After more than four years, Melbourne was again a destination for investment by Indian film and television production as a Pepsi commercial was filmed using the talents of hundreds of cast and crew from Victoria.
Part of one of the biggest campaigns by the soft drink major leading up to the Cricket World Cup, the TVC stars Indian Cricket Captain Virat Kohli, and features Bollywood’s Anushka Sharma and Ranbir Kapoor.
Set to premiere across India later this month, the production utilised the talents of over 150 Australian cast and crew members with a quarter of a million dollars invested into the Victorian economy in a single day.
Produced by one of India’s leading commercials houses Firecracker Productions, using the expertise of Australian production company films & casting Temple, the commercial was filmed in the picturesque grounds of Xavier College in Kew.
“I am delighted that Temple is the Australian production company for an Indian commercial of such magnitude,” said film and casting Temple’s Anupam Sharma. “Not only being one of the first companies to bring Indian projects to Victoria, over the years we have brought the largest number of Indian productions to the State. I am always delighted to shoot in Victoria, and to use the film facilities again after four years was a bonus to this mega production.
“As head of the Australia India Film Fund, I am particularly looking at basing some of our future projects in Victoria, especially given the well established links between the Victorian and Indian film and television industries, which go back to 1996 ” he continued.
Pepsi’s Anshul Khanna said: “It was an absolute pleasure shooting in Melbourne. The team and the crew went out of their way to ensure that we had a great shoot experience, both in terms of preparation and on location.”
Firecracker producer Meeta Dave said: “To start our year filming in Australia, and specifically Victoria, on one of the biggest Pepsi commercials Firecracker has ever produced, with the legendary director Anurag Basu was an absolute delight. “We appreciate the Delhi High Commission of Australia, along with the other authorities, who went out of their way to help us shoot this in Melbourne.”
Temple is currently in post production of the highly anticipated new Australian feature film Unindian starring Tannishtha Chatterjee and Brett Lee, produced and directed by Anupam Sharma, produced by Lisa Duff and presented by Devendra Gupta. The first feature of the newly established Australia India Film Fund, the film is set to premiere in the middle of the year.
Published in The Indian Sun
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