The first major Bollywood movie to be shot in Ireland is to receive its worldwide release next month and is expected to reach an audience of more than 100 million viewers in 24 countries.
Executive produced by Brendan McCarthy and John McDonnell of Irish production company Fantastic Films, Bollywood blockbuster ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ was shot in Dublin over five weeks last summer.
The romantic thriller used a number of locations in the capital, including Trinity College, Temple Bar, IMMA, the quays, South King Street, Mount Street, the Shelbourne Hotel, Temple Bar, St Stephen’s Green and Grafton Street.
Speaking to IFTN, McDonnell described the film as a “terrific advertisement for Ireland” and described the experience of working on it as “brilliant, very colourful and it was interesting to see some of the very innovative filming techniques involved in its production”
McDonnell said the film created more than 1,000 short-term jobs in Ireland with line producer Mary McCarthy (Once) and production designer John Hand (Wake Wood) among the Irish crew who worked on the project. Co Wicklow-based special effects company Team Fx also worked on the feature.
The big-budget production received funding through Section 481. Tourism Ireland worked with the Irish Film Board to secure the film for Ireland and with Dublin City Council and other agencies to help facilitate filming in the city, with many organisations such as Trinity College and the Luas tram operators waving fees to facilitate the film.
‘Ek Tha Tiger’ tells the story of a Trinity College scientist suspected of selling missile technology secrets to Pakistan. The Indian government sends a secret agent, codenamed Tiger (Salman Khan), to find out about the professor's activities. Tiger falls in love with the professor's caretaker Zoya (Katrina Kaif) who is studying at a fictional dance academy located at TCD, and together they embark on a roller-coaster journey that takes them from Dublin to Istanbul then to Kazakhstan and Chile.
The feature stars Bollywood superstars Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif and will be released worldwide on Aug 15.
Watch a scene from ‘Ek Tha Tiger filmed at Trinity College in Dublin.
