Mumbai Has Extraordinary History: Nolan on Shooting Tenet in India

Tenet is set to hit screens in India on 4 December.

Christopher Nolan on shooting Tenet in India.

(Photo Courtesy: Pinterest)

Christopher Nolan, whose much-awaited film Tenet is set to release in India on 4 December, said that India is 'unbelievably visual' with an 'extraordinary history', which made it the perfect location to shoot the movie.

In an exclusive transcript shared with PTI by Warner Bros, Nolan said,

"Every time I visit India, I am struck by how unbelievably visual the place is. I had shot a short sequence in Jodhpur for 'The Dark Knight Rises' and I always wanted to go back and film an important segment. 'Tenet' gave me the opportunity to do that".

Nolan added that Mumbai, one of the locations wherein Tenet has been shot, boasts of a rich architecture. "Mumbai is one of the most extraordinary-looking cities in the world. Be it the rich architecture, amazing people or the abundance of life on the streets, the city is truly fascinating. It's a really remarkable place with this extraordinary history, so, to be able to take the audience there, it seemed a very exciting setting".

In Mumbai, Tenet was shot in areas like Breach Candy Hospital, Cafe Mondegar, Colaba Causeway, Colaba Market, Gateway of India, Grant Road, Royal Bombay Yacht Club, and the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

Christopher Nolan said that he had a wonderful time collaborating with local crews.

"The local crews are so passionate about cinema and Mumbai has a highly-developed film industry. So it was great fun teaming up with them, learning about how they make films and also cooperating with them in pulling off some remarkable things, including some of the first-ever aerial shots of Mumbai in a film".

Christopher Nolan, Filmmaker

In the transcript Nolan also spoke about getting together an international cast for the project. "It's not about America per se, it's about the survival of the entire human race. It really is the notion of using the diversity of the cast to express that the threat is a threat to the entire world.

"So from Robert Pattinson playing an Englishman to Kenneth Branagh playing a Russian, to Elizabeth Debicki playing an Englishwoman to Dimple Kapadia as an Indian woman... we were trying to bring in a lot of different national identities to play", the filmmaker said.

Tenet released in a few countries in August and September barring India as theatres were shut owing to the coronavirus lockdown.

(With inputs from PTI)