Bollywood Films Shot in in Thailand (Land of Smiles)

Thailand is a fascinating and exotic country located in the heart of South-East Asia. Its one of the most sought after tourist destinations because of its beaches, pristine blue waters, adventure sports, temples & other picturesque and cultural treasures. It also turns out quite cheap to visit Thailand, no wonder that more than Hundreds of Indian movies & ad films have been shot here in Thailand.

Sushmita Sen holidaying in thailand…

A photo posted by Sushmita Sen (@sushmitasen47) on Jul 15, 2016 at 5:39am PDT

Sidharth Malhotra and Katrina Kaif shooting for ‘Baar Baar Dekho’ in Thailand (Krabi & Phuket). The movie is produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s Excel Entertainment, co-produced by Karan Johar

Bollywood Movies Shot in Thailand

Popular Bollywood movies shot in Thailand include Aap Ka Suroor, Game, Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, Partner, Rascals, Ready, Student Of The Year, Wanted.

The title song of Hrithik Roshan’s debut film ‘Kaho na pyaar hai’ was shot in the beautiful island of Krabi in Thailand.

Kaho naa pyaar hai song was shot in krabi, thailand

Watch the video of Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai song that was shot in Krabi, Thailand

Housefull 2 songs shot in Thailand

Here’s the video of the Do You Know Song from Housefull 2, which was shot in Thailand

Thailand’s new tax incentive for foreign big-budget films, documentaries and reality shows, shot in Thailand is expected to boost revenue from these shoots substantially. A tax rebate equal to 15% of every 30 million baht spent on the shoot locally will be offered on top of another 5% cash rebate for film-makers using local post-production services.

Thailand’s tourism department also intends to promote locations that were featured in successful Hollywood films, such as Koh Khao Phing Kan and Koh Tapu, both of which have been called “James Bond Island” after they were featured in the Man with the Golden Gun in 1974. Maya Beach on Koh Phi Phi Leh in the Andaman Sea was a location for The Beach (2000), while the Chinese comedy Lost in Thailand (2012) has turned Chiang Mai province into a popular destination for Chinese.

Chandni Chowk to China (and Thailand…)

A major chunk of the movie ‘Chandni Chowk to China’ was actually shot in Thailand, and not the entire movie was shot in China.

The scenes showing ‘Great Wall of China’ were of course shot in China, but other things such as Bangkok’s skyline stands in for Shanghai’s, the Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok was dressed up as the Chinese city’s airport. In one of the scenes, you see the sign for ‘Nok Air’ (budget domestic airline in Thailand), and you can also see several jellybean-colored Toyota Corolla taxicabs (seen on Bangkok roads) though care was taken to fit them with Chinese license plates. Several other scenes were shot on a set built in the Ratchaburi Province.

According to Benetone Films, who coordinated the entire film shoot in Thailand, a huge Chinese village set was created in Ratchaburi, 100km outside Bangkok, where the crew shot for 55 days. Most of the song-and-dance sequences, and a few action scenes, were filmed here as well. The shooting stint in China (mostly near the Great Wall) lasted 15 days.

Bollywood in Thailand

Several years back, Bollywood films were very popular here in Thailand, with several hit films being dubbed in Thai for the local audience. Everybody knew about Rajesh Khanna & Amitabh Bachchan.

However, faced with stiff competition from Hollywood, Korean & Chinese movies, gradually the Bollywood movies started dying. Gradually, the locals wanted to see more of martial arts (Jackie Chan is a big star here) and crime thrillers, compared to the melodrama & song sequences of Indian films.

So even though Hollywood & Chinese films were quite popular, Bollywood films was missing from the action.

But with the success of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, and with smart marketing strategies, fortunes seem to have changed for Indian films as the the magic of Mumbai’s cinema seem to have resurrected again in Thailand.

Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya in Thailand are emerging as hubs for filming Bollywood movies, which only makes the locals more aware of the Bollywood film industry. Suddenly, Indian film and Bhangra-pop music is becoming popular in clubs, bars and parties, with several youngsters also trying to learn Bollywood-style dancing.

Thailand Tourism

Tourism is a mojor industry in Thailand and its one of the best holiday destinations for all adventure junkies as it offers a wide range of adventure sports such as snorkeling, scuba diving, trekking, mountain climbing, river rafting, windsurfing, sailing and more.

Bangkok is one of the most visited cities in the world. Its also a great place to pamper yourself with exotic treatments, massages and therapies.

Many also love shopping in Thailand, as it offers a wide variety of products from clothes to artifacts to electronics to exotic fruits. If you’re in Bangkok for shopping, don’t miss out the CentralWorld Plaza in Bangkok. With almost five hundred stores and services, a retail floor area of 2,000,000 sq ft, the CentralWorld Plaza is the third largest shopping complex in the world, and a shoppers delight.

Capital: Bangkok
Currency: Baht
Calling code: +66
Official languages: Thai