• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • REVIEWS
    • TRAILERS
  • BUSINESS
  • CELEBRITIES
  • HOLLYWOOD
  • REGIONAL
  • TV
  • MUSIC
  • TOP LISTS

Bollywood Presents

Exotic locations where popular Bollywood movies were shot

You are here: Home / Featured / These Hollywood Movies Were Filmed In India

These Hollywood Movies Were Filmed In India

March 8, 2017 by Suresh Bist

hollywood film business

Take a look at these Hollywood Movies that were actually shot In India, includes some blockbuster movies.

Although Bollywood is growing by the day and the popularity of our stars such as Shahrukh is increasing across continents, India is still in awe of Hollywood (actually it applies to other countries as well). Its indeed a big deal when the Hollywood biggies decide to shoot their films outside the US.

Several Hollywood films have been shot in India in the last few months or so. Most of them happen to be medium-budget movies (not the blockbusters) though. The recently released Lion (featuring Dev Patel) was shot in Kolkata and in Indore.


Watch: Lion Official Trailer

Viceroy’s House, starring Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson and Huma Qureshi, was shot in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.


Watch: Viceroy’s House Official Trailer

Love Sonia, based on human trafficking (stars Freida Pinto and Richa Chadha) has several scenes that were shot in Mumbai. Ali Fazel and Judi Dench starrer Victoria and Abdul, has been shot in Delhi and Agra. The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Wardrobe, will be shot in Jodhpur. Another Hollywood film, Hotel Mumbai, will be shot in Mumbai.

In the past, there have been few more Hollywood movies that were filmed in India. Here we take a look at the Hollywood movies where the directors have tried to put India on the global map.

Some of these movies make you proud, some come as a surprise (not publicly known fact), and for some movies you just wish they had shown the country in a better light (you’ll feel that way if you’re an Indian, although reality hurts).

Here are Hollywood films that were shot in India, some of these may come as a surprise to you.

The Man Who Knew Infinity

Starring Dev Patel, the movie had scenes that were shot in Chennai, India.

Million Dollar Arm

The movie is about a sports agent trying to get talented Indian cricket players to play Major League Baseball in the US. It was shot in Mumbai (Jamboree Maidan), Lucknow (Lucknow university campus) and the Taj Mahal, Agra .

Jobs

Based on the founder of Apple ‘Steve Jobs’, the movie had scenes that were filmed in India – Hauz khas complex & Safdarjung Tomb, Delhi.

Zero Dark Thirty

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow (onky woman to win the Oscar Award), its about hunting down Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan. However, because the crew did not get permission to shoot there, the movie was shot in Chandigarh (Manimajra fort, Punjab Engineering College premises in Sector 12, DAV College canteen in Sector 10).


Manimajra in Chandigarh, India shown as Abbottabad in Pakistan
Manimajra in Chandigarh, India shown as Abbottabad in Pakistan in the movie Zero Dark Thirty

Life of Pi

Oscar award winning film Life of Pi (Directed by Ang Lee) was partly filmed in Pondicherry and in Munnar (Kerala) in India. Pondicherry (now known as Puducherry) was a former french colony, so you can see the blending of French and Indian cultures here. In the movie, the Botanical Gardens was transformed into Pi’s family’s zoo. You can even see the Pondicherry pier, and the town’s idyllic French Quarter serves as the backdrop for several sequences in the film. You can even see the green tea plantations of Munnar in some scenes.


Life of Pie, old pondicherry pier
Old Pondicherry pier in one of the scenes in Life of Pie

The Dark Knight Rises

Christopher Nolan loved Rajasthan and its beautiful locations when he was in India. For ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, the jail escape scene of Batman was shot at the Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, Chand Baori at Abhaneri.


Dark knight Rises, jail escape scene shot at mehrangarh fort in jodhpur


Dark knight Rises, jail escape scene shot at mehrangarh fort in jodhpur
The jail escape scene in the movie Dark knight Rises was shot at mehrangarh fort in jodhpur

Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol

The climax scenes were shot in the by-lanes of Bora Bazaar, Mumbai. A couple of scenes were also shot in the Sun TV office, Bengaluru. There was a lot of hype about Anil Kapoor’s role in the movie, which turned out be minuscule in the end.

