Tollywood is finally gearing up to add gloss to Bengali movies with around four movies slated for release by early next year being shot in foreign locales including Singapore, Berlin and Austria.
These movies have a budget between Rs 65 lakh and Rs 3 crore, with the scenes shot in foreign locales making up around 20 - 30 per cent of the overall production cost.
Production houses like Nishpal Films, Moxie Entertainment, and Mumbai Mantra, the film production wing of Mahindra and Mahindra, are investing in youth-centric movies with a part of the shoot in foreign locales to add to the glamour quotient.
“While most Bollywood movies are shot in America or Europe, we are making ‘Mon Maane Na’, a romantic story of two young people, which we thought of shooting in Singapore. It also works as a marketing strategy,” pointed out producer Nishpal Singh.
The Dev and Koel Mullick starrer Mon Maane Na has a budget of Rs 1.5 crore. The Singapore shoot investment worked out to Rs 20 lakh. The movie was shot in Jurong Bird Park, Orchard Road and Clarke Quay in Singapore.
Likewise, ‘Shukno Lanka’, a Mumbai Mantra production, will be shot in Berlin. The movie stars Mithun Chakraborty and Roopa Ganguly, who along with other crew members will be at Berlin in November ahead of the Berlin International Film Festival. ‘Shukno Lanka’ has a budget of close to Rs 2.5 crore, and the shoot in Berlin will make up for 20 per cent of its overall production costs.
A third movie is ‘Lakshyabhed’, which is in post-production phase now, was shot partly at Pattaya in Thailand. The movie has a budget of Rs 65 lakh and the Pattaya shoot worked out to almost Rs 5 lakh.
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Movie ‘Bhalobasha Bhalobasha’, made with a budget of Rs 3 crore, was shot in Salzburg in Austria, a locale made famous after the movie ‘The Sound of Music’ was shot there. The Austria shoot cost Rs 23 lakh.
According to producer Ashok Dhanuka, “We wanted to shoot a dream song in a dream-like location. So we chose Austria.”