Bollywood in Melbourne

The cosmopolitan Australian city of Melbourne has played a leading role in two of India’s latest blockbuster Bollywood films, Chak De India and Salaam Namaste.

Salaam Namaste is the first Indian movie filmed entirely in Australia using various locations in Melbourne and regional Victoria, including the magnificent Great Ocean Road and Rye Beach on the Mornington Peninsula.

Various Melbourne landmarks, including Federation Square and the grand General Post Office building appear in the film which features Indian superstars Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan.

The film is about two Indians who have left their homes to make a life on their own. It’s about a year in their lives and how they meet and tackle their own relationships and overcome problems without their families.

Director Siddharth Anand had been planning to shoot the film in San Francisco, but after a visit to Melbourne in 2004 was impressed by the city's architecture, variety of settings and clear light for filming.

Also filmed on location in Melbourne in late 2006, Chak De India starring heartthrob Shahrukh Khan, showcases aspects of this vibrant multicultural city, from famous sporting venues and picturesque parks to its renowned riverside café scene.

Chak De India tells the story of an ex-Indian hockey captain who resurrects his career by coaching a team of young girls to victory on tour in Australia. And what better setting for this uplifting tale than Melbourne – one of the world’s great sporting capitals.

Locations featured include the Yarra River and Southbank precinct, home to al fresco cafes, restaurants and boutiques, the beautiful Carlton Gardens, which is adjacent to the Melbourne Museum and World Heritage Royal Exhibition Buildings, and the rejuvenated Docklands dining precinct.

The movie also highlights several key sporting venues, such as Telstra Dome, Vodafone Arena (home of the Australian Open Tennis Championships) and the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, scene of some great swimming contests during the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

Produced by Yash Chopra’s Yash Raj film company, Chak De India has been an instant hit with audiences, with the opening weekend in Melbourne selling out and strong reactions from filmgoers in India.

This follows the huge success of Salaam Namaste, another Yash Raj film shot in Melbourne, which was the second-highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2005, with an estimated audience of 300 million.