By Ninder Kaur
Bradford has become a vibrant, multicultural city with a diverse range of people from different backgrounds and ethnicities, making it one of the reasons why it’s becoming a hotspot for big time movies.
Bradford has a reputation for its great locations and will be featuring in the latest Bollywood installment that will be hitting the big screen ‘Welcome To Karachi.’
It was back in August 2014 that the Bradford City of Film got a call from a contact in London, asking if they could source a number of locations for this Bollywood comedy drama.
Previously, Bradford welcomed Bollywood director Vikram Bhatt in town for ‘1920s London’; a Hindi horror movie that saw the streets of Little Germany double as London during that era.
However, the upcoming Indian film directed by Ashish R Mohan and produced by Vashu Bhagnani were looking for locations that would double as Karachi and what better place than Bradford to help fill that spot.
Once told about their request, Bradford City Of Film responded by sending photographs and creating a short film of sought after locations including street scenes, markets, mosques and official looking buildings over to Mumbai.
Director of Bradford UNESCO City of Film, David Wilson said: “Rather than filming in Karachi, the film crew found that it seemed more economical and practical to film the movie here. They took a liking to the colonial type buildings found in and around Bradford that mirrored the architecture found in Karachi. “
The Bradford Bazaar located on Cemetery Road, the streets of Little Germany, Bombay Stores and the council chamber in Bradford’s City Hall were just a few of the locations used as the backdrop in the film.
A good number of scenes shot in Drummonds Mill were also included in the film’s shootings. The locations used lend themselves to the scenes found in a typical Bollywood film.
With a fair chunk of the movie being filmed in Bradford, Wilson said how: “It was a great opportunity to show what diverse locations we have to offer here in Bradford, in terms of the architecture, backdrop and scenery. With Bradford having a very diverse work force and diverse locations it makes it a cool place to come and make films. In the past, Bradford has doubled as London and Berlin in some films, and now Karachi.”
Welcome To Karachi stars Arshad Warsi and Jackky Bhagnani who play two Indian friends planning to go to the United States. In a bid to avoid all the hassle of visas etc, they try reach America via boat. Things go badly wrong when a storm breaks on the ocean and they end up in Karachi with no passports, money or official papers.
Things take a humorous turn for the worse when both Warsi and Bhagnani get trapped in web of the Taliban and try to find a way to get back to India.
David hopes that more Bollywood films will be made in Bradford and the wider Yorkshire region. “We are confident that filming will continue to increase in Bradford. Bradford has a very film friendly approach with it being the world’s first UNESCO City Of Film. We need to let the world know that we are here and that we have the facilities, and that we can respond to the creative brief when film crews come calling.
David admitted how he would like to see a Bollywood Bronte- a Bollywood version of Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights, its all just a matter of time to find out when the next Bollywood blockbuster will be hitting the streets of Bradford.
Welcome to Karachi will be released in India on 21 May 2015. Bradford City of Film are currently discussing the possibility of a UK premiere.
