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1964, Alaska, Alps, Amitabh Bachchan, An Evening in Paris, Bombay, Chandni, Dekha Ek Khwab, Delhi, Des Pardes, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge, Egypt, foreign locations, glaciers, Great Wall of China, Greece, Hare Rama Hare Krishna, jeans, Keukenhof, Krrish, lake, London, Love in Tokyo, Mauritius, Miami, Nepal, New York, NRI, Pukar, pyramids, Raj Kapoor, Rekha, Rishi Kapoor, San Francisco, Sangam, Silsila, Singapore, Singh Is King, Sridevi, Switzerland, Sydney, Tashan, The Great Gambler, The Netherlands, Toronto, tulip fields, Venice, Yash Chopra
Raj Kapoor may well have given Bollywood cinegoers their first peek at the Alps in the 1964 Sangam, and after him several filmmakers tried to cash in on ‘foreign locations’ with unimaginatively titled offerings such as An Evening in Paris and Love in Tokyo. However, many of these stories ended up being contrived attempts to locate a few scenes in picturesque cities.
The 1970s saw locations becoming ‘characters’ in films: Nepal in Hare Rama Hare Krishna, London in Des Pardes, and Venice in The Great Gambler. But it took Yash Chopra to implant Switzerland into the collective psyche of several generations. (The Swiss even named a lake after Chopra.)
Unlike others filmmakers, Chopra didn’t link the plot with the location. So while Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha conducted their extramarital activities in Silsila in Bombay, the glorious Dekha Ek Khwab was shot in tulip fields in Keukenhof in The Netherlands. And while the path of true love in Chandni ran from Delhi to Bombay, it took several detours in Switzerland so that star-crossed lovers Sridevi and Rishi Kapoor could sing several ballads. Continue reading