Queenstown ‘Stars’ In Hit Bollywood Movie

Monday, 5 July 2010, 4:25 pm
Press Release: Destination Queenstown

Queenstown ‘Stars’ In Hit Bollywood Movie

Imran Khan (left) and Sonam Kapoor credit Dharma Productions

It was ‘luv’ at first sight for movie goers in India and across the world as a Bollywood film featuring Queenstown became an overnight box office hit.

‘I Hate Luv Storys’, a romantic comedy movie starring Bollywood heartthrobs Imran Khan and Sonam Kapoor, has been ranked India’s 12th best net grossing movie of all time on opening day.

The movie premiered in India on Friday (2 July) with movie theatres experiencing between 80-100% capacity on opening day. Several theatres increased the number of screenings in response to demand.

The movie has a potential audience of 150 million people and Director Punit Malhotra said Queenstown was not only a location for the movie, it was one of the ‘characters’.

Bollywood experts said the strong production company brand, combined with a fresh pairing of Indian stars, excellent music and terrific promotion had lured audiences in their hordes.

‘I Hate Luv Storys’ was partially filmed in Queenstown, New Zealand’s premier four season lake and alpine resort, at the start of this year. The resort town’s spectacular scenery has made it a popular backdrop for other Hollywood movies such as The Lord of the Rings, Wolverine, The Water Horse, 10,000 BC, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Vertical Limit, and Prince Caspian.

Tourism New Zealand’s regional manager for India and Southeast Asia, Kiran Nambiar, was instrumental in attracting the film-makers of ‘I Hate Luv Storys’ to New Zealand and worked closely with Destination Queenstown during the filming to maximise exposure.

”The film has already achieved some great results for New Zealand,” Mr Nambiar said. “It’s not just the movie that’s giving Queenstown and New Zealand such great profile – there’s also the coverage which has resulted from the Indian media contingent who accompanied the director and stars on the shoot.”

Tourism New Zealand and Destination Queenstown hosted a range of media in Queenstown during filming, including fashion magazine L'Officiel which featured an 18-page photo shoot on lead actress Sonam Kapoor.

A week before ‘I Hate Luv Storys’ premiered, more than 20 million viewers in India got an in-depth look at Queenstown thanks to several half-hour documentaries shot during the filming of the movie. “Sonam & Imran’s Adventures” was screened in a prime time Friday evening slot on NDTV 24x7 and was repeated several times during the following weekend.

Destination Queenstown CEO Tony Everitt is delighted with Queenstown’s global exposure.

“What a great way to showcase Queenstown to the world and particularly to India and its expatriates,” he said.

“In terms of tourism, India continues to be one of the global powerhouses so we’re hoping the movie will prompt more people to come and experience Queenstown for themselves. The Indian market is extremely valuable to Queenstown because our low season coincides with their high season - it complements the travel patterns from other markets and delivers business at a perfect time.

“Tourism New Zealand, Destination Queenstown and Film Queenstown worked together seamlessly to bring the movie here and we’re continuing to look for opportunities to bring Queenstown to the big screen.”

ENDS

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