Locations in Europe: St. Petersburg (Russia) Riga (Latvia), and London (UK)
Storyline
Star(s): Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Adil Hussain, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Ram Kapoor, Prem Chopra
Action Sequences: Located in Europe
Language: Hindi
Indian/ International Crew: Indian and international
Executive Producers: Smriti Jain, Sunil Lulla
Director/Producer: Sriram Raghavan (Director), Saif Ali Khan (Producer)
Film Location Analysis
By Ranjani Mazumdar
Agent Vinod calibrates the film like a diary of global destinations, with each place identified using text. Vinod travels to these locations as part of his spying activities working for the Indian government. The film literally captures places with a certain kind of light, and the two East European destinations stand out in contrast to places like Morocco. St. Petersburg, Russia and Riga, Latvia, appear in the film through both public and interior spaces. The final sequence of the film is in London, where Vinod goes to expose one of the key villains. Rubina Khan, writing for the First Post, said, "Agent Vinod is like a beautifully shot travel commercial, with locations traversing from Afghanistan to Russia, New Delhi to Somalia, Morocco to Pakistan, Riga to London to South Africa. Except, Agent Vinod is tracking terror in these locales, some of which are quite exotic, and getting roughed up instead of kicking back on the beach with a girl and a Mojito. It's like a Lonely Planet Guide to the terrorist world—where to find the mafiosos and drug lords instead of the best places to stay, sunny beaches, and local foods." https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/agent-vinod-the-lonely-planet-guide-to-terror-trails-254001.html
The Trans-Siberian Railway, the longest train line in the world, connecting the two ends of Russia—Moscow in the west and Vladivostok in the east—is deployed to first enter Russian territory to introduce key villain figures in the film. The popularly known train network is presented as a major symbol of Russia with an action sequence located inside the train. It is during this action sequence that an undercover Indian spy’s cover is revealed, and he jumps off the train only to be murdered in the middle of his video conversation with Raw officers in Delhi. Vinod is then sent to investigate the matter, which leads up to the use of St. Petersburg for a major segment of the film.
A bleak and grey wintry day greets Vinod when he arrives in St. Petersburg. He boards a red taxi, which navigates the streets to showcase both for the agent and for spectators some of the identifiable marks of the city. We see the Leningrad Defenders Monument, located in Victory Square. A tall pillar with the dates of the Second World War engraved on it stands at the centre. The battle for Leningrad is the subject of an exhibition in the underground memorial hall of the site. The most dramatic impact, however, comes from the sculptures outside, which showcase civilians, sailors, and others who did not surrender to the Nazis. The low-angle shots of the sculptures against the sky seen from a moving vehicle lend dramatic force to the scenes. The Russian sculptor Mikhail Mikushin, active in the USSR in the second half of the twentieth century, created these statues after the war to present the heroic role of ordinary people in the battle. Next, Vinod is walking through a street with stores selling Russian dolls and finally meets his contact, captured against the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood. This church was built in memory of Alexander II in 1881, following his assassination. In the 1960s, the church was recognised as an architectural monument; it was subsequently restored and reopened in 1997. Tourists come primarily to see the mosaics, located in the historic centre of St. Petersburg.
Agent Vinod attempts to identify recognisably Russian markers for an audience in India used to seeing Russian artefacts, books, photographs, and memorabilia. For a filmmaker like Sriram Raghavan, who belongs to a generation that lived through the last stages of the Cold War as well as the friendship and diplomatic ties between India and the former Soviet Union, locating a spy story within this geographical universe seemed only natural. This embodied relationship to Russian culture is overtly created in a dance sequence inspired by Boney M’s rendition of their hit number based on the legend of Rasputin, a mystic Russian figure who was known to have major influence over Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, Queen Alexandra. Rasputin has been widely depicted in popular culture, and in the popular Boney M song, he is presented as a mysterious and powerful manipulator, sexually promiscuous, and a lover of the Russian queen. The dance number is choreographed using high-contrast psychedelic lighting and staged on a set built in Bombay but inspired by the interiors of the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood. Its colourful marble floors, mosaics, and figurines on the walls and arches, combined with the lighting, creates a hallucinatory effect. It is during this dance number that Vinod has his first encounter with the villain, Abu Sayed Naser.
When we enter Riga, Latvia, we are taken to a ballet performance of Swan Lake performed in the city’s well-known National Opera and Ballet Theatre, which opened in 1923. The interior of the building, with its gilded balconies and old-world grandeur, is introduced almost as a documentary segment to highlight what was widely perceived in India as typical Soviet cultural markers. It is in this space that we see Iram’s meeting with Colonel which opens out a complicated segment of the film. Latvia was part of the former Soviet Union and is now an independent country since 1990. Agent Vinod is the first film to be shot in Latvia and in an interview, Raghavan said “The landscape in Latvia is exceptionally breath taking. We shot in many different locations across the different cities. We got access to some heritage structures, like old ruins, churches, and museums. We tried to cover as much variety as the landscape offers.” https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/entertainment-others/after-switzerland-bollywood-looks-for-global-exotica/ Riga is known for its art nouveau architecture, and Agent Vinod locates some of its frenetic car chases in the public spaces of this city, including underground car parks and highways on the margins of the city.
The final exposure of Jagdishwar Mehta takes place in London. Vinod’s arrival is staged against recognisable marks of the city, with its red double decker buses and its public parks. London is a familiar space, so while it is announced like the other destinations using text, there is no major effort to spatially map the city like in the case of St. Petersburg and Riga. The film finally ends in Cape Town, South Africa.
Additional Information & Links
http://www.primefocusindia.com/films/agent-vinod
https://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-30755.html
Tourism
