SAJAforum: Bollywood Outsources … from New York to Philadelphia

After years of filming scenes in New York, Bollywood is now outsourcing. According to a Greater Philadelphia Film Office spokesperson, an Indian film production team is currently using Philadelphia as a “stunt double” for a film set in the Big Apple:

The winner here, she says, is the city’s economy:

“We’re able to provide them with an American big city location that doubles very well for New York at a lower price. They’re using local resources and paying for them and staying in local hotels and spending quite a lot of money here.” [link]

While the Film Office has been mostly hush-hush about the film’s details, to avoid a “paparazzi blitz,” the secret seems not all that carefully guarded. The film is an action flick starring John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, and Neil Nitin Mukesh, and its highly creative working title is “New York.” Although production began in August, the Film Office only this week revealed word of the film’s shooting in an effort to prevent the public from going on red alert over the dramatic scenes being shot over the weekend:

If you’re walking in Center City this weekend, near 16th and Market streets, don’t mind the FBI helicopters overhead or the sounds of gunfire.

“Don’t be concerned, it’s just a movie,” said Sharon Pinkenson, executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Film Office….

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