Bollywood back in Russia: After a long break, more Indian films being screened & shot in the country
Indian films and were floored by Raj Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty, Hema Malini and Shah Rukh Khan years ago. Now, after a gap of about three decades, industry players and authorities are working to reignite the old cultural affiliation through Indian films by increasing film shoots and screenings of Indian films in Russia.
Film production and distribution companies and government officials in Russia are looking to attract Indian filmmakers and films now that Hollywood films are absent in Russia following the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Sarfaraz Alam Safu, who runs Kartina Entertainment, a line production company for Indian films in Russia and CIS countries, said Indian filmmakers are showing increasing interest and parts of some recent films including Sardar Udham, Pathan, Tiger, and Jugjugg Jeeyo were shot there.
“I am also working on a film, which is a biopic of Rakesh Sharma (the first Indian in space) to be shot here, which will be produced by Siddharth Roy Kapoor,” Safu said. “Companies such as Dharma Productions, Excel Entertainment, Emmay Entertainment, Rohit Shetty Productions, and many more are in touch with us for several projects,” he added.
Local authorities are hoping to attract more Indian filmmakers this year through discounted production costs.
“We are now like the front office or supermarket of any services for filmmakers, as we are trying to cut their production expenses as much as possible by offering a low price to shoot here,” said Evgeny Kozlov, first deputy head of the office of the mayor and