Slumdog Millionaire

Oscar award winning movie Slumdog Millionaire (directed by Danny Boyle) showed the slums of Mumbai, railway stations, and many more places (Dharavi, CST station & Taj Mahal Agra). Indians of-course didn’t like the poor depiction of India and Indians.

A Mighty Heart

Based on Daniel Pearl (the Wall Street Journal journalist who was kidnapped and killed by Al Qaida), the crew didn’t get permission to shoot in Karachi, Pakistan. Hence the filmmakers decided to shoot in Pune (Sindh society) and Mumbai (Gateway of India & Churchgate station). Angelina Jolie played the role of the widow, Martane Pearl (the movie is an adaptation of her book).

The Bourne Supremacy

‘The Bourne Supremacy’ (The second of the Bourne series – 2004) had a few scenes that were shot in Goa. You get to see a high-speed chase (featuring Matt Damon) through the lanes of a Goan town.

Eat Pray Love

Julia Roberts played the lead in this movie, which was partly shot in India, at the Ashram Hari Mandir in Pataudi, Haryana.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Starring Judie Dench, Maggie Smith and Dev Patel, the movie was shot in Jaipur (Railway station, Airport, Castle Kanota) and Udaipur (Ravla Khempur & Taj Lake palace) in Rajasthan. The sequel to the movie, titled “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” also has sequences that have been filmed in India, but captures mostly the sights, sounds, smells and traffic, that are part of the country’s culture.

The Myth

Starring Jackie Chan & Mallika Sherawat, the movie was partly shot in India near Hampi, Karnataka.

Holy Smoke

Starring Kate Winslet, the movie was shot in Paharganj in Delhi and Pushkar in Rajasthan, India.

The Lovers

Directed by Roland Joffé (of The Killing Fields and The Mission fame) and starring Josh Hartnett (& Bipasha Basu in a small role), the movie was partly shot in Madhya Pradesh’s Orchha region, Gwalior, & Chambal Valley.

Octopussy

The 1983 James Bond movie had a couple of scenes shot in a palace in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The movie also featured Kabir Bedi in a small role.

The Darjeeling Limited

Starring Adrien Brody (of ‘The Pianist’ fame), Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman, the movie was extensively shot in Udaipur and Jodhpur in Rajasthan.

Bandit Queen

Directed by Shekhar Kapur, the movie was shot in India, because of its theme.

Outsourced

Starring Josh Hamilton & Ayesha Dharker, the movie is about an American salesman who heads to India to train his replacement.

City of Joy

Starring Patrick Swayze, Pauline Collins, Om Puri, the movie was filmed in and around Calcutta in West Bengal.

The Deceivers

Starring Pierce Brosnan, Shashi Kapoor, Saeed Jaffrey, the movie was shot in India as well. Its based on the Thuggee movement in India during British imperial rule.

Gandhi

This Oscar award winning movie (directed by Richard Attenborough, starring Ben Kingsley) was shot across various locations in India.

Movies Not Filmed in India

Alexander
Based on Alexander the Great (starring Colin Farrell), the movie was actually NOT shot in India at all (contrary to what many think); it was shot in Thailand. The river scenes were shot in Ubon Ratchathani province on the Mekhong River in Thailand, near the Laos border. Thailand was also preferred because of the availability of trained Asian elephants that were needed to stage a battle scene. Read more here…

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Even this movie was NOT shot in India, it was shot in Sri Lanka (to make it appear like India), since govt. of India denied permission to the producers as the story depicted Hinduism.

Jon Hamm Gets a Taste of India

Though India can offer some great locations for filming, you still have to take into account the best time to shoot at those places. For the movie ‘Million Dollar Arm’, Jon Hamm shot in India during the summer months, and was literally sweating like a pig during the filming. Despite the advice of Bollywood stars, the crew had to shoot during summer because of the time constraints. May in India is literally the hottest month with temperatures topping 40 degrees Celsius. Even Bollywood goes indoors during this period. Unfortunately for the ‘Million Dollar Arm’ team, the crew and stars had to struggle not just with the heat when they were in India, some of them were down with digestive problems as well. When it comes to food, you have to be a bit careful!

