gKey Highlights
- By the mid 1990s, Bollywood slowly began filming in locations across Australia, which had a wide array of beaches, rainforests, reefs and urban landscapes
- The 1996 movie, Indian, is the first ever Indian film to feature a kangaroo cameo
- Sydney and Melbourne seem to be favourites, having been featured in several Bollywood films, like Dil Chahta Hai, Bachna Ae Haseeno, Chak De! India and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
- Several popular hindi serials like Bade Acche Lagte Hain, Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki and Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi have also filmed certain sequences in Sydney
By the mid-1990s, as India’s film industry stepped confidently into the era of economic liberalisation, Bollywood became one of the country’s most visible cultural exports. Its appetite for international locations grew just as Australia opened its arms, and its landscapes, to film-makers looking for a blend of urban gloss and natural spectacle. While the 1996 film Indian often gets credit for the first kangaroo cameo in Indian cinema, the connection stretches back further: as early as 1974, Majboor nodded to Australia with a playful poster featuring Amitabh Bachchan and a ‘hop, skip and jump’ reference to Perth and Sydney.
Since then, the continent’s cities, beaches, rainforests, reefs, and wide-open spaces have become recurring features in Hindi cinema. Here’s a look at a few notable productions that carried Bollywood’s storytelling into Australia’s distinctive terrain.
Major Saab (1998)
Major Saab’s song Pyaar Kiya Toh Nibhana was shot at Queensland’s lush Millaa Millaa Falls. The 18-metre cascade, with its clear swimming pool below, lends an idyllic setting to Sonali Bendre and Ajay Devgn’s romance. The falls have since become a regular pit-stop for Bollywood fans exploring the region.
Dil Chahta Hai (2001)
Few films captured the imagination of an entire generation like Dil Chahta Hai. Portions of its soundtrack, particularly Jaane Kyun, unfold across Sydney’s most recognisable icons, including the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. The aching solitude of Tanhayee makes evocative use of Milsons Point Railway Station, Waverley Cemetery and the Macquarie Lighthouse, giving the emotional arc a striking Australian backdrop.
Chak De! India (2007)
Chak De! India found its on-screen home in Melbourne’s sporting heart. The city’s infrastructure — Webb Bridge, the State Netball and Hockey Centre, the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre and even the Sydney Olympic Park — served as fitting arenas for a story centred on discipline, ambition and national pride. The clean modernist lines of Melbourne’s architecture amplified the film’s sense of purpose and grit.
Singh Is Kinng (2008)
Akshay Kumar’s flamboyant Happy Singh brings his comic chaos to Brisbane and the Gold Coast in Singh Is Kinng. Between pratfalls and romance with Katrina Kaif, the film showcases Brisbane City Hall, Kangaroo Point, Chinatown and the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art. The region’s buoyant, sunshine-soaked vibe fits well with the film’s broad humour and high-energy set pieces.
Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008)
Ranbir Kapoor’s Raj, drifting breezily through a string of romances, finds one of his narrative chapters unfolding in Sydney. The film frequently returns to the Opera House and to Hyde Park’s Archibald Fountain, which lends the scenes a leisurely, cosmopolitan sheen. Sydney’s familiar waterfront is woven effortlessly into the film’s youthful, everyday charm.
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013)
The Milkha Singh biopic revisited Australia to capture a different mood altogether. Ghul Mil Launda, filmed along Melbourne’s beaches, infuses the narrative with warmth and playfulness as Farhan Akhtar’s Milkha encounters Rebecca Breeds’s character. Beyond these scenes, Melbourne landmarks such as Federation Square, Eureka Skydeck and the Victorian Arts Centre often feature on Bollywood travel itineraries inspired by the film.
Shaadi Ke Side Effects (2014)
This Farhan Akhtar–Vidya Balan starrer wove Queensland’s tropical radiance into its romantic moments. The state’s postcard-worthy attractions — the Gold Coast, Great Barrier Reef, Whitehaven Beach and Airlie Beach — frame the film’s lighter, more whimsical stretches, adding an expansive outdoor charm to its urban marital comedy.
Bade Acche Lagte Hain (2011-2014)
The fascination with Australia isn’t limited to films. Television too embraced its scenic promise. Bade Acche Lagte Hain filmed its honeymoon episodes in Sydney, covering Bondi Beach, the Botanic Garden, the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and the Sydney Cricket Ground. The city also hosted shoots for Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Pyaar Ka Dard Hai Meetha Meetha Pyaara Pyaara, reinforcing Australia as a preferred canvas for Indian serials seeking a global sheen.
Across films and television, Australia has offered Bollywood not only a spectrum of visual possibilities but also a symbolic worldliness, one that mirrors, and sometimes amplifies, the aspirations of modern Indian storytelling.
What are some popular filming locations in Australia?
Some popular filming locations in Australia include Sydney, Melbourne, Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Gold Coast, Great Barrier Reef
Which Indian films have been shot in Sydney?
Dil Chahta Hai and Bachna Ae Haseeno are two popular Bollywood films that were shot in Sydney
Which Hindi films have been shot in Melbourne?
Chak De! India and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag are two notable Hindi films that were shot in Melbourne
Was Bade Achche Lagte Hain filmed in Australia?
The popular Hindi serial, Bade Achche Lagte Hain, was mostly filmed in India, with the honeymoon episodes being filmed in multiple locations across Sydney, such as Bondi Beach, the Botanic Garden, the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Where should Bollywood fans go in Australia?
Bollywood fans in Australia should visit the Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Sydney Cricket Ground, Milla Milla Falls in Queensland, Brisbane City Hall, Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, Great Barrier Reef, Bondi Beach and Gold Coast.
