With top stars like Aamir Khan, Kajol and Suniel Shetty busy shooting in the Poland winter, the
scene for Bollywood looks bright in this east European country.
Last year many Bollywood films were shown in Polish cinema halls. Shah Rukh Khan's movies "Main
Hoon Na", "Kal Ho Na Ho" and "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham" were great hits and he became a big
craze for young cinemagoers here.
And now Yash Raj Films, which produced hits like "Kabhi Kabhie", "Silsila", "Dilwale Dulhaniya Le
Jayenge", has perhaps become the first Bollywood production company to shoot on the slopes of the
Tatar mountains.
They have selected a beautiful hill station, Zakopane, 400 km away from here in the south of Poland,
to shoot the action scenes for the Kunal Kohli-directed "Fanaah" as the story is related to the
background of Kashmir.
Aamir, Suniel and Kajol are shooting for the film and are braving a harsh winter as temperatures are
around minus 10 to 14 degrees Celsius in day time and around minus 20 degrees at night.
"One Indian film star was so ignorant of Polish weather that he came in his Mumbai chappals," said
Radio Zakopane on Monday.
Gutek Films, which distributed Shah Rukh's films in Poland last year, is looking after the logistics
that include choppers and other aircraft.
A representative of Gutek films told that "our cooperation is working well and according to the
schedule".
"I am happy that an Indian film company has decided to shoot in Poland. I do hope more and more
Indian film crews will come to shoot in the spring and summer months when parts of the Poland
landscape is as beautiful as some parts of Switzerland," Indian Ambassador Anil Wadhwa
told.
The Indian community in Warsaw too is thrilled about the presence of Bollywood stars in
Poland.
The president of the Indian Association, J.J. Singh, has contacted the producer so that Indians there
are allowed to see the shooting Feb 11 at Zakopane.
Poland is a country with a long history of flim production and its world famous directors, Roman
Polanski, Andrzej Wajda and Krzystof Zanussi all came out from the film institute at Lodz, 120 km
from here.
Apart from Lodz, many other places in Poland have their own medium-size studios.
Indian
actor-cum-politician Vinod Khanna had told last year that Poland was a suitable destination for
Bollywood filmmakers and he would persuade fellow Indian producers to shoot here.
Khanna had also visited a few production studios and felt satisfied with the quality of production and
equipment.
"At the same time the cost of labour in Poland is much cheaper than anywhere
in Europe," he had added.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006 14:36 IST