Manoj Kumar refused to take flight to London to shoot his 1970 blockbuster film Purab Aur Pacchim, and instead, opted to travel by a ship that took him a month to reach the shoot location.
From Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol’s hit song Gerua from Dilwale being shot in Iceland to Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone-starrer Tamasha being shot in the French island Corsica, it is quiet common for the filmmakers today to shoot their films in exotic locations. However, fifty years ago, it was rare for a Bollywood film to be shot abroad.
The 1970 drama Purab Aur Pachhim was produced and directed by Manoj Kumar, who also played the leading role of Bharat. The patriotic drama was shot in India and London. When the superstar Manoj Kumar reached London to shoot the first schedule of the film, he got fever and broke out in boils as soon as he stepped down from the airplane. To shoot the track Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram, Kumar had to hide his face and neck from the camera.
Thus, before the second schedule of the film’s shoot in London, Manoj Kumar refused to travel by plane and instead, chose to take a month-long ship journey to London. Since he was the producer of the film, he adjusted everyone’s schedule accordingly and made sure that the rest of the cast and crew come to London a month later by plane.
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Apart from Manoj Kumar, Purab Aur Pachhim starred Saira Banu, Ashok Kumar, Kamini Kaushal, Pran, Prem Chopra, Nirupa Roy, Vinod Khanna, and Madan Puri in pivotal roles. The film turned out to be a blockbuster and ran for over 50 weeks in London. The 2007 romantic drama Namastey London, starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif, takes its inspiration from this 1970 classic.
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