Locations in Europe: Italy, Portugal, Finland
Storyline
Star(s): Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff
Songs/Dance/Action Sequences: Two songs – one is shot in Italy. All action sequences shot in Italy, Portugal, and Finland. For interior spaces, sets were made in India.
Indian/ International Crew: Collaboration with international crews.
Language: Hindi
Line Producer/ Executive Producer: Rengarajan Jaiprakash
Director/Producer: Siddharth Anand/Yashraj Films
Film Location Analysis
By Ranjani Mazumdar
War draws on the popular visual form associated with global espionage films. Its scale of movement and approach to the world is almost planetary as it incorporates into its action spectacle the sea, the sky, snow-capped vistas, mountains, rivers, and valleys. At the same time, we are connected to a network of surveillance, tracking, and other gadgets, with a constant focus on the velocity associated with global travel. There is swift movement via flights, ships, boats, and automobiles that ensures quick transnational crossings and access to international sites. In War, we encounter a world where borders are porous, and a high-speed experience becomes significant for the mood of the film. Covert operations and subplots are woven into a non-linear narrative that moves back and forth in time. Like in any espionage film, the central conflict works on the premise that something is amiss. This generates a climate of intrigue and secrecy that leads to an investigation of networks of finance and classified information. Given the blockbuster style of the film, some of the typical markers like property damage and fire explosions appear in abundance. The protagonists go through a "trial by fire," and patriotism marks their bodies as stronger with every physical injury.
The work of Kabir and Khalid as individual spies in the film is meant to show how the government is not able to use its domestic security apparatus to counter threats to its sovereignty. The borders can no longer be secured from within; they need the help of spies operating in an international arena. These international operations are crucial to enable governments to function within the bounded territory of sovereign and domestic space. It is this spatial discourse that informs the geographical movement in War. The narrative works towards unpacking a lie, and the truth must be accessed through global undercover operations. Thus, Kabir's having turned rogue is only something that emerges bit by bit following several spectacular action sequences mounted in different parts of the world. And Khalid’s identity as the face of a villain pursuing Kabir in the second half of the film is only revealed to us at the end.
Siddharth Anand has talked of the importance of locations in his cinema. Researching through magazines with photographs of international destinations is something that he often does, and he usually makes a note every time something catches his eye. Thus, photographic contact with space is an important element that is drawn into his scriptwriting and is not always dependent on prior physical knowledge. While the film is dotted with action throughout, three sequences are described below: a foot chase, a bike chase, and a car chase.
The Marrakesh chase sequence is on foot and was shot in Matera, a historic town in Italy. The ancient part of the city is the Sassi district, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993. In Sassi, living spaces were carved out of the slopes of a deep valley, known locally as La Gravina. The visual impact of this space is a combination of rock and architectural intervention, expanding into the extended space of the wider city. In 2019, it was declared the European Capital of Culture. With winding alleys, piazzas, large terraces, courtyards, churches, and gigantic water tanks, this ancient district proved to be the ideal space that could stand in for a location on the outskirts of Marrakesh. Khalid displays his parkour skills here as he climbs walls and summersaults across rooftops chasing Saurabh (Yash Raaj Singh), one of the Indian team members who has turned traitor.
The bike chase is a 9-minute sequence that starts in Portugal's highest mountain peak, Serra da Estrela, moves through Lisbon, and ends in Porto. Dr. Biswas (Arif Zakaria) works at Portugal’s Space Centre as a scientist but is now working for the enemy. Khalid knows that Kabir wants to eliminate Biswas, and to prevent this, he is sent on the instructions of his government to ensure the scientist’s safe passage. We also have the villain, Rizwan Ilyasi, negotiating independently with Biswas for some secret codes. All these different interests converge at Serra da Estrela, where Biswas, along with security forces, is being transported in a convoy. A sniper attacks the convoy, and we have a cloudburst of fire. Kabir then accosts Biswas. Khalid, who is unconscious, suddenly regains his senses and aims at Kabir, but Biswas is killed instead. From here on, we have a dramatic chase moving through the mountain terrain. The director commissioned special equipment and ensured the complicated placement of cameras on vehicles to create a visceral experience of speed. This was clearly in line with the negotiation of velocity in contemporary espionage films. Serra da Estrela offered the right location to take this speedy action to another level. Choppers and drone vision are mobilised to provide the thrill of height as well as the layout of the sinewy roads cutting through the mountain. This expanded vision of space then changes drastically when we enter Lisbon.
The entry to Lisbon is a diagonal movement across Praça do Comércio, which is a beautiful square that faces a river on one side. A popular tourist attraction, the square provided the War production team with a flat white surface for the entry of the bikes, which were dramatically shot using a drone. We then move through Bica, which is one of Lisbon's most attractive and typical neighbourhoods. Its steep, undulating roads and tramways are popular with tourists. The chase continues through this architectural layout, with the bikes racing across tramlines, going down public stairs, flying over moving vehicles, etc. Khalid is thrown off his bike and then deploys his parkour skills to run through the city. The chase concludes at the Dom Luis bridge in Porto, Portugal's second-largest city. The bridge stands over the Duoro River and was declared a heritage site in 1982. The bridge was shut down for two days to provide space and time to shoot Kabir’s daredevil stunt—jumping from a steep height to dive into the river. We are provided with a thrilling experience because mountains and urban spaces are brought together in this chase sequence.
For the extended climax at the end of the film, Siddharth Anand decided to use the snowscape of the Arctic Circle in Finland. The depiction of snow as a site of human struggle with nature has had a long history in visual culture. Snow can be attractive as well as inhospitable, like the vast expanses of the desert. In the Arctic action sequence, all these different feelings are mobilised creatively, along with the experience of speed reminiscent of television coverage of sports car races. The cars and the equipment were all worked on by engineers to ensure nothing would start to freeze. This virtually bloodless sequence maintains the whiteness of the snow, which is contrasted with the yellow and the black car driven by Kabir and Khalid, respectively. Anand was keen to be the first to shoot a car chase in the Arctic Circle. Tiger Shroff said when they began their shooting sting for this sequence, it felt like a video game where the whole iceberg was available as a playground for them. In the high-angle drone shots, the two cars appear to be engaged in a ballet dance. This is something the action director of the film, Paul Jennings (from Hollywood), said was a conscious decision. Jennings felt it was like a duel and a dance.
There are only two songs in the film, and both were used for the film’s publicity and marketing both prior to and during its run in the theatres. The song Ghungroo Toot Gaye is performed partly as a dance by Kabir and Naina (Vaani Kapoor). The song was shot on the beaches of Positano, on the Amalfi Coast of Italy. This coast is one of the most expensive tourist destinations in the world. Around 150 dancers arrived from Milan, and a part of the Positano beach was shut down during the shooting. Siddharth Anand was keen to ensure a sense of scale for both the action sequences as well as the songs. Ghungroo Toot Gaye is the first song to be shot on the Amalfi Coast. The sequence is split into two sections, with the first embracing the dazzling daytime sun of the Amalfi coast, while the second is located in a flashy nightclub restaurant, where the villain sits transfixed by Naina’s performance.
In every way, War mobilises the visual codes of espionage films, and the spectacular use of European locations plays the key role in highlighting the spatial aesthetics of this genre.
Tourism
https://www.easemytrip.com/blog/war-shooting-locations
https://www.travelnewsdigest.in/2019/09/bollywood-movie-war-shoots-action-sequences-in-portugal/
https://www.lapland.fi/film/get-inspired/war-bollywood-action-movie-lapland/
