in New York was the Hollywood film ‘On the Waterfront’ starring Marlon Brando, which went on to win 8 Oscars in 1954. And of course, who can forget ‘The Seven Year Itch’ in which Marilyn Monroe stands on Lexington Avenue with her white dress billowing over a subway grate? Over the years New York City in cinema has gained an avid fan following for its frenetic colors, its people and its charisma.
Filmmakers from India have made a beeline for America, utilizing the services of Indian-American line producers. One of the early players is Tirlok Malik, a New York Emmy Award nominated filmmaker. He made a pioneering film on the Indian American experiences, ‘Lonely in America’ which was shown in 74 countries and 37 film festivals.
“I am a New Yorker and I make most of my movies here,” says Malik, who recently made the film ‘Khushiyaan’ and is a line producer for movies made by Bollywood producers in the US. “I find New York is a great city to film. It’s very easy to shoot here because the City and Mayor’s office gives you lot of support.”
His Apple Productions has collaborated with many filmmakers from India as a line producer on films starring Rajnikant, Sanjay Dutt, Kamal Hasan, Mamoothy, Sunny Deol, and Kangana Ranaut. Some of the films include ‘Mehbooba’ starring Sanjay Dutt and Manisha Koirala, ‘Vettayadu Villayadu’ starring Kamal Hasan, ‘Sivaji – the Boss’ with Rajnikanth and ‘I love New Year’ with Sunny Deol and Kangana Ranaut. There are so many Bollywood fans in New York and the desi grapevine is so strong that crowd management can become a problem. Recalls Malik, “Once we were shooting a song with Raveena Tandon on Park Avenue. A taxi driver saw us and informed all the taxi drivers. They all turned up and so we had to stop the shooting!”
The appetite for America has grown so much that Prashant Shah of Bollywood Hollywood Productions has worked on over 17 pictures with Indian filmmakers. He estimates that he has brought in over 95,000 jobs to America, and indeed he was recognized in 2010 by the US Congress with the Producer of the Year Award for this accomplishment. The last film he line-produced in New York was SRK’s ‘Ra One’ with a budget of $28 million. He’s done 3 films for Yash Raj Films and another five for Shah Rukh Khan: “Our industry works mainly on relationships and the trust factor,” he says.
Bollywood in America – The life of a line producer
Being a line producer for a foreign production is not a piece of cake – everything from visas to hotel rooms to locations to sets have to be organized. Shah recalls the hard time he had when shooting ‘Kurbaan’, starring Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor, in the US. Since it had a terrorism theme, the film had been refused shooting permission in London, New York City, Australia and Los Angeles. Finally with the entire crew sitting in the US, Shah managed to get permission to shoot in Philadelphia Exults Shah, “We found the solution and made the film!”
Shah also has fond memories of working with the late legend Dev Anand on ‘Love in Times Square’. Shooting in Times Square was imperative to the story but since 9/11 had occurred just a month earlier, it was hard to get permission, especially on New Year’s Eve for the ball drop. Finally Shah managed to get permission for a few hours. He recalls, “It was minus 2 degree weather but Dev Saab said, ‘I may be 70 but I have the energy of a six-year-old!’ He stood with me for 10 hours in the freezing cold and we got what we wanted!”
Emptying Times Square
‘Ta Ra Rum Pum’, starring Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerjee, was another film where the director had an unusual request – “I want Times Square emptied out!” This seemed an impossible task but Shah recalls by working with the authorities and taking control of the traffic lights, a full five minutes were orchestrated without a single human or vehicle in the 7 blocks of Time Square – making it possible to shoot the ‘Hey Shona’ song in a deserted, surreal Times Square.
All of us have heard tales of the bad behavior of Salman Khan but Shah shares a tale which shows his work ethic. For the shooting of ‘Jaaneman’ South Street Seaport was available only at 6 am and Shah had pleaded with Salman to be on time so they didn’t miss the slot. When Shah reached the location at 5.15 am he was surprised to find Salman’s security guard there. Just then Salman came out of the van! Rather than be late, he hadn’t stayed in the hotel at all and slept all night in the van right outside the location spot. He said triumphantly, “I was here before you!”
