By Tim Lambourne
Bollywood is the biggest movie industry in the world and if you are lucky enough to feature in its blockbusters, superstardom is guaranteed.
Its latest star is a Kiwi - kind of. Queenstown and its remarkable scenery was chosen as the location for the film I Hate Luv Storys.
For two of Bollywood's rising stars, Sonam Kapoor and Imran Khan, falling in love with Queenstown was inevitable.
“This is the most breathtaking place I have been in my life. I mean look at it, it's beautiful, it's so stunning, it's just out of this world,” says Kapoor
The pair was in New Zealand's tourism capital earlier this year filming I Hate Luv Storys.
The plot - two Bollywood actors fly to Queenstown to shoot a film and end up falling in love, but clearly not just with each other.
“For me hands down the highlight has been sky diving. I knew that before I even came here, I knew that I was going to do it, I had been wanting to do it for years - that's my highlight,” says Kahn.
For Khan and Kapoor it is not just the scenery that's impressive.
“People seem to take a very, very serious interest in looking after it and making sure you don't chuck garbage around and making sure that everything is kept clean,” says Khan.
The movie premiered in India yesterday and has a potential audience of 150 million people.
Last night Kiwi audiences had their first chance to see it, but many Bollywood fans don't bother going to the cinema. Illegal copies swamp the black market almost immediately.
Film distributor Agastya Pesara says film pirates often work fast.
“Sometimes films will come out the very same day - it's a shocker,” he says.
With around 26,000 Indian tourists visiting every year, Tourism New Zealand hopes this will be one love story with a happy ending.
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