Tourists milling about聽the Inner Harbour last week got an聽unexpected bonus 鈥� the chance to watch a Bollywood movie being filmed.
鈥淥migawd, omigawd, omigawd!鈥� cried Balpreet Atlas, 18, when she recognized Punjabi film star Neeru Bajwa (Jatt and Juliet) in action.
Atlas, 18, and her friend Kiran Dhesi, 24, came across the film unit while they were showing their Vancouver-based cousin Manpreet Punia, 23, around town.
鈥淭his is so amazing,鈥� said Punia, who was also accompanied by her cousins Lakhvir Atlas, 16, and Simrit Atlas, 14.
The screen idol was on the home-stretch of a two-day shoot for Tere Bina, a musical mystery-comedy directed by Pankaj Batra.
Bajwa, who is also producing the film with her husband, a.k.a. Mystery Man, said she has grown comfortable shooting in Victoria after filming the romantic comedy Sardaar Ji here last fall.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge difference,鈥� the actor and singer said when asked to compare the characters she plays in both films. 鈥淚 played a ghost [in Sardaar Ji], and this time I鈥檓 playing a typical Indian girl on her journey of coming to聽sa国际传媒 looking for a husband.鈥�
The cast and crew of 20聽from India and the Lower Mainland, who were here to film on the Causeway, Bastion Square, the sa国际传媒 Legislature lawn and the Sidney waterfront, is like a family, said Tarannum Thind.
鈥淣eeru is like a sister to me. We鈥檝e been best friends for 12 years,鈥� said the assistant director who worked as a TV producer and anchor before getting into feature films.
鈥淧unjabi films are attracting huge audiences, and this was a great opportunity, so this is why I took it on.鈥�
Thind, whose duties included doing most of the film鈥檚 sa国际传媒 casting, wasn鈥檛 surprised by the amount of attention the film unit attracted on this balmy afternoon.
鈥淣eeru鈥檚 a big star, so we鈥檝e been used to this. Everywhere she goes she attracts a lot of people,鈥� Thind said before the crew chowed down on gourmet hot dogs from Sam鈥檚 Deli & Bistro.
鈥淟ocally, any time you get a crew from Vancouver, for example, they love Indian food, but the crew from India wants to try what鈥檚 from here locally. They don鈥檛 want Indian food so much.鈥�
However, the Indian food catered locally from Sizzling Tandoor during their Victoria visit got a big thumbs-up, she said.
The film unit came mostly to shoot musical sequences, said Bajwa, adding: 鈥淚鈥檓 romancing and lip-synching a bit鈥� for聽songs to be released when the film opens in February.
She said films such as Tere Bina give Punjabi audiences, especially the younger generation, an ideal way to stay connected to their roots.
鈥淚t was my way to connect with my culture and language. I fell in love with Indian films,鈥� said the Canadian-born actor. 鈥淵ou want to see yourself up there when you watch cinema.鈥�
Her husband, with whom she is producing the film 鈥� a dashing fellow who could pass for a matin茅e idol himself 鈥� wears a mask in public and calls himself the Mystery Man for marketing purposes.
鈥淗er fan base is intrigued with who she鈥檚 with and who she鈥檚 married to,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e do it this way because I鈥檓 not a person who really wants to be in the limelight.鈥�
While fans such as Lakhvir Atlas are looking forward to seeing Bajwa鈥檚 next movie, he said it probably won鈥檛 be on the big screen here.
鈥淓mpire Theatres used to show them [at the old Capitol 6] but now you鈥檝e got to go to Vancouver or wait for the DVD.鈥�
