London, capital of the UK and one of the most visited cities in the world, attracts businesses, tourists as well as filmmakers.
Its not just the elite Indians who get to travel to London nowadays. Thanks to a better disposable incomes, Indians have started enjoying traveling abroad; there are many who travel to London through work (several IT companies work for major UK based companies), and last but not the least, London also happens to be a favorite with Bollywood.
Indians (and most Asians) love London – Buckingham Palace, The Tower, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Albert and Victoria Hall, the changing of the guard, Madame Tussauds, Lords Cricket Ground, Wimbledon stadium, the theaters, the museums, the open air bus, the fish and chips!
Bollywood’s London Connection
UK has a big diaspora of Indians (Pakistanis and Bangladeshis), most of them live in London, and they all love Bollywood (and also Cricket). There are several cinema halls that run the latest Bollywood movies.
- Countless Bollywood films have been shot here in London. London landmarks such as Thames river, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, Natural History Museum, The Royal Albert Hall, Millennium Dome, Harrods, London Eye can be seen as backdrops in several scenes/songs.
- A decade back, only big names like Yash Chopra or Subhash Ghai could film in London (“Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge”, “Pardes”). But today many more banners come to London to shoot their films. Filming of Bollywood movies in London brings more visitors, revenue and business to the city. No wonder, Indian filmmakers get top priority in terms of clearances.
- Bollywood top actress Katrina Kaif worked as a professional model in London for a couple of years, and appeared regularly at London Fashion Week. At one such fashion show Katrina caught the attention of London-based filmmaker Kaizad Gustad, who cast him in the movie ‘Boom’ (the movie also starred Amitabh Bachchan)
- Big Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan have openly acknowledged their love for United Kingdom, and its not only because of its beautiful locales, but because of the conducive business environment.
- Several star kids have studied in London. Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan is studying in London (at the prestigious Seven Oaks school in London). Shahrukh Khan has a house in London (he bough tone so that he could be closer to his son).
- Several Bollywood celebs also go to London for medical treatment. Be it several back or knee surgery, London is where the prefer to go.
Filming in London
London is home to experienced and talented crew and has world class studios, locations and facilities for filming. they have the experience to support large-scale shoots.
Another attraction is the Tax Incentive that London offers. A Bollywood production can qualify as a British film (and get rebates) if it satisfies few criteria.
- A specific percentage of costs must be spent on filming activities (pre-production, principal photography and post production) within the UK (its around 25 per cent).
- The movie should depict British culture, i.e. have some characters that are depicted as British in the film.
- Te The movie should be commercially shown in cinemas.
A film producer can claim up to 20 per cent of the production costs if it meets these requirements – definitely an attractive proposition.
Tower Bridge (London, UK)
Movies Filmed at Tower Bridge (London, UK)…
London tower bridge is a great tourist attraction spot, especially its opening & closing; thousands of tourists come to see this occasion every year. It has now become an iconic symbol of London.
The popular Bollywood film ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’ (SRK & Kajol) had a few scenes that were shot around the Tower Bridge, especially the scene where Amrish Puri is walking towards his shop.
This Bridge was built across the river Thames in the year 1886 to 1894, and in 1894 it was opened for public. It is near to the Tower of London, from which it takes its name.
London tower bridge – Opening & closing
London tower bridge now Has Glass Walkway
Hungerford Bridge (Golden Jubilee Bridges), London
The Hungerford Bridge is a steel truss railway bridge that crosses the River Thames in London. Its also known as the Charing Cross Bridge and is flanked by two more recent, cable-stayed, pedestrian bridges that share the railway bridge’s foundation piers, and which are named the Golden Jubilee Bridges.
Here are a few Bollywood movies that have been filmed at the Hungerford Bridge.
In the movie ‘Housefull’, the bridge shown before Lara wakes up after Akshay’s arrival is Hungerford Bridge.
In the movie ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’, the song ‘Challa’ has scenes that has been filmed at this location.
Enjoy the ‘Challa’ song (sung by Rabbi Shergill)
Here’s another video that shows the beauty of the Hungerford Bridge and its surrounding areas.
Lambeth Bridge (London, England)
Lambeth Bridge (London, England): Read more about this tourist attraction, and know which movies were filmed at this location.
Bollywood Movies Filmed at this Location:
The movie ‘Ra.One’ starring Shahrukh Khan had a scene where SRK is chasing Lucifer (the boy) on bike.
During the filming of the scene of this superhero film, a helicopter was used to film the scene on Lambeth Bridge.
Lambeth Bridge is a road traffic and footbridge crossing the River Thames in an east-west direction in central London, the river flows north at the crossing point. Downstream, the next bridge is Westminster Bridge; upstream the next is Vauxhall Bridge.
London Tourism
London, England’s capital, is situated on the River Thames. Its a young, vibrant city but at the same time also boasts of its history that dates back to Roman times (even before Charles Dickens and Shakespeare).
And that is where the magic of London lies. London is home to over 200 galleries, 300 museums and hundreds of events happen in London every day, so you’ll surely have plenty to choose from.
The city has a universal appeal, which draws hordes of tourists from around the world.
London is also a global business center, an international hub for business and finance and one of the most expensive cities in the world. In fact, your expenses could be higher on public holidays and special events (like Wimbledon, major sports event, or New Year celebration).
Major tourist attractions in London, UK:
Here are some of the popular ones:
- Buckingham Palace: People like seeing the changing of the Guard.
- British Museum: It exhibits the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles and antiquities from India, Egypt, Rome, etc.
- Westminster Abbey: Almost every English queen or king has been crowned here.
- Tower of London: In the medieval period, it was the royal residence. Years later, it was turned into a prison and became the site for executions.
- London Eye: Get a bird-eye view of London from the world’s largest observation wheel. The wheel takes half an hour minutes to make one complete revolution.
- Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre: It is beautifully reproduced replica of the original theater.
- Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms: Experience former prime Minister of Great Britain Mr. Winston Churchill’s life with pictures, documents and artifacts.
- Madame Tussauds: Famous wax museum, where you will find wax statues of various famous people around the world. There’s a Bollywood section too.
- Sherlock Holmes Museum: Home to the famous character from the books of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
- West End and Piccadilly Circus: Popular theater and entertainment zone.
- Covent Garden: visitors can get here all sorts of boutique shops, beautiful fruit, vegetable and garden market.
Night life in London
Head to one of the 5000-plus pubs and bars in London at night. Want something classy? Head to a live performance by The London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia, London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, or the English national opera show.
Watch: London (United Kingdom) Vacation Travel Guide
