One of my most memorable experiences in India was my visit
to the Yash Raj Film Studios. YRF is the
only privately owned Entertainment Company in India, and has been a leading
figure in Bollywood for the past five decades. First founded by Yash Chopra as
a film-making company, it evolved into one of the largest, most prominent names
in the Indian film industry, and has created many of the classics adored by
Bollywood fans around the world – including myself.
So as a Korean-American Bollywood fan visiting India for the
first time, it was only appropriate that I got a private tour of YRF Studios, right?
Not necessarily. I was one of the lucky ones – unlike major studios in the U.S.,
YRF very rarely conducts tours – let alone private tours. The fact that I was
given an opportunity to get a secret view of the inner workings of YRF made me
feel like Charlie visiting the Chocolate Factory. I had the golden ticket!
When I arrived at the YRF lot, I was struck by the many
similarities it shared with Hollywood studios. In terms of size, technology,
security, and facilities, they were identical. If anything, YRF was cleaner
than many of the Hollywood studios I had seen, and more exclusive. During the
tour, I was able to see the many components that worked together to create the
Bollywood glam we see in the movies: rehearsal rooms, screening rooms, dressing
rooms for some of Bollywood’s most famous stars, and of course, dance floors
for those dance and musical numbers that Bollywood is known for. It was truly fascinating to see the core
components of Bollywood, especially YRF which sets the standard for epic
Bollywood films. They say all that glitters isn’t gold, but this place looked pretty
golden to me.
-Marcus Lee
-Marcus Lee
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