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In ‘Shaandaar’, England’s unrivalled variety of rural and urban filming locations are expertly showcased in Bollywood’s first destination wedding film.
Due for release on October 23rd, the film arrives in the midst of Creative England’s Screen Tourism Roadshow, a series of regional events highlighting how businesses, tourism venues and property owners can benefit from hosting film and television productions.
Shot throughout Autumn 2014, production for the hotly-tipped rom-com brought a selection of emerging and veteran talent to the heart of Yorkshire to capture backdrops that couldn’t be found anywhere else. Utilising the region’s breath taking stately homes, castles and rural landscapes, director Vikas Bahl was able to find the fairytale look and feel that proved integral to ‘Shaandaar’’s larger-than-life storyline.
The film stars newcomers Alia Bhatt and Shahid Kapoor as Alia and Jagjinder, a would-be couple whose attempts at love are constantly under threat by Alia’s proud father Bipin played by Bollywood veteran Pankaj Kapur. The quirky comedy is set to a backdrop of elegance, grandeur and musical numbers as a big fat Indian wedding plays out between two of India’s most powerful business families.
Where Did ‘Shaandaar’ Film In The UK?
Director Vikas Bahl and his all-star Bollywood cast travelled to a wide selection of Yorkshire-based locations whilst shooting ‘Shaandaar’. In doing so, the team working closely with Creative England’s Production Services Team to secure locations, crew and filming permissions in the region to ensure a smooth shoot.
Perhaps the most notable location used in ‘Shaandaar’ was Carlton Towers in North Yorkshire which featured as the exterior of the castle where the majority of the film’s story plays out. However this wasn’t the only local stately home to appear on screen. The production also shot sequences at Allerton Castle in near Harrogate and Skipton’s Broughton Hall, all of which can now add ‘Bollywood filming location’ to their list of tourism assets.
Additional scenes were filmed at Eddsfield Airfield, in Driffield, East Yorkshire and Low Force Waterfall near Barnard Castle in County Durham, the latter of which can be seen during a chilly skinny dipping sequence featuring ‘Shaandaar’’s stars Alia Bhatt and Shahid Kapoor.
Shaandaar UK Filming Locations
Of course, no fairytale rom-com would be complete without a handful of magical locations and the English regions have these in abundance. The rustic look of North Yorkshire’s Goathland Train Station proved perfect for director Bahl’s unique vision, while Saltburn-by-the-sea Beach, Temple Newsam Farm in West Yorkshire and Leeds’ Grand Theatre and Opera House effortlessly showcase the stunning range of accessible locations on offer in the region.
To secure the shoot in Yorkshire Creative England’s Production Liaison Manager Chris Hordley worked with Leeds based Line Producer Karl Hall to showcase regional locations during a three day familiarisation trip in June 2014. The shoot had originally been planned for central Europe, having seen what Yorkshire had to offer the film’s producers took the decision to move the shoot to the north of England and based at Prime Studios in Leeds.
Vivek Bajrang Agrawal, Producer of ‘Shaandaar’ said:
“Filming in Yorkshire was great. The countryside here is beautiful and very different from anywhere else in England or Europe. We had Leeds as our base, filming was easy and comfortable as permits were easy to obtain and the people here know about film shoots which made it even more comfortable. We’d love to come round again soon.”
Sir Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome To Yorkshire said:
“I am delighted that with an increasing number of international film studios choosing to base their films in Yorkshire we are seeing more of our great county on the big screen. Creative England’s most recent success in attracting film production to Yorkshire means that fans of Bollywood around the world will get to see a snapshot of Yorkshire. We would be delighted to welcome to Yorkshire any fans who want to come and the real life locations that have been filmed in Shaandaar.”
Creative England’s Production Liaison Manager for Yorkshire said:
“Shaandaar is one of a number of international feature films Creative England’s Production Services Team has supported in Yorkshire in the last year. The film is visually stunning, testament to the rich and varied landscape Yorkshire offers to the film industry, but our work is not just about bringing fantastic locations to the screen, by working with local studios, facility companies and freelance crew we are helping to grow the creative industries in the regions putting Yorkshire firmly on the international filming map.”
To find out more about how your property or business can benefit from Screen Tourism, read our Film Tourism Research or visit our Film Partners page to learn more about hosting productions.
Alternatively, head to our Production Services page for advice on filming in Yorkshire, filming in Leeds or filming in the English regions.
