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Bollywood,
the Indian moviemaking industry, traces its roots to Bombay (now
Mumbai) to the 1930s, and since then has been producing as many as
1,000 feature films annually in a variety of cities and scenic
landscapes all over India and the world. Enormous amounts are spent in
majestic environments and foreign countries for the production of the
three-hour movies that offer to millions of Indians time-honoured
values, cultural interchange and the chance to escape from everyday
pressures. No doubt, there has been an emphasis on the major centres
of Indian immigration such as London and New York, as well as the
mountainous landscapes of Switzerland and the long tropical beaches of
Mauritius. But recent Indian directors have begun to look to new and
less familiar locations, such as Hungary, Egypt and now Greece. Going
by Bollywood’s track record, we can expect to see more films set in
unfamiliar locations in the future.
Chalte Chalte
produced in 2003 by the trio Shahrukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and Aziz
Mirza's venture Dreamz Unlimited, is perhaps the first major Bollywood
movie produced partly in India and partly in Greece. The movie is
directed by Aziz Mirza himself and stars
Shah Rukh Khan,
Rani Mukherjee,
Jas Arora,
Satish Shah,
Jayshree T,
Rajiv Verma,
Lillete Dubey and
Johnny Lever.
Jatin-Lalit
and Aadesh Srivastav composed the music, while the lyrics are
by Javed Akhtar.
 Chalte
Chalte, which means “walking”, is an average “masala” (mix of spices)
Bollywood movie, is a romantic story dealing with basic human
emotions. It focuses on a theme that is gaining popularity in India
recently: life after marriage.
It
begins promisingly enough. Middle class boy Raj (Shahrukh Khan),
who
runs his own truck driving company,
accidentally meets fashion designer Priya (Rani Mukherjee), who
was born in Greece, falls for her charms and
fights against all odds, pursuing her
all
the way
from India to Athens, to win her love. But when they eventually marry,
new tensions threaten their relationship.
What makes this movie worth seeing is the presence of the two top
Bollywood stars Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee
in
highly emotional scenes and dance. A musical
dance fiesta around
Athens University, Lycabetos Hill, the Olympic Stadium and Plaka
culminates in a long romantic walk into the sunset on the
picturesque island of Mykonos,
as Cupid's wound begins to heal.
 Chalte
Chalte, a modern romance, saw a return to mainstream popularity for
Shah Rukh Khan, but it
falls short of expectations and does not come close to his exceptional
films
Ashoka or
Devdas. Rani
Mukherjee is good, but we expected more, especially when compared with
her previous performances in
Mujhse Dosti Karoge
and more so
Saathiya.
Nevertheless, the film is a pleasant enterprise for Shah Rukh Khan and
Rani Mukherjee fans and indeed fans of modern, light-entertainment
Indian cinema.
Regarding the production of the movie in Greece, grateful thanks were
given to Mr.
Antonio’s Magos, the Honourable Consulate of
Greece in Mumbai and to the former Ambassador of India to
Greece, Mr. A.K. Banerjee. Not mentioned in the film, but worthy of
mention here, is Mr. Maghar Gandhi, the President of the Indo-Greek
Cultural Association in Piraeus, who provided constant guidance and
assistance, as well as generous hospitality in his house in Salamina
for all actors and the production team that visited Greece.
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