Uday Chopra would like to direct a film in India, and not abroad
Actor-producer Uday Chopra, who recently produced (jointly with other players) Hollywood film “Grace Of Monaco” (featuring Nicole Kidman), has plans to direct a film, but in India and not abroad. Although he has access to Hollywood and spends a lot of time in Los Angeles, he thinks it will be easier for him to direct a film in India, although it could take few more years. Nevertheless, Uday says that the film will definitely have an international flavor, but made in Indian language.

Related Posts:

  • Bollywood in Sri Lanka - So Much Packed in a Small Area
  • Bollywood in Scotland, Famous for Medieval Castles,…
  • Content vs Superstars: Audience prefer original &…
  • Bollywood celebs wish Deepika Padukone with adorable…

Filed Under: Featured, Hollywood

RELATED POSTS

Cosmetic Surgery Mumbai

List of places for Cosmetic Surgery in Mumbai The Cosmetic Surgery Institute, India 169, Lily Villa, St. Andrews Road, Off. Turner Road, Bandra (W) Mumbai (Bombay), MH 022 2645 6054 Cosmetic Surgery Mumbai Gulmohar Rd, Andheri West Mumbai, MH 022 2636 0950

Priyanka Chopra & Nick Jonas wedding

Priyanka Chopra, a global celebrity who doesn’t need films for her stardom

Priyanka Chopra, who celebrated her birthday recently (18th, July), is a self-made global celebrity who no longer needs movies to maintain her stardom. Here’s how she has managed to transition into a world that is least affected by her films. Priyanka chopra has not worked in many Bollywood films lately and she has also not […]

Hold On, Your Time Will Come (Motivational)

The film industry is full of examples, where people who have made it big, had to struggle a lot before they got their first break. Here’s a nice article that talks about the importance of holding on, and being true to yourself. Just because good things are happening to your peer, doesn’t mean success will […]

Video: 3 Min of Incredible Sand Art Captures 100 Years Of Bollywood History

Watch this incredible video where a sand artist captures the important milestones in Bollywood’s 100 years of history. Besides using sand and his crazy imagination, sand artist Rahul Arya has only used a back-lit board and of course the timeless songs & dialogues from the films (played in the background). Starting with India’s first silent […]

Bollywood Superstars Who Worked for Free

Here we are talking about Bollywood Superstars, who’re at the top of their game, after having spent years in the industry. Its easy for them to charge crores of rupees, and some of these can easily charge crores of rupees for just a few minutes job. However, they know that they had started from ground […]

Padman crosses Rs.50cr, but will it make 100cr?

Akshay Kumar’s PadMan has collected over Rs.50 crore at the box office (India business). The movie has maintained a steady pace at the box office, but will now run into Neeraj Pandey’s Aiyaary, which will release on Feb 16. With a decent weekend, PadMan began its weekday business on a weaker. Whether PadMan will collect […]

reality shows

Digital Platform ‘MTV Presents NESCAFE LABS’ Provides a Platform to Aspiring Artists

Nescafe, the coffee brand from Nestle is hoping that its venture ‘MTV Presents Nescafe Labs’, in association with MTV, serves as many as artists as possible (and also becomes as popular as MTV Coke Studio). The platform gives artists access to the best of mentors and resources in order to hone their special talent and […]

Tanushree vs Nana Patekar

Here’s how Bollywood is shooting intimate scenes (post MeToo) to prevent sexual misconduct

After Tanushree Dutta openly spoke about how she faced sexual harassment at the workplace, and with other female actors also sharing their #MeToo stories, studios and actors have been thinking of ideas on how to shoot intimate scenes that would prevent chances of sexual misconduct (and also save them from false accusations). For her short […]

Priyanka Chopra Net Worth

Priyanka Chopra’s mother on sexual harassment: Life is more valuable, what if you miss out on films

Priyanka Chopra’s mother gives valuable advice to newcomers on how to deal with sexual harassment, says as a newcomer Priyanka lost at least 10 films because she refused to compromise. “She was just 17 when she entered the industry, so I accompanied her every minute of the day till about three years ago. So a […]

Macau in Bollywood & Indian Films

Macau (along with Las Vegas) is a place known for its gambling scene, and several Indian films with themes around gambling have been shot here in Macau. An important sequence in the movie ‘Housefull’ was shot at the Venetian Casino in Macau (good to know that Indian filmmakers are not ready to take the beaten […]

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. mcgee says

    April 15, 2016 at 11:47 pm

    Nice post. I also started a similar post on movies filmed in Rajasthan. Got some more names from your post plus would be great if you could check mine. Its in the website section or here is the url – http://www.cafebistrobobbymcgee.com/hollywood-and-bollywood-movies-shooted-in-rajasthan/

Primary Sidebar

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?

