Next James Bond Movie May Be Filmed in India

The next installment of the popular James Bond spy film series may be shot in India, according to India Take One Productions (ITOP), a pre-production company based in Delhi.

Rahul Soni, production coordinator at ITOP told BBC that the Indian government has granted permission to the filmmakers to shoot in Mumbai, Delhi and Goa. Reportedly, some filming will also take place in South Africa.

The new entry, which will be the 23rd Bond movie, will be directed by Sam Mendes and released in November 2012.

Daniel Craig will again play the legendary spy.

Pravesh Sahni, one of the film's line producers, told the Delhi Times newspaper that Mendes will likely shoot in Mumbai rather than Delhi.

They wanted to capture Indian streets to show crowded lanes, he told the paper.

The Delhi Times also noted that the film producers received permission from Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi to film some scenes on a train.

I want Daniel Craig to be the brand ambassador for Indian Railways, Trivedi said.
However, he told the Times of India: “One condition for allowing the shoot is that they cannot show India or Indian Railways in bad light and the assurances will have to be given to us in writing. The film will be viewed across the world and it will seem as if all trains here have people travelling on rooftops, which is not true. Also, travelling on the roof of a train is prohibited by law and that cannot be encouraged.”

This would not be the first 007 magnus opus to be filmed in India. ‘Octopussy’, which was released in 1983 and starred Roger Moore in the lead role, was shot in India, including a palace in Udaipur in India.