Why do so many Bollywood movies film in Glasgow? Glasgow’s Indian filming history explained

Glasgow has seen a renaissance in Bollywood since the pandemic - but why?
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Seemingly out of nowhere in the last decade Glasgow has been attracting movie makers from across the globe to film in Glasgow - but why is that?

In the last few years alone we’ve seen massive Hollywood big-hitters like The Batman, World War Z, Indiana and Batgirl (never to see the light of day after its cancellation) close off city centre streets to get some shots of Glasgow’s iconic surroundings.

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It’s not just Hollywood that has a vested interest in the city however, as its Indian counterpart, Bollywood, has shown an increasing interest in shooting in Glasgow.

Bollywood releases over 1000 films a year - with some of the largest ones rivalling Hollywood budgets as production stretches into millions of pounds (or hundreds of millions of Rupees, India’s currency.)

Just last year the city hosted the production crew of ‘Tehran’ - which featured Bollywood superstars John Abraham and Aran Gopalan - as Glasgow stood in for some scenes set in Iran, known filming locations include the Mitchell Library and George Square.

Since the pandemic ended (and in the case of the massive hit movie, Bell Bottom, during the pandemic) Bollywood crews have been coming to the city more frequently, after the city enjoyed a brief boom in the Indian film industry around the turn of the millennium.

Bell Bottom was credited with bringing Bollywood back to GlasgowBell Bottom was credited with bringing Bollywood back to Glasgow
Bell Bottom was credited with bringing Bollywood back to Glasgow
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This can be seen through a number of films like Yeh Hai Jalwa (This is Magic) in 2002 also shot some scenes in George Square, almost all outdoor locations in Kyo Kii.. Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta (Because… I do not lie) were shot around Glasgow in 2002.

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (Something Happened In My Heart) and Dev Anand’s Main Solah Baras Ki (1998) (Sweet Sixteen) released in 1998 were credited as the first Bollywood films to use Glasgow and Scotland as a filming location. Most people thought the directors were mental to fly out to Glasgow to film some short scenes - but it wasn’t until Braveheart achieved resounding international success before Bollywood began to think the guy might be onto something.

But why Glasgow? For Indian film producers, they found it was easier and cheaper to get permission to film in Glasgow than in London. It may not seem like it to us, but Glasgow, and by extension Scotland, is an exotic destination to Indian and Asian audiences.

Directors also found that the summer days were longer in Scotland, allowing for more time to film in sunlight hours.

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However in the years to come, Scotland would fall off as a Bollywood filming location - thanks to places like Switzerland and Eastern European countries dropping their prices - Glasgow struggled to compete with Prague in Czechia - while New Zealand offered beautiful mountain vistas similar to the Highlands.

Bollywood would return sporadically in those years between the early 2000s and our current post-pandemic era, with films like Baar Baar Dekho (Look and again) in 2016 - a Bollywood version of Adam Sandler’s Click by the same director who created oscar-winning Life of Pi. The film was a critical flop but a resounding commercial success, audiences loved the movie that showed scenes of bridges over the River Clyde and even the science centre tower.

VisitScotland published a map for Indian film fans to follow the ‘Scottish Bollywood Trail’ in 2016 in a bid to drum up interest in filming in Scotland again. They told The Sunday Post: “Bollywood has, for many years, had a love affair with Scotland’s cities, castles, lochs and glens.

“The films not only boost the local economy but seeing the locations on screen provides inspiration and motivation for visitors from India to make the trip.

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“The appeal of Scotland to Bollywood filmmakers is such that we have used those Scottish links in past activity to engage with the Indian market.”

It wasn’t until the success of Bell Bottom - a James Bond-esque film set in the 80s, and also the first film to shoot during the pandemic - that Bollywood scouts begun again flocking to the city.

For now it seems Glasgow is enjoying a renaissance in Bollywood film making - we can only hope that the continued success of the Glasgow-shot films will keep the producers coming back.

Tehran, the latest Bollywood film to shoot in Glasgow, releases in Indian theatres next Thursday January 26.

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