British tourism welcomes Bollywood

British Bollywood: 55,000 copies of the map being distributed

LONDON, England -- A map showing key Bollywood film locations in Britain is hoping to tempt Indian movie fans to the UK.

The British Tourist Authority has produced a new "Bollywood Movie Map" to guide Indian tourists to the exact locations where their favourite movies have been made.

Indian filmmakers in recent times have developed a taste for British castles and stately homes in England, Scotland and Wales as exotic location backdrops for movie sets.

A spokesman for the British Tourist Authority said: "A few years ago we released a map of key movie sites in Britain for a western audience and that was very successful."

"So we believed another map of Bollywood locations could be as successful because many Indian tourists would want to know where scenes were shot," he said.

The Authority is distributing 55,000 copies in India and the Middle East.

Britain is now competing with Switzerland and New Zealand as one of the most popular foreign locations for Bollywood films -- India's answer to Hollywood.

The British Film Commission sent a team to India's movie capital Bombay to tempt Bollywood -- the huge Hindi movie industry that reels out some 150 films a year.

Up to 15 Bollywood films a year are now being made in Britain.

Many of the locations are traditional ones like Big Ben and Buckingham Palace in London, Caernarfon Castle in Wales and Edinburgh's Golden Mile and Princes Street.

Indeed, many of the sites are in Scotland including Linlithgow Palace, Culzean Castle, Ayrshire, Edinburgh's zoo and airport and Glasgow's botanic gardens.

Among the more unusual locations are McEwen's department store in Perth, Scotland, the Megabowl in Feltham, southern England, and Luton airport, near London.

'Feels like home'

On the movie map, Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Karisma Kapoor sang the praises of British backdrops.

"Great Scot! The green pastures, the serene lakes and the magic in the summer sky are to die for," said Shah Rukh Khan.

Karisma Kapoor, sporting a Union Jack T-shirt, said: "Having spent most of my holidays in London, I know this favourite city of mine as well as Mumbai (Bombay)."

Producer and director Yash Chopra said: "When I come to England, I feel as if I am in my second home."

Indian sagas sell 800 million cinema tickets annually and their international appeal is spreading amid Indian expatriates.

Movie-makers like Shekhar Kapur, who directed the much-acclaimed Elizabeth in Hollywood, and the Oscar nominations won by Sixth Sense, directed by Indian-born Manoj "Night" Shyamalan, have proved to be great inspirations.

These directors, by becoming the first big successes in mainstream Hollywood cinema, have shown that Indians have graduated from niche films.

Indian film exports are expected to touch 147 billion Indian rupees ($3.16 billion) by 2005 from around 15.5 billion rupees.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Bollywood movie map
British Tourist Authority
British Film Commission
Indian Cinema

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