Bollywood Movies Filmed in Victoria
Bollywood romantic thriller ‘Rab Rakha’ (starring Surveen Chawla and Jimmy Shergill) was shot at Bastion Square in Victoria. England-born Director Bal Deo says he shot the movie scenes in Victoria because “we needed a really romantic backdrop” and “there’s a lot less red tape.”
Shergill said, “It’s beautiful here. I’ve been coming to Canada for some time, once or twice a year, and I have friends who say ‘You must go to Victoria,’ but I never had the time, so fortunately we were filming over here.” Purushottam Kashid, Shergill’s hairstylist who accompanies him to locations worldwide, described Victoria as a “heavenly place”.
The good thing about filming in Victoria is that unlike other locations, you don’t have thousands of people gathering to watch the proceedings, so the crew can focus better on the shoot.
Nonetheless, you still had the die-hard Bollywood fans on the sets. One fan was so excited over getting a photo taken with Shergill, she texted it to her family in India, who texted her back pointing out she was wearing jeans. “She went home and got dressed traditionally and had the picture taken again to please her family,” said a crew.
The crew also shot scenes at other places in British Columbia such as the causeway, Osoyoos, Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam, Vancouver Art Gallery, Stanley Park and a Sikh temple in Richmond.
More About Victoria
Because of the big Punjabi community in Vancouver & Victoria, several Punjabi Films also get filmed here. Victoria locations that are quite popular for filming include Butchart Gardens, Fisgard Lighthouse and the Inner Harbour, complete with a horse-drawn carriage ride.
Visitors from India (especially Punjab) can hope for a pleasant surprise when they’re here. You could be out for sight-seeing and you could easily bump into a film-shoot.
The place offers good variety and is absolutely exquisite – the oceanscape, the mountains, lovely old houses and downtown with tons of character.
Victoria is not very far from Vancouver. Flights take about 35 minute and with very frequent service, it is easy to make a day trip between Vancouver and Victoria.
