Bollywood and Switzerland have had a long and ‘loving’ affair, which began with Yash Chopra setting the romantic sequences in his films in the idyllic and dreamy locales of the Swiss Alps
A statue of the Late Yash Chopra in SwitzerlandWhen most Westerners who like musicals hear Switzerland mentioned, their first thought tends to be of the Julie Andrews classic, The Sound of Music. Although technically that film is set in Austria and so features the German part of the Alpine range, the distinction is incidental to the beauty of the landscape.
As an Indian-born and raised in Switzerland, my first thought is of the long and beautiful relationship Switzerland has had with the Bollywood film industry. Sure, my family celebrates Diwali every year and like most Indians living overseas I adore my mother’s home-cooked Indian food above all else. But it wasn’t until I discovered Bollywood films at the age of eleven that I got truly connected with the film industry which fused my Swiss home and Indian roots.
The connection between the flair of Bollywood and staid but scenic Switzerland was largely down to one man, the late, great filmmaker Yash Chopra. According to a 2014 report on newlyswissed.com, Chopra first came to Switzerland on honeymoon with his wife Pamela in 1970. It’s strangely befitting that a honeymoon trip began his long love affair with Switzerland, because some of the most romantic sequences in countless films have stemmed from that initial exposure. Even the very last film Yash Chopra directed before his death, Jab Tak Hai Jaan, was meant to have sequences filmed in Switzerland, but that plan was scrapped when he passed away in 2012 at age 80, before the film’s release.
A still from Dilwale Dulhania Le jayengeThe most mind-blowing thing to witness has been the response that Europe has had to Bollywood in the past few years. Since 2012, the popularity of Bollywood filming all over Switzerland has carved a new niche in even the German market. Entire shelves in German malls can now be found devoted to completely dubbed Bollywood films, hilarious to watch in German when one knows what it means in the original language. The best translation failed I’ve ever seen in my life was in Karan Johar’s Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. In the film, Shah Rukh Khan’s character was named Dev. The delivery itself was visibly over the top and dramatic when spoken in German rather than the original Hindi, but what made it even funnier were the subtitles. Every time ‘Dev’ spoke or was referred to by another character, the subtitles would call him ‘Entwickler’ which is German for ‘developer’. Whoever translated for the dubbed film somehow got the idea that the name Dev was short for developer or development and every time I think about that, it cracks me up.
While the landscape portrayed in the films themselves gives Indians a glimpse into the beauty of Switzerland, it goes both ways. Yash Chopra’s fondness for Swiss locations boosted tourism to such an extent that he has been honoured by the locals of Interlaken and in multiple ways.
Yash Chopra first came to Switzerland on honeymoon with his wife Pamela in 1970. It’s strangely befitting that a honeymoon trip began his long love affair with Switzerland, because some of the most romantic sequences in countless films have stemmed from that initial exposure
Chopra at the launch of the train named after himYash Chopra tapped into the appeal of Switzerland’s lush meadows and quaint villages to give people who use Bollywood as a way to dream big, something to aspire to.
It was the 1995 directorial debut of his son Aditya Chopra, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, that was a game changer. Ever since, there has been a deep bond between Bollywood films and Switzerland. For most people, the escape from reality with Raj and Simran’s love story on a train journey across Europe made it the classic it is today. For over 50 years, Switzerland has represented the dream sequences and foreign-location settings that usually made no sense in the scheme of any given film. It was always about giving viewers an idyllic and dreamy setting for the hero and heroine to proclaim their love in, whether relevant to the plot or not.
Exotic backdrops have always been a big part of what gives Bollywood films that quality of escapism from the hardships of daily life. Yash Chopra came to be known as the king of romance for the way he wove stories around the beauty of the Swiss mountains and meadows. It’s safe to say that the gift of romantic story-telling must run in families, because DDLJ united Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol for the second time of many in their careers, and then again by cousin Karan Johar, in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham. Whether Team Chopra or Johar, Dharma Productions or Yashraj Films, I will always be grateful to have an entire film industry tying my two worlds, the Swiss and the Indian, together.
Now it’s not uncommon to find the remains of Indian snacks in the snowy peaks of the Alps, left behind by the constant flow of Indian tourists exploring the places Yash Chopra’s films exposed them to. Times are changing, in both Hollywood and Bollywood—the racy style has become less shocking and more common than it was a few decades ago. But Yash Chopra put tenderness and truly epic love stories out into the world for future generations to enjoy forever and gave hopeless romantics like me something to dream about.
By Rina Haksar
