Will Ireland be filmmakers' next favourite destination?

Mumbai, Aug 10 (IANS) Salman Khan-starrer "Ek Tha Tiger" has been shot exclusively in Ireland and director Kabir Khan feels that it was good to explore those places that have remained untapped till now.

"Ireland was a rewarding experience for us. The locations were very exquisite and we also wanted to shoot the movie at a location which was hitherto untouched by Bollywood," Khan said in a statement.

In September last year, Kabir shot at some of the best locations of Dublin such as Trinity College, Temple Bar, Ha'penny Bridge, along the Liffey river and Millennium Bridge.

Kabir thanked the Irish film board for helping him explore the romantic locations.

"Tourism Ireland and the Irish Film Board helped us tremendously in identifying the appropriate locales which not only added romanticism to the movie, but also helped us maintain our cost of production which is important for the success of any movie," he said.

"Ek Tha Tiger", releasing Aug 15, is Kabir's third directorial venture after "Kabul Express" and "New York". The movie, in which Salman plays a spy, also features his ex-girlfriend Katrina Kaif, making it one of the much-awaited films of the year.

Earlier, Indian filmmakers showed interest in locales like Switzerland, London, New York, Spain, Mauritius, Singapore and Thailand and shot many films there. It also boosted the tourism in the respective nations.

"Bollywood is constantly on the lookout for exotic locations to shoot their movies. Ireland offers varied landscapes and this has resulted in a lot of Indian production houses now exploring the option of filming in Ireland," said Simon Gregory, director of markets, Tourism Ireland.

"Award winning movies such as 'Braveheart' and 'Saving Private Ryan' were filmed here. We are sure that 'Ek Tha Tiger' will join the ranks of these esteemed movies," Gregory added. Click the Movie button below for more info:
Ek Tha Tiger