Bollywood Comes to Miami

Travel Blog  •  Eva Holland  •  12.19.08 | 11:44 AM ET

Well here’s a new twist on an old theme. Instead of a Hollywood movie exposing American travelers to new and exotic locations (say, New Zealand, Colombia, or… Wyoming), it looks like Bollywood is set to launch some of its legions of fans towards a domestic tourism hotspot: Miami. The newest Indian blockbuster, Dostana, was shot entirely in South Florida, and the Greater Miami tourism bureau is calling it “one big postcard” for the city.

The movie follows the story of two men who pretend to be a gay couple so they can move in with their landlady’s (predictably stunning) niece. Singing, dancing, juicy beach shots, and plenty of intense gazes ensue. (And yes, we’ve got video after the jump.)

You know at first, this story struck me as being pretty high on the wacky scale—but now that I think about it, there might be no American city better suited to the Bollywood treatment than Miami. Wouldn’t you agree? (Via Coastal Living’s Shore Trips blog)


Eva Holland is co-editor of World Hum. She is a former associate editor at Up Here and Up Here Business magazines, and a contributor to Vela. She's based in Canada's Yukon territory.


4 Comments for Bollywood Comes to Miami

Kelsey 12.19.08 | 4:57 PM ET

Ah…the ol’ pretend-to-be-gay-so-you-get-the-babe routine…works every time!

John M. Edwards 12.19.08 | 5:28 PM ET

Hi Eva:

It’s hard to believe that with all the Hollywood movies out on the market that there is this other place called Bollywood on the other side of the world which churns out just as many—none of which we really get a chance to see. Save if we’re passing by an Indian Thrift and DVD store in say, Queens, or Metropark, New Jersey.

A friend of mine once went out with a Bollywood actor who had moved permanently to the US to try his feet in Broadway musicals. She said that he was vain and selfish, and that he frequently reapplied his hair cream to get the appopriate sheen, often asking if he did not indeed look like a “little boy.” It goes without saying the relationship didn’t last long.

Anyway, I saw a Bollywood epic once and it reminded me of a stylized mix of Sergeant Pepper meets Dirty Dancing. Clocking in at three hours, I wouldn’t see it again, even if I could remember the name. But we should start to pay more attention to our Indian allies: “Slumdog Millionaire,” for example, looks like it might snatch Oscar.

John M. Edwards

Ling 12.20.08 | 9:52 AM ET

Guess they got tired of shooting in New York and London. I’ve seen a few of these movies, and most of their foreign locales, which usually appear out of nowhere during the song and dance routines, are either in New York, or London or Switzerland.

Darius Fessahazion 12.21.08 | 3:52 PM ET

I would think las vegas would be better suited for the bollywood theme. I run a travel blog related to las vegas. Las Vegas Cheap Hotels

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