Bollywood Tourism: Inspired by film stars, followers are travelling the world

Palat…Palat…Palat! If you get this — you’ve formally watched DDLJ an unhealthy variety of occasions. (Like the remainder of us). Thirty years on, iconic Saanen bridge in Switzerland nonetheless pulls vacationers in droves, incomes the nickname Palat Bridge.

Bollywood tourism possibly a micro development within the realm of movie tourism nevertheless it has seen a gentle rise in demand over time. With location hunters scouring the world for brand new, thrilling locations, the footfall for this model of tourism now spans Croatia (Fan), Greece (Chalte Chalte, Bang Bang!), Turkey (Ek Tha Tiger, Dil Dhadakne Do), the US (Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, Kal Ho Na Ho), Scotland (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Bar Bar Dekho), Australia (Dil Chahta Hai, Salam Namaste), Spain (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara)…

The final, starring Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif, Abhay Deol, Farhan Akhtar and Kalki Koechlin, reportedly boosted tourism in Spain with teams of mates, bachelor and bachelorette social gathering gangs making a beeline for it, exploring journey sports activities and festivals like La Tomatina in smaller cities corresponding to Bunol. Certain scenes, such because the one the place the solid goes deep sea diving in Costa Brava, the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona, the Bull Festival in Pamplona proceed to seize the movie-going audiences consideration and in a manner act like brochures for the vacation spot.

Taking benefit of this, many governments have began luring movie crews with incentives like refundable tax credit score. Among them is Singapore, the place motion pictures like Krish 3, Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya and Dear Zindagi have been shot. Markus Tan, regional director, India, Middle East, South Asia, and Africa (IMESA) – Singapore Tourism says, “Back within the Sixties, Bollywood’s Singapore, starring the ever-charming Shammi Kapoor, first introduced the town’s vibrant attract to the massive display. The Kannada basic Singaporenalli Raja Kulla, launched within the late Seventies, carried that fascination ahead. Since then, the cinematic connection between India and Singapore has solely grown stronger.” Productions over time have launched travellers to not simply to One Fullerton Promenade, Universal Studios but additionally to Henderson Waves, Victoria Theatre, the National Gallery, and Anderson Bridge.

“Singapore is continually evolving, providing one thing new every time the digital camera rolls. To maintain this inventive alternate thriving, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) launched the S$10 million Singapore On-screen Fund in 2023. The initiative helps world studios and storytellers in bringing their tasks to life right here. It additionally opens doorways for collaboration between native and worldwide expertise,” says Markus, including that Singapore could also be compact, nevertheless it’s bursting with prospects; a dynamic mix of futuristic cityscapes, architectural wonders, and cultural range, all inside a seamless and supportive manufacturing ecosystem. With world-class infrastructure, cutting-edge know-how and environment friendly logistics, the town affords every part a filmmaker wants to inform tales that journey.

But at first, there was Switzerland. Film maker Yash Chopra introduced this scenic panorama — with its rolling hills, picket chalets, and snow lined peaks — to Indian screens and shortly Switzerland grew to become an aspirational vacation and honeymoon spot. His movies like Chandni, Darr, Dil Toh Pagal Hai amongst others had components of it or songs shot right here. There is a bronze statue of the filmmaker in Interlaken, Jungfrau Railway has a practice named after him, and Lake Lauenen is known as Lake Chopra by many.

According to tour specialists and journey guides, it was DDLJ — directed by Aditya Chopra (Yash Chopra’s son) that really began the development of Bollywood tourism. Youngsters dreamt of setting off on a Euro journey and assembly the Raj/ Simran of their lives, or simply dancing and wandering alongside the cobblestoned streets. Over 300 movies have been shot right here, and these additionally comprise these in regional languages like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Bengali.

Sathya Narayanan, who began Ruci AG in Saanen, an organization that owns an ice cream manufacturing unit, eating places, vacation spot administration, and journey firm, says that friends who would come to his restaurant began asking about Bollywood movie places across the space. That led him to start out Bollywood excursions in 2018. “While places for Chandni, Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, Dhadkan, Hero No 1, Bachna Ae Haseeno, are on the tour checklist, folks primarily ask for DDLJ excursions. We take them to Gstaad the place the horse carriage scenes from a tune had been shot, Luzern, Interlaken, Lauenen, to Saanen church, practice station, and bridge. We contain our shoppers, recreate scenes from the film with them, click on round 300 images; they’re the celebs of the tour,” says Sathya, including that in excursions many have additionally proposed to their important different at these places. There are two journeys: an specific tour spanning 90 minutes and a full tour that takes three hours.

Before establishing the tour and finalising the itinerary, Sathya and his group spent 5 months watching motion pictures and discovering places. And it’s not simply Indians, however film lovers from throughout together with the US, the UK, Bangladesh, Pakistan, West Asia, Australia and so on, who join these excursions. Loads of shoppers, Sathya says, come from Zurich and different components of Switzerland as nicely.

Ipsita Barua, a former resident of Zurich, did a DDLJ location go to with Erwin Tours of Switzerland in 2023. She was accompanied by her mother and father. Her father, she says, is a big film buff. But 28 years after the discharge of the film then, what was it that drew her to the tour? “I had at all times fantasised about visiting places of iconic Bollywood motion pictures,” she says including that through the time of DDLJ’s launch in 1995, she met her associate in class. Called the Raj and Simran of their college, they’re now married to one another. But sadly her “Raj” couldn’t be a part of her for the journey, “so there have been no flowy chiffon saris or working after missed trains,” she laughs. She additionally visited the lodge in Interlaken that was within the film Sangam, and Gruyere and Castle Hunegg, the place a tune from Simmba was picturised.

Erwin Fässler, who began Erwin Tours in 2012 in Switzerland says he began trying to find these places manner again in 2008. A Shah Rukh Khan fan, he watches Bollywood motion pictures on a German cable channel each Friday night time. He affords six completely different Bollywood excursions — beginning in numerous components of the nation with length various between 9 hours to 2 days — and he personally drives his friends in his Range Rover. The primary tour is the DDLJ Tour, he says, adopted by the King of Romance excursions — a homage to Yash Chopra and Yash Raj movies. Locations for motion pictures like Sangam, An Evening in Paris, Hum Aapke Dil Main Rehte Hai, Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge, Yaraana and so on are additionally lined by him.

Every time Erwin watches a film filmed in his nation, he takes a number of screenshots and units out searching for these precise spots. But regardless of all of the completely different motion pictures, he selected to stay to Bollywood as he has a private reference to India. “I lived there for a yr within the Nineteen Eighties,” he says. Erwin hopes that sometime the Badshah of Bollywood will be a part of his tour.

Erwin notices attention-grabbing patterns throughout these journeys. “Most of my shoppers are between the ages of 30 and 50. A pair celebrated their thirtieth wedding ceremony anniversary with us and the primary film they watched after marriage was DDLJ. There is the technology that was of their 20s and fell in love the primary time they watched the movie. Now they’ve grownup children and include them. Then there are kids who grew up with their mother and father watching these motion pictures and now need to expertise the spots.”

Sathya says that Bollywood excursions have been instrumental in getting folks to discover lesser identified locations. It has additionally labored as a bonding expertise the place mother and father introduce their kids to their favorite motion pictures. He provides amused, “And typically there are children who watch their mother and father embarrassing themselves doing scenes from the films, like working behind an imaginary practice.”