Bollywood penchant for shooting films at foreign locations is very well known. It started when showman Raj Kapoor shot his film Around The World In Eight
Dollars in 1967 at many foreign locales. The culture reached its peak when Yash chopra started shooting for his films on picturesque locations like Switzerland, England and other parts of Europe way back in the 70’s. Some of the big blockbusters from India like DDLJ, Namaste London, Dil Chahta Hai, Dhoom 3, Zindgi Na Milegi Dobara were shot almost entirely on foreign locations. Producers believe that shooting a film on foreign lands adds to the production value of the film and increases the audience interest.
The latest horror film joining this league is Zahhak (title refers to the name of a Persian demon), the Hindi version of Hollywood super hit horror Oculus. Relativity media is producing the film, which stars Huma Qureshi and Saqib Saleem in the main roles while Prawal Raman is directing it. The filmmakers have selected London to shoot the film and currently it’s on the floor.
Berkshire a picturesque county in South East England located close to West London was the place where Bollywood actress Huma Qureshi along with her brother Saqib Saleem has shot for ‘Zahhak’. The original writer of ‘Oculus’, Mike Flanagan, who is also associated with the Hindi version, suggested an exotic location such as Berkshire, which he felt, was much required to keep the eerie feeling of the movie alive. Huma’s connection with UK will continue as she will soon shoot for British-Indian Gurinder Chaddha’s new movie ‘The Viceroy House’, opposite Indian-American actor Manish Dayal, of ‘The Hundred Foot Journey’ fame.
