Rupee plunge means more cheaply-shot Bollywood flicks

While Bollywood feels obliged to churn out a certain number of movies every year, future movies are likely to be relatively low-budget in view of the down-spiralling rupee.

The falling rupee is affecting Bollywood's penchant for shooting in exotic foreign locations-travel for this purpose has seen a dip of 30 to 35 per cent in last four months, according to an industry analysis by the Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).

The filmmakers are opting for non-dollar countries and locations within India to curb costs, the findings show.

"There will be more cut-down in the number of films shot abroad, especially medium and low budget films, and opting for less expensive destinations in South East Asia, Middle East and South Africa," said Assocham secretary general D S Rawat while releasing the report titled Weak rupee dampen spirits of Bollywood filmmakers in foreign locations.

The report said that for filmmakers, the costs turns out to be much higher in countries like the US, the UK, Germany, France, Sweden, Italy, Ireland and Denmark.

"Indian films producers are also reducing the number of days from packages and looking to offset these costs by opting for shorter duration stays and looking at budget accommodation options," said Rawat.

Now, filmmakers are opting for destinations like Sri Lanka, Dubai, Bali, and Phuket, or sticking to Indian destinations such as Kashmir, Kerala and Goa, the report said.