The Magic of SRK
The shooting of ‘My Name is Khan’ which took place over 70 days in Los Angeles and San Francisco showed the star power of Shah Rukh Khan. ” I’m not exaggerating, but in the morning we’d see 3-4 fans, and then text messages would go out and by afternoon 10-15,000 people would show up and we’d have to get cops to control the crowds!” says Shah. On the UCLA campus where some scenes were shot, 20,000 fans turned up and to get 50 cops would have busted the budget. Shah bribed the crowds with a promise that orderly conduct and no flash or camera phone shots would get them a visit from SRK.
Even the cops were amazed at the beautifully controlled crowds and asked Shah, “What did you say to them in Hindu? Are you some kind of mafia guy?” The secret weapon of course was SRK, who did stop by and meet the fans to thank them for being so co-operative.
Sajid Nadiadwala’s ‘Kambakht Ishq’ which stars Kareena Kapoor, Akshay Kumar and Sylvester Stallone was shot in Los Angeles. Sylvester Stallone surprised Shah by driving himself to the sets. Asked if he’d like anything special for lunch, he asked for ‘good fresh Indian food.’ Recalls Shah, “I arranged for an actual tandoor for the first time on the sets of Paramount Studios, with fresh naan, kababs and chicken tikka. Stallone actually asked to take a tray of it home!”
Shah also was the line producer for Rakesh Roshan’s ‘Kites’ which was shot in New Mexico and Las Vegas with Hrithik Roshan and the Mexican actress Barbara Mori. While it is forbidden to shoot in casinos, Shah managed to do it for ‘Kites’ with the contacts he had made.
There are so many Bollywood films being shot in the US that Shah organizes just about everything for them from immigration to cargo, Hollywood costume designers, digital work and stunt teams. He even has a catering truck which provides everything from Thai to Chinese to Italian on location, be it Las Vegas or California.
“All the stars are very health conscious – none of them eat anything that is deep fried,” says Shah. “When they are shooting, it’s always grilled foods and salads, a bowl of chola or daal for protein. I’ve never seen SRK eat roti or rice.”
Desi Crowds Take Over Grand Central!
Anadil Hossain of Dillwood Inc. has line produced many of the films which have been shot in New York and India, including ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’, ‘Swades’, and Kabhi Alvida Na Khena’ (KANK) and is currently working on Mira Nair’s ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist.’
Some years back she had shared with me the hassles of shooting in public spaces with big stars – Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan at Grand Central for ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’. She had warned the Grand Central police about security but they had scoffed, “Yeah, whatever, we’ve had Tom Cruise here – I’m sure we can handle it!” Literally hundreds of desis turned up and the shoot could not be finished. Says Hossain, “All it probably took is one call: ‘Rani and Shah Rukh are in Grand Central shooting.’ We couldn’t technically stop anyone from coming since it was a public space but it no longer looked like the essential Grand Central since it was swamped with desis – it ended up looking like Little India!”
Rita Powers is another important player in the Bollywood game in the Big Apple. She has been the casting director for the films of all the three top production houses – Yash Chopra, Karan Johar and Nadiadwalla – and has also worked with the much acclaimed Gauri Shinde on ‘English Vinglish’. She helped give the movie its New York punch by finding the right actors for the roles of students and teacher. “I couldn’t have done it without you!” Shinde told her and even gave her first credit for her casting work. Powers just finished doing casting work for ‘Dhoom 3’ which is being shot in Chicago.
For all those hankering to work on a Bollywood film, Powers might be the person to get to know – she is constantly on the lookout for Indian actors in America. So do hopefuls with Bollywood dreams approach her? “Pretty much!” she laughs – “They usually do. I do have the most experience in the US. Bollywood is like my family to me!”
(C) Lavina Melwani
( This article first appeared in Gulf News )
