Filming Locations of Gerua in Iceland from the Bollywood Movie Dilwale
There are flights connecting India to Iceland and Iceland to India. However, did you know that Bollywood has already come to Iceland?
There was a music video entirely shot in Iceland and you can keep reading to find all the filming locations for the Bollywood film!
The words 'Bollywood' and Iceland don't normally come in the same sentence - that is until the Rohit Shetty Bollywood film Dilwale was released, with its music video Gerua entirely shot in Iceland.
The movie was released on the 18th of December 2015, competing with the newest Star Wars film in attracting audience members around the world last Christmas.
This being a Rohit Shetty film with an incredibly popular cast, consisting of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol as well as Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon - and a fun trailer, this movie was set to be a successful one - and the gorgeous scenery in the love song Gerua didn't spoil it either!
Photo from Wikimedia, Creative Commons, by Bollywood Hungama. No edits made.
After the release of the movie, there has been an increase in Indian interest in Iceland. Tourists from India or with Indian backgrounds have started flocking to the country, many of whom are taking gorgeous images of nature in colorful clothing, inspired by Kajol's colorful dresses.
Iceland is in fact a very popular destination for movie-makers and a lot of TV shows, music videos, commercials and films have been filmed in Iceland. Here you can read all about some of the movie locations in Iceland.
Earlier in 2015 Justin Bieber filmed a music video in Iceland, shot at the same places on the south coast of Iceland. The south coast seems to be particularly popular, probably due to its easy access all year round and the variety in scenery. The rest of the country is also varied in nature, so we're looking forward to seeing more music videos filmed in different parts of the country!
Where is Gerua filmed?
Gerua is entirely filmed in the south coast of Iceland, making the most of the dramatic landscape with contrasts of intense colors - and making the most of the Icelandic breeze as well with Kajol's dress blowing dramatically in the wind.
It opens up with a shot of Shah Rukh Khan standing on top of an abandoned airplane on the black sands Sólheimasandur in south Iceland. This plane is a popular attraction, as it is so dramatic on the black sands around it.
It's impossible to reach this plane unless you're driving a 4WD car, as smaller cars can easily get stuck in the sand, or get damaged due to the sands. The surrounding nature is delicate and there's just one track leading to the plane, that people have to follow (off-road driving is illegal in Iceland, to protect the vulnerable nature).
The plane has actually become so popular, that access to it has now been limited - and this is now the ONLY tour that you can go on to reach the plane wreck.
We then get a shot of Kajol looking stunning in a dress that's color-coordinated with the backdrop of Vestrahorn mountain, which's in southeast Iceland.
Here we see a shot of Reynisfjara black sands in south Iceland, with the tell-tale sign of Reynisdrangar rocks in the sea. You also get a glimpse of the basalt rock columns, that get some up-close time later on in the video. The sky overhead looks dramatic, as can often happen in Iceland.
The Icelandic weather is quite dramatic, to put it mildly, and the crashing waves of the Atlantic sea at this beach can be really high and dangerous if you venture too close to them - they can easily carry you out to sea! This location is on the top of our list of things that can kill you in Iceland, as it has unfortunately taken the lives of a couple of tourists, so we urge you to be EXTREMELY careful if you head to Reynisfjara black beach. Read the warning signs and stay far from the sea.
The Dilwale production team seems to have gotten some nice weather and calm days for much of their filming time, however, and the seas here look calm throughout.
Here is a closer look at Reynisdrangar rocks, where Shah Rukh Khan dramatically emerges through a flock of birds, a scene reminiscent of Mission Impossible. Throughout the video, we see plenty of birds, perhaps not strange since there are millions of birds in Iceland - many more birds than people (only 320 thousand people live in the country!)
Kajol's bright yellow dress in the video is a great contrast to the black, volcanic ash sands. Dilwale's film producers seem to have not quite been satisfied with the landscape on its own, however, so they did tweak the scenery with props and editing effects.
Nothing's been done to alter the basalt rock columns present, however. Called 'stuðlaberg' in Icelandic, they are extremely common in Iceland, perfect for a breathtaking background - and fun to climb on! Again, be careful of the high waves, however.
