(From top) PARIS: Hum Tum, GREECE: Chalte Chalte, THAILAND: Murder, NEW ZEALAND: Kaho Naa...Pyaar Hai, THE US: Kal Ho Naa Ho, THE US: Kaante

Bollywood is really going places. Quite literally. Not just in the sense of Bollywood masala being the favourite flavour of the West (you know, the month-long Bollywood festival in Harrods, Karan Johar and Yash Chopra booking permanent places in the UK Top 10, Ash judging Cannes, the Big B?s fan following in Morocco, Andrew Lloyd Webber?s Bombay Dreams?. the list goes on). But also, in the more blatant sense of shooting films all over the world. Well, almost all over the world.

Indeed, these are ?lucky? days for Bollywood. No need to wait for Yash Chopra to give us that peppermint whiff of the Swiss Alps. Today, every filmmaker worth his visa is shooting abroad. And not just in Switzerland. That?s passe. From Russia to New Zealand, Greece to South Africa, Italy to Australia, with Thailand and Mauritius thrown in between in generous measures, Bollywood is seriously looking up the atlas, to redefine the meaning of exotic.

But the extensive use of foreign locales hasn?t necessarily improved the eye-candy value of our films. Unfortunately, ?shooting abroad? has become a status symbol with our filmmakers. The ?keeping up with the Johars? attitude has resulted in such unimaginative use of foreign locations (generally), that they look bland, routine, plastic and are often unnoticed. Nevertheless, some films have succeeded in using stunning locations to distract us from their thinner than tracing paper storylines. And in certain rare cases, the foreign locales form a justified (even if unreal and dreamlike) backdrop for the film.

The recently released Lucky, for instance. Debutant directors Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru have shot it extensively in Russia ? probably the first Indian film to be so shot. The vast, snow-covered wilderness, the smoking breath, the heavy warm clothing, and the red from the bitter cold cheeks provide a fairytale backdrop for the Mills and Boon romance between an innocent schoolgirl and a wickedly charming young man. The bleak and often relentless Russian landscape in Lucky is almost a character by itself in the film. It?s a welcome and striking change from the routinely pretty and nondescript foreign locations used in most Hindi films. And the best part of shooting a film in Russia is that Salman Khan can?t get an excuse to take off his shirt. It?s probably too bitterly cold for him to even try.

Recently, the Tarantino and Oliver Stone devotee Sanjay Gupta?s Kaante generated considerable hype for being shot entirely in the US. Released in end-2002, it was shot in a 50-day schedule in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Even the indoor shooting was done in an LA studio. Although unabashedly ?inspired?, Kaante is nevertheless regarded as something of a landmark in Bollywood because its sleek production design, sepia toned images, and crisp, crackling dialogues give the film a truly international (read: Hollywood) feel. Though certainly not half as stunning as the Russian landscape in Lucky, the typical American setting, especially the abandoned warehouse where the six protagonists meet, adds to the international look of Kaante. More important, it is the use of the high-end production infrastructure at the LA studio, which is responsible for the smooth, glossy look of the film.

However, it is still rare for a Bollywood film to be shot entirely on foreign locations. What happens most often today is that certain portions of the movie are filmed abroad. For instance, all the outdoor, and some of the indoor shooting of Nikhil Advani?s Kal Ho Naa Ho were done in New York and Canada. Most of the indoor shooting, including the chartbusting It?s the time to disco, was done in the Mumbai studios. A self-confessed admirer of Woody Allen and his New York films, Nikhil Advani has used the hustle and bustle of busy, lively New York (where the story is based) quite well in the first half of the film. In fact, the frenetic pace of the first half is probably a reflection of hectic New York. However, Advani has not quite been able to bring New York to life as a living, throbbing character by itself in the film, as his hero Woody Allen often does.

Advani?s producer and mentor, Karan Johar, has so far travelled abroad to Scotland, London and Egypt in the two films that he has directed. In his debut, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, he took us for a vacation in a ?Shimla? summer camp, which was actually shot in Scotland. For the multi-starrer, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham?, he shot the hauntingly beautiful Suraj hua madham amid the pyramids of Egypt ? possibly, the most stunning song picturisation in Bollywood ever. And in the second half, he took us to an incredible London where Londoners drape themselves in the Indian tricolour more proudly than Gandhiji himself might have (that is, if he ever thought of it) and the British museum is a part of yuppie college campuses.

Johar?s best friend and inspiration, Aditya Chopra, shot a considerable part of his debut, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, in London. He also took us on a whirlwind tour of Europe by Eurorail, though he showed a marked preference for Zurich, possibly inheriting daddy dearest?s love for Switzerland. But it is Aditya?s dad, Yash Chopra, who really popularised the idea of shooting abroad. His chiffon-clad heroines, lip-syncing Lata Mangeshkar to make proclamations of everlasting love, in the foreground of the snow-covered Swiss Alps, is the stuff Bollywood legend is made of. Today, of course, Switzerland has lost its claim to be called exotic.

The awe-inspiring Sanjay Leela Bhansali shifted gears in the second half of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, to move from the exquisite traditional Gujarati haveli to gorgeous Italy. Shah Rukh Khan followed Rani Mukherjee to Greece to woo her in Aziz Mirza?s Chalte Chalte. A considerable part of Kunal Kohli?s Hum Tum is shot in Paris. There?s also a brief stopover at Amsterdam for Yeh ladki kyon. Jeans travelled all over the world to capture the Seven Wonders of the World.

And it?s not just Europe and America that have caught our filmmakers? fancy. They have also travelled down South to shoot their films. Director Rakesh Roshan introduced his son, Hrithik, and the breathtaking locales of New Zealand to Bollywood, with Kaho Na...Pyaar Hai. Farhan Akhtar packed Priety Zinta and Aamir Khan off to Sydney, to discover their love for one another in Dil Chahta Hai. Abbas-Mustan?s Soldier had Bobby Deol playing the drums on Sydney Harbour Bridge. Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor?s search took them to South Africa in Suneel Darshan?s Talaash.

These expensive locales aside, there are economical options, too, such as Thailand and Mauritius. Mahesh Bhatt travelled to Mauritius to film the puppy-love story, Papa Kehte Hain. Last year, the Bhatts went off to Thailand to film Mallika Sherawat?s Bheege honth tere and adulterous ways in Murder. But for some reason, Bollywood?s globetrotting filmmakers have not yet ventured into South America and the interiors of Africa. A real pity, because the rich musical and dancing tradition, and the passionate, vibrant culture of Latin America have tremendous cinematic value. The African jungles would make for a great Bollywood safari. Hopefully though, Bollywood will soon expand its atlas to include these as well. Karan Johar, Aditya Chopra, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, we pray you are listening?.