Makers find dream locales in Kerala

Kerala is emerging to be a popular shooting location for films from the high-budget industries of Bollywood, Tollywood and Kollywood, replacing picturesque foreign locales.

Shooting a song sequence in the Kerala backwaters, Athirappilly waterfalls or the hills of Vagamon and Munnar is a recent trend.

Sabbir Khan’s Baaghi, Gautham Menon’s Sahasam Swasaga Sagipo, Anu Menon’s Wanted, S.S. Rajamouli’s Baahubali, Chimbudevan’s Puli, Sonu Nigam’s single album, Shebi Chowghat’s Moondru Rasikarkal and Bhushan Patel’s Alone are just a few films shot in these locations last year.

Alone director Patel is so mesmerised with the beauty of the backwaters that he hopes to shoot another movie in Kerala. “Most horror movies are set on hilltops or in dense forests.

A horror film set in the backwaters felt like something different to try. The appeal of Kerala’s picturesque background and the backwaters is fantastic. We even shot a few sequences in Vagamon and Kuttikkanam.”

“The shooting experience itself was wonderful and we had a smooth shoot. Everyone from the cast, to the crew and the producer were happy about the way the shoot went,” he says.

Anubhav Sinha, who directed Sonu Nigam’s single track, had completed the shoot just a week ago. “When I heard the song, immediately the image of Kerala came into my mind. Interestingly, I had  been to Kerala only once before, that too, just for a day. But the beauty of the place stayed with me. Since I had some idea about what sort of a background I wanted, I didn’t even come down for a location hunt. I identified a few places like Kumarakom, Vagamon and Chettikkad beach near Alappuzha and came down for the shoot just like that. But I think we didn’t choose the right month for shooting; it was very hot and humid. Still, it was a wonderful place to work at. In terms of production cost, Kerala is slightly less expensive than Mumbai, but the difference is marginal. The location is the attraction,” Sinha says, adding that the video would be released in a couple of weeks.

Director Shebi Chowghat, himself a Keralite, has shot parts of his upcoming debut Tamil film Moondru Rasikarkal in parts of Palakkad. “Since the film is based in Tamil Nadu, we chose to shoot parts of the film in Palakkad, a place that has some similarities with Tamil culture,” he says.

Another attraction of Kerala is cheaper shooting expense. Says Shebi: “If you work in Chennai, you can only shoot from 9 am to 6 pm, whereas over here, you can shoot from 7 am to 9 pm. You also have to spend twice the money to shoot on Sundays and other holidays as well. Even rented houses there are very expensive. Over here, if you go through someone you know, you might even get a house to shoot for free! It helps the budget considerably when you shoot in Kerala. We are also planning some sequences of the film in Aluva now,” he says.