Cape Town once again played host to a film crew from Mumbai, India. The Mother City is becoming increasingly popular with Indian filmmakers ever since the city was introduced to them as a viable location by local entrepreneur Ebrahim Kaskar of Shalimar Productions. He has co-ordinated various Bollywood productions since 1996.
The latest shoot was for the film Laloo Prasad Yadav directed by Mahesh Manjrekar and starring Sunil Shetty, comedian Johnny Lever and Manjrekar himself in the title roles. The 71 member Bollywood team arrived in Cape Town on the 9th of July for its month long shoot. I caught up with them at the tail end of a gruelling schedule which took them to many picturesque locations in the Cape. While preparing for an action shot involving himself and Shetty on motorbikes driving along the scenic coastline of Camps Bay and amidst shouting instructions to his crew, some of whom were in a helicopter, Manjrekar spoke to me about his film. “ It’s an out and out action comedy about 3 people, the title characters, who are after millions of rands worth of diamonds that have been smuggled into Cape Town. Shetty plays Laloo, I play Prasad and Lever is Yadav.” Many of the Bollywood films shot in the Cape utilise the locations purely to enhance the song sequences that Indian films are renowned for. Manjrekar explains that 75% of his film has been shot in the city and that it plays an integral part in the film. “All the main characters are from Cape Town.. We have used many popular landmarks and in fact we are the first Indian crew to shoot on Robben Island. I feel that this film will do a lot to boost tourism as it really showcases the beauty of the Cape.” It is well known that whenever Indian productions go on location, they take their entire crew and cast with them, rarely utilising talent from the country they are visiting. Manjrekar’s point of view is that it’s better to be safe than sorry. He says, “ We work with our own so that we are sure that the production will run smoothly as we are coming to a territory where we are unsure of the local talent. Having said that, I needed dancers for a certain scene and we were going to fly them in from Mumbai. Someone suggested a local alternative and after meeting them I was very impressed. They are in my movie and one of them, Nadia Tessner, will be coming to Mumbai to work on my next project. If only more Indian directors’ were interested in auditioning local talent. I’m sure they would be pleasantly surprised. After all our actors’ have proved themselves in Hollywood, so Bollywood should be the logical next step.
Earlier I had chatted to Shetty about the highlights in his career. Originally cast as a macho man in many of his earlier films, this talented actor has matured over the course of his twelve years in the industry and has garnered many accolades in his career. “ I’ve done all kinds of films”, he says, “ In Mohra it was the macho man, in Border I played a soldier. I’ve done comedy in Hera Pheri and now with this film as well. I’ve even done a character with negative shades in Dhadkan. I want to be able to do challenging roles and am happy that directors are confident in casting me as different characters and not typecasting me as an action hero. In fact in Laloo Prasad Yadav, I play an absolute nerd. It’s important for me to be happy with what I do. How much I achieve in life is up to the man above.
The latest shoot was for the film Laloo Prasad Yadav directed by Mahesh Manjrekar and starring Sunil Shetty, comedian Johnny Lever and Manjrekar himself in the title roles. The 71 member Bollywood team arrived in Cape Town on the 9th of July for its month long shoot. I caught up with them at the tail end of a gruelling schedule which took them to many picturesque locations in the Cape. While preparing for an action shot involving himself and Shetty on motorbikes driving along the scenic coastline of Camps Bay and amidst shouting instructions to his crew, some of whom were in a helicopter, Manjrekar spoke to me about his film. “ It’s an out and out action comedy about 3 people, the title characters, who are after millions of rands worth of diamonds that have been smuggled into Cape Town. Shetty plays Laloo, I play Prasad and Lever is Yadav.” Many of the Bollywood films shot in the Cape utilise the locations purely to enhance the song sequences that Indian films are renowned for. Manjrekar explains that 75% of his film has been shot in the city and that it plays an integral part in the film. “All the main characters are from Cape Town.. We have used many popular landmarks and in fact we are the first Indian crew to shoot on Robben Island. I feel that this film will do a lot to boost tourism as it really showcases the beauty of the Cape.” It is well known that whenever Indian productions go on location, they take their entire crew and cast with them, rarely utilising talent from the country they are visiting. Manjrekar’s point of view is that it’s better to be safe than sorry. He says, “ We work with our own so that we are sure that the production will run smoothly as we are coming to a territory where we are unsure of the local talent. Having said that, I needed dancers for a certain scene and we were going to fly them in from Mumbai. Someone suggested a local alternative and after meeting them I was very impressed. They are in my movie and one of them, Nadia Tessner, will be coming to Mumbai to work on my next project. If only more Indian directors’ were interested in auditioning local talent. I’m sure they would be pleasantly surprised. After all our actors’ have proved themselves in Hollywood, so Bollywood should be the logical next step.
Earlier I had chatted to Shetty about the highlights in his career. Originally cast as a macho man in many of his earlier films, this talented actor has matured over the course of his twelve years in the industry and has garnered many accolades in his career. “ I’ve done all kinds of films”, he says, “ In Mohra it was the macho man, in Border I played a soldier. I’ve done comedy in Hera Pheri and now with this film as well. I’ve even done a character with negative shades in Dhadkan. I want to be able to do challenging roles and am happy that directors are confident in casting me as different characters and not typecasting me as an action hero. In fact in Laloo Prasad Yadav, I play an absolute nerd. It’s important for me to be happy with what I do. How much I achieve in life is up to the man above.
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