Switzerland’s Bollywood hotspots

The courtship scenes in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) put Switzerland firmly on the tourist map for many Indians Keystone

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Indian film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, that was extensively filmed in Switzerland, swissinfo.ch has created an interactive map featuring prominent Bollywood filming locations in Switzerland. 

Click on the different locations to watch the movie scenes filmed there.

Bollywood backdrop

Released in 1964, Sangam was the first Indian film shot in Switzerland but it was the 1967 film Evening in Paris, that first used the Alps as backdrop for singing, dancing and romancing. However, it would be a few more decades before Switzerland burst into the Indian consciousness, following the release of the Bollywood film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge in 1995, which featured superstar Shah Rukh Khan as a love-struck Romeo trying to win his lady love Kajol’s heart in the midst of breathtaking Swiss scenery. Many other films subsequently incorporated Switzerland as a backdrop cementing the Alpine nation’s place as a must-visit on any European tour aimed at Indian travellers.

The Swiss tourism industry has been quick to latch on to this free publicity and now actively promotes the country’s link to Bollywood to touristsExternal link and filmmakersExternal link alike.