Panaji: Goa is increasingly becoming a preferred movie shooting destination for Bollywood and regional filmmakers. With the number of film shootings crossing the 100-mark till August this year, as against 80 in the previous two years, it’s evident that filmmakers are flocking the tourist state with every passing season.
Successful films like Mohit Suri’s Ashiqui 2 and upcoming releases including Rohit Shetty’s Chennai Express and Milan Luthria’s Once Upon a time in Mumbai Dobaara have been partially shot in Goa. The records available with the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG), a state government body dealing with the permissions for film shootings, show that even tele-serials and reality shows are stepping into the scene.
Vikram Bhatt’s Hate Story 2 was shot in Goa extensively while Sunny Leone and Tamil actor Bharath Niwas’ flick Jackpot is also being shot here. Abbas Tyrewala’s romantic comedy film Mango which is shot on the streets of Panaji hit a controversy earlier this month when bouncers hired by the makers manhandled social activist Dr. Oscar Rebello for allegedly disturbing a shot.
The shooting had to be abandoned for a day after local civic body revoked the shooting permission.
Zombie comedy Go Goa Gone was shot on the state’s beaches while Murder-3 also had Goa as its backdrop in many scenes. In 2011, Goa prominently featured in Rohit Shetty’s Singham and Maneesh Sharma’s Ladies vs Ricky Bahl.