Foreign locales continued to woo Bollywood in 2009, either to shoot films or to take a break. Here’re the countries that emerged the most popular:
South Africa
It wasn’t just because of the Indian Premiere League (IPL) — Bollywood found various reasons to head to South Africa this year. Akshay Kumar and a bevy of beauties headed to South Africa for Fear Factor Khatron Ke Khiladi. Tum Mile, Prince —It’s Showtime, Luck and No Problem were also shot in the country with stars like Kangna Ranaut, Emraan Hashmi, Sushmita Sen, Neetu Chandra, Vievek Oberoi, Imran Khan, Shruti Haasan and Soha Ali Khan heading to the city. Hrithik Roshan was in South Africa to shoot for a commercial.
Italy
Kangna Ranaut, Katrina Kaif and Sameera Reddy took off to Italy for vacation. Saif Ali Khan whisked away Kareena Kapoor for a 10-day luxurious holiday in the exclusive 16th-century resort Villa D’Este, on the shores of Lake Como in Cernobbio. Many scenes of Kambakkht Ishq were also shot in Italy and the team explored the city while they were there.
United Kingdom
Katrina Kaif chose to celebrate her birthday in London this year with family and friends. Hrithik Roshan and wife Sussanne holidayed in the city, post speculation that the two were headed towards a split. London Dreams, starring Salman Khan, Asin and Ajay Devgn and Teen Patti, starring Big B and Ben Kingsley, were also shot in London. Sajid Khan’s Houseful starring Deepika Padukone, Akshay Kumar, Ritesh Deshmukh, Jiah Khan and Lara Dutta was also shot in London. Love Aaj Kal was not only shot here but the film’s lead pair, Saif and Deepika, also visited the city for the 20-20 World Cup.
United Kingdom
Katrina Kaif chose to celebrate her birthday in London this year with family and friends. Hrithik Roshan and wife Sussanne holidayed in the city, post speculation that the two were headed towards a split. London Dreams, starring Salman Khan, Asin and Ajay Devgn and Teen Patti, starring Big B and Ben Kingsley, were also shot in London. Sajid Khan’s Houseful starring Deepika Padukone, Akshay Kumar, Ritesh Deshmukh, Jiah Khan and Lara Dutta was also shot in London. Love Aaj Kal was not only shot here but the film’s lead pair, Saif and Deepika, also visited the city for the 20-20 World Cup.
The Bahamas
Blue, the most expensive Bollywood film to date, was shot in the Bahamas. Priyanka Chopra visited the island nation for a holiday and now, newly weds Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra, too, have taken off to the islands for their honeymoon.
USA
Kurbaan was shot in Philadelphia and Love Aaj Kal was shot in San Francisco. Karan Johar’s My Name Is Khan and Yash Raj’s untitled film starring Anushka Sharma and Shahid Kapur have also been shot here. Akshay Kumar gave a miss to IIFA to holiday in the US, and Deepika Padukone is headed here for a vacation, too.