Chak de! India in Australia

SYDNEY: Australia will be the backdrop of yet another Yash Chopra film. Chak De! India (Go India!), an international sports film, will be shot in Melbourne and Sydney with local line producers Black Cat Films.

Yash Raj Films’ Chak De! India stars Bollywood heart-throb Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role and is directed by Shimit Amin, whose debut feature Ab Tak Chappan was a big hit at the 2004 Indian Film Festival in Australia.

Chak De! India is the story of a disgraced player who returns to the game after a seven year hiatus to become a coach of an ignored Indian women’s hockey team. He has a fixed agenda and unfortunately, so do the girls. They arrive in Australia to compete in the women’s world cup. What unfolds is a struggle for self respect and eventually the country’s honour.

The film is supported by Film Victoria, Hockey Victoria and State Netball Hockey Centre. Hockey Victoria and some of its best players are coming forward to be part of the film, which will raise the profile of the game to new levels. Black Cat Films, one of Australia’s leading film production companies, will be the Line producers, coordinating all aspects of shooting in Australia including locations, extras casting and Australian crew. The company has previously line produced Yash Raj Films’ Salaam Namaste, the first Indian film to be shot entirely in Australia.

Black Cat Films’ sister company MG Distribution releases exclusively Indian films in Australia and screens the annual Indian Film Festival in Australia, which tours nationally.

At the 2006 Festival, beginning next week, Yash Chopra will be felicitated for his contribution to cinema at a celebration of Indian film and fashion in Melbourne. Other festival guests include Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Kunal Kohli, Apoorva Lakhia, Homi Adjania, Simi Garewal, Madhavan, Kunal Kapoor and Dipannita Sharma.