Hollywood stars head for Hills

KOLKATA: Hollywood is discovering Darjeeling. Colin Farrell and Ed Harris recently had a four-day shoot in Rungmook Cedars tea garden for The Way Back, a multistarrer directed by Peter Weir of The Truman Show fame.
And if everything goes well, Daniel Craig and Pierce Brosnan - both of whom carry the 007 tag - will soon be filming in the backdrop of the Kanchenjunga.Some big-banner production houses from Hollywood and the UK are queueing up to shoot in Darjeeling���s tea gardens.
Weir���s team was in Rungmook Cedars tea garden of the West Bengal Tea Development Corporation (WBTDC) in the last week of May. WBTDC kept it a secret under an agreement with the Hollywood filmmaker. ���They paid Rs 3.4 lakh for the four-day shoot. We could have asked for more but our strategy is to attract production houses from Hollywood and Bollywood,��� said WBTDC managing director N Samai.
A Mumbai-based production house was the mediator between WBTDC and the Hollywood producers. ���They were happy with the arrangements and have promised to bring more filmmakers to Darjeeling. We have to draw up a rate card now,��� Samai said.
The Way Back is based on the real-life story of some soldiers who escaped from a Siberian Gulag in 1940. Some of them came to India via Tibet.
Besides Farrell (who starred in Alexander and Steven Spielberg���s Minority Report) and Harris (of The Rock and Apollo 13 fame), Darjeeling may soon see the likes of Craig and Brosnan as several other production houses, including some co-ventures with Pinewood Studios of the United Kingdom (where most James Bond films are made) has shown interest in the Queen of the Hills.
Rajah Banerjee of Makaibari Tea Estate, one of Darjeeling���s best gardens, said two UK filmmakers and a Hollywood house have contacted him. ���They did a recce of our garden and were impressed. It will be finalized soon. This is good for the tea industry.���