Bollywood in Austria, Land of the Mountains, Land on the River

Bollywood movies shot in Austria, interesting locations in Austria for Tourists, and more. Its also a place where more and more Bollywood-stars head to detoxify.

The country offers similar scenic locations as its neighbor Switzerland, for a more reasonable budget. In recent years, several holiday-goers have started including Austria in their itinerary, especially the Bollywood celebs who like the privacy that the country offers. A big-budget Bollywood movie (Karan Johar’s upcoming film) is also going to be filmed in Vienna shortly.

For Salman Khan/Katrina Kaif starrer ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’, the crew shot in the mountains of Austria, near Innsbruck (capital of Austria’s western state of Tyrol and a popular destination for winter sports).

The shoot was scheduled during winter when temperatures were around minus 22 degrees celcius.

Bollywood Stars Holiday in Austrian Luxury Spa & Resort
Of late several Bollywood A-listers have been visiting Austria for holidays and choose to stay in the top health spa resorts so that they also take the opportunity to detox themselves.

So what attracts tourists to this country? Its the pulsating lifestyle of the cities, the mighty mountain summits, the far ranging fields, the crystal-clear waters, and more, that fascinates tourists to this part of Europe. The fact that its cheaper compared to Switzerland, makes it even more exciting for Bollywood filmmakers (and even for tourists on a holiday).

Movies Shot in Austria

Some of the popular hindi movies shot in Austria include: Ab Ke Baras, Albela, Chal Mere Bhai, Kuch Tum Kaho Kuch Hum Kahein, Kyaa Dil Ne Kahaa, Mast, Tera Jadoo Chal Gayaa, Tera Mera Saath Rahen, Yuvvraaj.

Surprisingly, none of them went on to become a blockbuster. Hopefully, it will change in the future.

Karan Johar’s ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ will be shot extensively in Vienna. Hope it goes on to become a hit so that Bollywood comes calling to Austria.

Swarovski Crystal Worlds, Wattens Tyrol Austria

Salzburg Cathedral, Salzburg, Austria

Hall In Tirol, Tyrol, Austria

Horse Fountain, Residenzplatz, Salzburg, Austria

SRK fans disrupt TV shoot in Austria

Shahrukh Khan has fans all over the world, and even in Austria. So when the TV serial ‘Pardes Mein Hai Mera Dil’ (starring Drashti Dhami) crew were shooting in Austria, his fans thought their favorite star Sharukh Kahn was there shooting a cameo for Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

And they all rushed to the sets, stalling the shoot, as they wanted to see SRK.

Arjun Bijalni later said, “We were shooting a serious scene together, suddenly in minutes we realised that a crowd of fans had surrounded us. Shah Rukh Khan is an extremely popular actor in Austria, his fans misinterpreted the shoot as the Ae Dil Hai Mushkil shoot and were waiting for hours just to get SRK’s glimpse. Our shoot was on hold for three hours. It took a lot of time and energy to convince them that there is confusion.”

Austria Wooing Bollywood

Austrian President Heinz Fischer, who loves Hindi films, wants Bollywood to come over and set shops in the country. He wants Bollywood to come and shoot in Austria more often.

As the multi-billion dollar industry called Bollywood searches for new foreign locations for shooting, Austrian president, who loves Hindi films, wants them to come and set shops here. Bollywood figured in the recent bilateral talks that was held between President Pratibha Patil and her Swiss counterpart Heinz Fischer.

The president (Heinz Fischer) knows a lot about India and has lot of interest in India, which figured during his discussion. The economic minister also likes Bollywood. Fischer wants Bollywood directors and producers to come to Vienna and Austria to shoot and make use of the beautiful locations here.

The Indian delegate told them that Bollywood keeps going to Switzerland and they are always looking for newer locations. And that if Austria gave attractive packages and concession to them, Indian film makers would definitely consider this beautiful place. And as expected, they are ready for it. They would definitely like to see Bollywood shooting more in this place than other European countries, considering the fact that it definitely impacts the local tourism (for the better).

The advantage that Austria has is that it offers similar locales as in Switzerland, but is comparatively cheaper. The Tirol region is offering financial incentives to Indian filmmakers and the Cine Tirol Film Commission are known to oblige even the most unusual requests from Indian filmmakers.

So I guess we are definitely going to see a lot more of Austria in Bollywood films.

65-year old tourist prevents Bus crash in Austrian Alps

“A hair’s breadth from catastrophe”, local police say, laud the passenger’s quick reflexes after driver collapses in Austrian Alps.

A 65-year old French tourist is hailed as a hero for saving a bus full of fellow passengers from “catastrophe”, after the driver passed out.

The bus was on a winding road in the Austrian Alps near Schwaz when the 76-year-old driver collapsed, the BBC reports.

The 65-year-old man, who was sitting near the front, quickly jumped from his seat and managed to hit the brakes at the last second.

The bus slammed into a wooden barrier, but was stopped from hurtling down a slope and over a 328-foot cliff.

Local police praised the tourist’s quick reflexes and said “We were a hair’s breadth from catastrophe”. He calls it “incredible luck” the man managed to stop the bus.

Also Read: Cruise ship almost crashes into a beach-facing home.

Austria Tourism

Austria, officially known as the ‘Republic of Austria’, is a landlocked country in Central Europe.

Capital: Vienna
Dialing code: 43
Currency: Euro
Official language: German Language

External Links:
Austria.info: Official website of the Austrian Tourist Office