The great use of color contrast continues with a scene in which orange fabric is whipped in a gale - and that wind may very well be 100% natural, as it is rather windy in Iceland.
We return to the abandoned plane, now with both Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol on top of it. This plane is now becoming more and more famous, as it has been used in a number of music videos - we just hope it doesn't become the victim of vandalism with the increase of tourism, as happened once.
From the black sands, we go to the lush, green colors by Skógafoss waterfall. This 20m tall waterfall is a popular attraction on the south coast of Iceland, that can be seen from the ring road. There are plenty of attractions by the ring road in Iceland, that you can easily explore by renting a car and driving around.
Dilwale's production team again clearly didn't think that Skógafoss's beauty was enough - so they added some ice to the imagery (you will never find chunks of ice by Skógafoss - you need to go to Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon to find an ice-covered beach!)
It looks especially odd with the green hills behind, showing that this is filmed at the height of summer! Contrary to what many people think, Iceland becomes very green during summertime - and the weather is quite mild.
Here they are behind another waterfall, Seljalandsfoss waterfall that you can walk behind. It is not possible to walk behind the previous waterfall, Skógafoss, but you can walk all around the gorgeous Seljalandsfoss for a view like this. The two waterfalls are only a 30-minute drive's distance away from each other. You can also find various tours going to these waterfalls from Reykjavík, such as this south coast waterfalls and glacier hiking tour.
Then we move a little further east, to the shallow sea next to Vestrahorn mountain, in southeast Iceland. The scenery here is breathtaking - but Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol must've been very cold on their feet, as they are standing in a lagoon that's right next to the Atlantic ocean!
This is one of our resident photographer's favorite locations. Iurie Belegurschi is our resident photographer and if you want to get pictures like these yourself, we recommend going on one of his photo tours. You can also see many of his pictures in our photo gallery of Iceland.
Shah Rukh Khan must have been cold as he waded through shallow seas with the gorgeous Vestrahorn mountain in the background!
The cold continues as we move on to a glacier lagoon, full of stunning blue and white icebergs. The gorgeous glacier lagoon Jökulsárlón is where this shot is from. Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon - the crown jewel of Iceland's nature is one of Iceland's most popular attractions - and it's not hard to see why!
This is also Iceland's most popular movie location, as many heroes have been here - such as James Bond and Lara Croft.
We wouldn't recommend standing on the icebergs like Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol can be seen doing in the video, as the icebergs can tip over and you may end up in the freezing cold water! We've actually listed it as one of the dumbest things to do in Iceland - so don't try to re-enact the scenes!
You can see the blue ice underneath the water here - and how big the icebergs are, in the incredibly transparent water of Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon. This stunning blue ice attracts a lot of visitors each year, all year round.
Nearby is a black beach that is scattered with ice as well, which we have named Diamond Beach. We're a little surprised that there are no shots from there in this video, as they were so close to it (but they obviously made up for it by either transporting ice to Skógafoss waterfall, or creating it in CGI).
Here below you can see what Diamond Beach looks like.
The blue ice is even more breathtaking in wintertime, as you can then have the chance to go inside an ice cave - it would've been lovely to see some shots from within an ice cave in Dilwale!
If you're coming to Iceland in wintertime and would like the chance to see some blue ice inside a glacier (such as you can see here above), then you can choose between plenty of tours. This 5-day winter package combines it with all the best the south has to offer. Or you can go on this 6-day winter drive of south Iceland.
There are also plenty of summer tours available along the south - and the ice lagoon can be visited all year round. Take a look at our summer self-drive tours for some suggested itineraries in Iceland.
Gerua music video ends with sweeping images of some of the stunning locations that were seen in the video, such as this one of Vestrahorn, with the mountain being mirrored in the completely still water.
Rohit Shetty has really made the most out of Iceland's beautiful landscape with this music video - if you want to see these landscapes yourself, then have a look at all of our south coast tours in Iceland!
- Read more about International Relations in Iceland
- Check out The Story of Icelandic Cinema
- Book this West Iceland Sightseeing Day Tour | Nature and Culture
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