TV serials shot in foreign locations

It is a known formality in films to travel places and shoot in the beautiful locations of Swiss Alps and London streets. But now TV serials too have started travelling places giving a visual treat to the viewers. Many serials over the years have been shot in the locales of Dubai, Switzerland, Macau, Australia, UK, and Singapore. Be it the much-awaited honeymoon track, or the official trips, certain highpoints in the foreign land, sequences shot abroad have always been a hit on TV!! Tellychakkar.com lists out some of the serials shot in foreign locales. Rab Se Sohna Ishq (London) Rab Se Sohna Ishq of Jay Mehta's Jay Productions for Zee TV is supposed to be India's first ever cross continental love story on television. The first few episodes of the show were shot in the city of dreams i.e. London. The serial told the love story of Sahiba (Ekta Kaul), Ranveer (Ashish Sharma), Daljeet (Kanan Malhotra) and Jassveer (Sukriti Kandpal). Sahiba was deserted by the man she loved on their wedding day. But she decided to get him back at any cost and chased him to London from Punjab. Her first obstacle occurred when in order to acquire a passport she had to be married. She met Daljeet and married him, and they left for London in search of Ranveer. The drama which kick-started on the foreign land was brought into life through exotic locales that included bistros, galleries, museums, opera houses, fine restaurants, trams and the Big Ben that London is known for. The serial’s cast and crew spent three months of shoot time in England and even hired local talent to play small roles in the show. Diya Aur Baati Hum (Singapore) The most popular television show Diya Aur Baati Hum (Shashi-Sumeet Productions) on Star Plus had a 10-day shoot in the City of Lions aka Singapore. The plot of the story went like this. The male protagonist of the show Sooraj (Anas Rashid) got an opportunity to take part in an international cooking competition in a bid to win the title of the world's Top Cook. So he along with his wife Sandhya (Deepika Singh), the female protagonist, Bhabho and Babasa left for the city. It was in the heart of Singapore that Sooraj emerged victorious. It was also in Singapore that Sandhya declared her love for Sooraj and the romance between them kick-started. Bade Achhe Lagte Hain (Australia, Dubai) Bade Achhe Lagte Hain (Balaji Telefilms) on Sony Entertainment Television, is the story of two people Priya Sharma (Sakshi Tanwar) and Ram Kapoor (Ram Kapoor) who got married in their middle age and found love after matrimony. In order to make them come closer, Priya and Ram’s friends surprised them with two tickets to Australia for their honeymoon. The couple was seen visiting the famous Sydney Cricket Ground, Opera House, the rock formation popularly known as Three Sisters during their honeymoon stay. They were also shown indulging in some of the most exclusive holidaying experiences, which included a sea plane ride, harbor cruise, Ferrari drive and a visit to the luxurious Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa. The makers also filmed areas in and around Sydney, including the Grand Pacific Drive and a visit to the Blue Mountains. The beauty and the diversity of the country were clearly etched out in these sequences. Later when the show took a leap after Priya and Ram got separated, it was in Dubai that they met again. Saath Nibhana Saathiya (Switzerland) The beauty of Switzerland cannot be explained in words. Its quaint beauty surrounded by beautiful snow and mountains and its popularity has been visualized through numerous Yash Raj Films. Yet again the uniqueness of the place was flaunted in front of the audience through the popular Star Plus small screen show Saath Nibhana Saathiya (Rashmi Sharma Productions) that showcases the lives of two cousin sisters, Gopi and Rashi, after their marriage in the same household. The show which garnered huge TRPs shot some special episodes in Switzerland. It was shown that the two male protagonists of the show Ahem Modi (Mohammad Nazim) and Jigar Modi (Vishal Singh) got an international project and they along with their wives and Ahem’s mother went to Switzerland. The audience was visually treated to beautiful sites such as Lake Geneva Region, Ticino and Lucerne as well as snow-clad Swiss Alps. Some song sequences were also shot where Gopi (Giaa Maanek) dreamt of romancing with Ahem and Jigar with his wife Raashi (Rucha Hasabnis) in a typical Bollywood style. Hitler Didi (Macau) The serial Hitler Didi on Zee TV, produced by Trilogy which dealt with the life of the young Indira Sharma (Rati Pandey) who took on the responsibility of single-handedly managing her family was a house hold hit. It was during this time that the show’s parent channel Zee TV hosted their Zee Cine awards in Macau. In order to promote the award show, Hitler Didi shot some special episodes in Macau with the cast Rati Pandey, Sumit Vats, Gargi Sharma. The protagonists ‘Hitler Didi’ Indira and Rishi (Sumit Vats) travelled to Macau in search of Indira’s sister Mandira (Gargi Sharma) who had fled with Manoj Chaddha who was planning to exploit her. After a series of incidents, Mandira got arrested by the Macau police and Indira and Rishi had to get married in Macau in order to free her. Indira and Rishi as part of their investigation were seen running around the beautiful city of Macau. CID (Paris) The longest running show of Indian television, CID, produced by Fireworks Productions for Sony Entertainment Television, has received wide critical acclaim acclamations. The show is a massive hit amongst people and the cast ACP Pradyuman (Shivaji Satham), Senior Inspector Daya (Dayanad Shetty), Senior Inspector Abhijeet (Adithya Srivastav) are household names. Their mannerisms are imitated all over in comedy shows and various fanfictions are written based on them. The CID team which usually solves the cases within the country embarked on a journey to the city of Love aka Paris to solve kidnapping mystery of their own kinsmen. We could see the hefty muscleman of the team, including Inspector Daya running around and exploring the fashion streets and old and shady lanes and buildings of Paris. Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chand (London) Aired on Star Plus, Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chand was produced and directed by veteran actress Aruna Irani. This serial was shot in London and depicted the story of a Punjabi family settled in London for 50 years. Actress Sangeeta Ghosh played the role of Parminder Kaur, who despite being an NRI had deep Indian values. In London she got engaged to another NRI named Rohan (Siddharth Dhawan) but fate made her fall in love with a young man named Dev (Varun Badola) who was born and brought up in India. This serial had many beautiful Hindi-Punjabi songs performed by playback singer Sukhwinder. Most of the scenes were shot in London especially the homes and restaurants. Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chand was a huge hit amongst the audience especially for its star cast, huge sets, locations and costumes. Kayamath (Turkey) Kayamath which aired on Star Plus was one of the top ten shows of that time. The serial, produced by Balaji Telefilms told the story of lovers Prachi (Panchi Bora) and Neev (Jay Bhanushali), Milind (Shabbir Ahluwalia) and Ayesha (Sanjeeda Sheikh). Some of the episodes of the show were shot in beautiful cities of Turkey especially Istanbul. Milind went to Turkey and became a millionaire. Prachi, Neev and Ayesha met him there after a long time. We could see the protagonists exploring the area in order to find out about Prachi’s father’s killer; also we could see Ayesha driving rashly on the streets of Turkey, ending up being in Police custody. Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (Switzerland) The most popular evergreen show of Indian television, Ekta Kapoor’s Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi that aired on Star Plus had a huge fan following. The antagonist Ansh Virani (Akashdeep Saigal) left for Switzerland with Nandini (Gauri Tejwani) in the pretence of doing business but he had the hidden desire of physically exploiting her. Later on Tulsi (Smriti Irani) also went to the place to help out Ansh and thus inadvertently foiling Ansh’s plans. Switzerland which holds a special place in everyone’s mind, thanks to Yash Raj films, mesmerized the audience once again through this evergreen show. They were visually treated to snow-laded Swiss Alps and surrounding scenery. The beauty of the place was clearly etched out here and the magic was brought out through the eyes of Ekta Kapoor and mesmerized the audience. Saraswatichandra (Dubai, London) Saraswatichandra is enthralling the audience with the passionate love story of Saras (Gautam Rhode) and Kumud (Jennifer Singh Grover)on Star Plus. Originally a Sanjay Leela Bansali creation, the show now produced by Sphere Origins is famous with its extravagant settings and starcast. Some of the special episodes of the show were shot at the pearl of Gulf, Dubai and at The City of London. The initial episodes which established the character of Saraswatichandra was featured in some of Dubai’s renowned landmarks such as the Burj Khalifa. Bhansali constructed a three-storeyed set in Dubai specifically for these sequences. Another couple of special episodes were recently shot in the beautiful and elegant City of London. Apparently Kabir (Ashish Kapoor), Saraswatichandra’s long lost brother, was kidnapped in London by their step mother’s goons. So Saras and Kumud went to London to save Kabir and bring him back. The scenes were shot at various landmarks of London and you could see Saras and Kumud searching for Kabir in London Eye, Tower Bridge, Butlers Wharf, Albert Hall Museum, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, Windsor Castle and Oxford Street. Sanskaar Dharohar Apnon Ki (New York, New Jersey) Colors’ Sanskaar Darohar Apnon Ki Season 1 (Cinematra / Anahita Productions) told the story of a Gujarati boy who moved to the US to work and got married to an NRI girl. The scenes were mainly shot in the New York City and New Jersey. We could see the snowbladed streets of New York and New Jersey in the show and the protagonists Jai Kishan (Jay Soni) and Bhoomi (Shamin Mannan) romancing their way around them. Kaisa Yeh Ishq Hai Ajab Sa Risk Hain (Singapore) Kaisa Yeh Ishq Hai, Ajab Sa Risk Hai is the love story of a modern Singaporean girl Simmi (Sukirti Khandpal) and typical Haryanvi boy Rajveer (Gaurav S Bajaj), eventually moving into a joint family system post marriage. The first few of the episodes were shot outdoors in the picturesque locations of Macau, Singapore and Bangkok. It was here that Simmi and Rajveer worked together in the same company and after a lot of nokjhoks they fell in love and Rajveer brought her to his patriarchal family. The show, produced by Siddhant Cinevisions was aired in Life OK channel and was an instant hit. Savitri (Bangkok) Life OK’s Savitri, produced by Flying Turtle and dealt with reincarnation and immortality, amazed the audience with its scenic shots in Andaman and Bangkok. The story was that Savitri (Ridhi Dogra) and Satya (Yash Pandit) were the reincarnations of Princess Damayanti and Senapati Veer. They were not able to marry in their past life because of the interference of Rahukaal (Krip Suri). However, before dying they promised each other that they will incarnate in hundred births and marry each other. It was in the year 2013, that Satya and Savitri got married and they left for their honeymoon to Andaman but as fate had it, Rahukaal followed them. Amidst all the paranormal activities, viewers got to see some cheerful romance happening in the beautiful locales of Andaman. There was a beautifully sequenced underwater sequence wherein Savitri and Satya went scuba diving which was shot in Bangkok. Pyaar Ka Dard Hai.. Meetha Meetha Pyaara Pyaara (Australia) Star Plus’ Pyaar Ka Dard Hai Meetha Meetha Pyaara Pyaara (Rajshri Productions) tells the story of Aditya (Nakuul Mehta) and Pankhuri (Disha Parmar) who are poles apart in behavior. However they discovered each other’s undying love for each other and got married after a lot of drama. On screen’s current favorite Jodi and the favorite serial visually treated the audience with their honeymoon in Australia. Adi and Pankhuri got to romance in the exotic locales of Australia. Truly amazing scenes these were, shot at picture-perfect locations abroad!! Well, the list will double up for sure in the near future, as television really benefits from such lavish outings. If we missed anything, feel free to share in the comment section below.