Movie on Mary Kom to be filmed in Darjeeling

EOI, Siliguri, 7 December 2013: The Darjeeling hills and its beauty has fascinated Bollywood filmmakers since the 1950s. Now, after the grand success of blockbuster ‘Barfi’, which was shot in Darjeeling, eminent filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali has decided to shoot his next movie in Darjeeling and some parts of the North Eastern states.

Bhansali is shooting a movie on the life of Olympian boxer Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom of Manipur, who is being played by Priyanka Chopra. The final shots of the film will be taken in Darjeeling ahead of its release next year.

Confirming the report, director Omung Kumar said, "We've shot in Manali and our next shoot schedule in February-March will not be possible in Manipur as it will be snowing there; hence the plan to shoot at a village near Darjeeling.”

Meanwhile, the Union information and broadcasting ministry has written to the GTA expressing its desire to organise a film festival and workshop with directors and producers in Darjeeling to promote the hill town as a shooting destination. The event is likely to be held in February 2014.

The ministry’s letter reads, “A centenary film festival along with a workshop on the subject ‘Queen of the Hills a filming destination for all seasons’ to promote Darjeeling as a filming destination for Indian and foreign films can be organised tentatively in February 2014.”

Over the decades, several Hindi movies have been filmed in Darjeeling and some of them include ‘China Town’ (1962), ‘Aaye Din Bahar Ke’ (1966), ‘Aradhana’ (1969), ‘Mausam’ (1975), ‘Barsat Ki Ek Raat’ (1981), ‘Raju Bangaya Gentleman’ (1992), ‘Via Darjeeling’ (2002), ‘Main Hoon Na’ (2004), ‘Parineeta’ (2005) and ‘Barfi!’ (2012).