Poland is emerging as a hot new destination for Indian productions, with major films such as as Kick, Bangistan and Shaandaar all shooting at Polish locations over the past eight months.

Vikas Bahl’s Shaandaar is the most recent Indian production to film in Poland – shooting for six days from November 15 at locations including Zamoyski Palace in the Lublin region and Ksiaz Castle in Lower Silesia. Produced by India’s Phantom Films, the film stars Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt.

Kick, starring Salman Khan and produced by Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, filmed for 18 days in Warsaw this April, while Excel Entertainment’s Bangistan, starring Riteish Deshmukh, spent 35 days shooting in Krakow in late summer. Bangistan is directed by Karan Anshuman with Poland’s Szymon Lenkowski as DoP.

The producers of all three films say they were drawn by Poland’s strong production infrastructure, as well as the country’s locations, which range from rugged forests, castles and palaces to picturesque old towns and bustling modern cities.

“Poland is a film-friendly location and was a perfect fit for the script,” said Excel co-founder Ritesh Sidhwani. “Krakow is yet to be explored in Indian films and most of the locations we needed were available in the country. The production team in Poland was extremely efficient and supported us completely.”

Bangistan was executive produced by Marek Gabryjelski of Zorg Werke, with support from Krakow Film Commission, while Both Kick and Shaandaar were produced by local line producer Film Polska Productions. Film Polska also worked with FilmVillage to give Kick a theatrical release in Poland, where it opened on November 6.

Kick executive producer M.R. Shahjahan said: “Poland doesn’t have rebates and grants like many countries, but costs are 25-30% cheaper than other countries in Europe. The country also has good infrastructure and all kinds of location are available.”

Poland doesn’t offer production incentives, but Film Commission Poland (FCP) acts as a one-stop shop for logistical support and the Polish Film Institute (PFI) and nine regional film funds offer financing to official co-productions. Documentary A Little Poland In India is the first film to be produced under the India-Poland co-production treaty signed in 2012.

FCP and PFI are both attending Film Bazaar along with a delegation of Polish producers to search for new projects, partners and co-producers.

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