shot in the South Pacific nation<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe first recorded Indian production filmed in New Zealand was Sanam Harjai in 1995, with scenes shot in Christchurch, Queenstown, Punakaiki and Wanaka.<\/p>\n
But it was 2000 blockbuster Kaho Naa \u2026 Pyaar Hai (Say It Is Love), starring Hrithik Roshan, that truly put New Zealand on the Bollywood map.<\/p>\n
To mark the film’s 25th anniversary, festival organisers are hosting a special screening on 5 November at Sylvia Park, featuring Bollywood film director and choreographer Farah Khan.<\/p>\n
Despite the early inroads Indian producers made in New Zealand, momentum has since waned.<\/p>\n
![\"Petrina](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/4QYR5DS_PDR_Profile_pic_JPG\")
<\/p>\n
\nPetrina D’Rozario is director of Indian Film Festival New Zealand.
\nPhoto: Supplied\n<\/p>\n
D’Rozario hopes the festival will encourage more Indian productions to be filmed in New Zealand, creating new opportunities for collaboration.<\/p>\n
“The festival next year is supported by partners in both countries,” she says.<\/p>\n
Among those partners is Pritesh Raniga, owner of Forum Films, who will serve as the festival’s screening and distribution partner.<\/p>\n
“Indian cinema has become an integral part of society, and it is exciting to see the emergence of a New Zealand film festival dedicated to this vibrant film industry,” Raniga says.<\/p>\n
He says Indian movies have grossed more than $30 million in New Zealand over the past five years, reflecting a growing audience.<\/p>\n
The festival has also partnered with Viniyard Talent Agency in India to bring actors and leading technicians to New Zealand.<\/p>\n
“The Indian Film Festival, initiatied by Petrina D’Rozario, serves as a powerful bridge between our two nations, fostering cultural understanding and strengthening the bonds of friendship between India and New Zealand,” says Madan Mohan Sethi, India’s consul-general to New Zealand.<\/p>\n
“Through the universal language of cinema, the festival is celebrating the growing cultural and artistic collaboration that enriches our bilateral relationship.”<\/p>\n
D’Rozario says the festival programme will include films from Indian and Kiwi-Indian filmmakers, along with workshops, masterclasses and Q&A sessions with industry professionals.<\/p>\n
“We’re on a mission to promote this cross-cultural creative exchange, and to add another glittering highlight to New Zealand’s annual arts and culture calendar,” she says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met Bollywood actor Aamir Khan during his trip to India in March. Photo: Supplied…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":51226,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,47,156,409,111,43,139,69,49,46,44,45],"class_list":["post-51225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-audio","tag-current-affairs","tag-entertainment","tag-movies","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-podcasts","tag-public-radio","tag-radio-new-zealand","tag-rnz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}