RECENT POSTS

movie trailers

Top Forthcoming Bollywood Movies (& Trailers): Upcoming Entertainers for 2021

Want to know when the next entertainer of your favorite star is going to be released? Want to plan … [Read More...] about Top Forthcoming Bollywood Movies (& Trailers): Upcoming Entertainers for 2021

National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC)

Social Impact of Bollywood on Indian culture

Movies are one of the most influential tools of communication and society does learn a few things or … [Read More...] about Social Impact of Bollywood on Indian culture

bollywood rapes

Representation of women in Bollywood Films

Women in Bollywood films have been subject to stereotypes and objectification, and appeared in … [Read More...] about Representation of women in Bollywood Films

Music Scene in Saudi Arabia

How's the music Scene in Saudi Arabia. Is it really frowned upon? Read more here. Young musicians in … [Read More...] about Music Scene in Saudi Arabia

Shabana Azmi

Shabana Azmi: One of the finest actors of Indian cinema

Shabana Azmi, an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) of Pune, made her film … [Read More...] about Shabana Azmi: One of the finest actors of Indian cinema

war movie

Here’s how much Hrithik Roshan was paid for his 2019 hit film ‘War’

Hrithik Roshan is a superstar in Bollywood and is among the highest paid actors in the film … [Read More...] about Here’s how much Hrithik Roshan was paid for his 2019 hit film ‘War’

sooryavanshi movie

Bollywood facing losses of 5000+ crore due to pandemic lockdown

Almost everybody associated with the film industry is despondent about the future. With COVID-19 … [Read More...] about Bollywood facing losses of 5000+ crore due to pandemic lockdown

Money Scandals

Indian film celebrities caught in Tax Controversies

In Bollywood and other film industries in India, there's a saying that "there's no business like the … [Read More...] about Indian film celebrities caught in Tax Controversies

celebrity endorsements

It’s 2020 and Bollywood is still obsessed with fair skin

Makers of the upcoming movie 'Khaali Peeli', starring Ananya Panday and Ishaan Khatter, are facing … [Read More...] about It’s 2020 and Bollywood is still obsessed with fair skin

Kangana Ranaut's pali hill office

BMC demolish illegal constructions by Bollywood actors & filmmakers

BMC begins the demolition of illegal alterations to Kangana Ranaut's office in Bandra. The … [Read More...] about BMC demolish illegal constructions by Bollywood actors & filmmakers

Amazon Fashion

Useful Read

  • Who coined the term ‘Bollywood’?
  • Dadasaheb Phalke (Father of Indian Cinema)
  • Evolution of Hindi Films
  • Social Impact of Bollywood on Indian culture

Footer

Upcoming Bollywood Movies

  • Love Aaj Kal Movie
  • Hum Bhi Akele Tum Bhi Akele Movie
  • Hawayein Movie
  • Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan Movie
  • The Hundred Bucks Movie
  • BHOOT: Part One – The Haunted Ship Movie
  • Haunted Hills Movie
  • 'O' Pushpa I Hate Tears Movie
  • Guns Of Banaras Movie
  • Thappad Movie

Bollywood Movie Reviews

  • Malang Review
  • Jawaani Jaaneman Review
  • Panga Review
  • Street Dancer 3D Review
  • Tanhaji – The Unsung Warrior Review
  • Chhapaak Review
  • Good Newwz Review

Top Celebs

  • Ajay Devgn
  • Kajol
  • Saif Ali Khan
  • Shraddha Kapoor
  • Varun Dhawan
  • Deepika Padukone
  • Kangana Ranaut
  • Tabu
  • Aditya Roy Kapur
  • Disha Patani
  • Rajinikanth

About Us

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Write for Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure
  • Sitemap
  • Newsletter

Copyright © 2022 · News Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in