Owen Wilson, Adrian Brody Complete Shooting in Udaipur

By Anil Sharma
Newsnerve India
30 January 2007

Udaipur (Rajasthan), Jan 30 - Hollywood stars Owen Wilson and Adrian Brody have completed the last leg of shooting schedule for 'Darjeeling Limited' in this city of palaces and lakes known as the Venice of the East.

The Academy Award-nominated American actor-writer along with co-stars Broody and Jason Schwartzmanare had landed here Jan 17 and spent about eight hours every day shooting for the India-centric film...

When they were not shooting, the actors preferred to stay mostly indoors at the palatial Udaivilas hotel, which adorns the banks of the Lake Pichhola.

 Wilson stayed in a luxury suite that has a private pool, a hotel employee told IANS. The suite, spread over an area of 1,150 sq ft, has tented dining pavilions and affords an unrivalled view of the City Palace.

Despite the hectic shooting schedule, the actors seemed to have enjoyed their work. 'The unit was very fond of Indian masala tea,' a hotel source said, adding that on returning from film shoots the unit members always asked for it.

The first day of the shoot Jan 18 was at the city airport - with the three actors shown in a confused state of mind whether to remain in India or return home.

Passengers at the airport failed to recognise Owen because of his make-up as an injured man - his head covered in bandages and a band-aid on his nose. With a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a carry bag in the other, the actor looked like a regular passenger ready to board the flight.

All through the shoot, he wore the make-up, not removing it even during the transit between the hotel and the location, to avoid being spotted.

'I never saw him coming out of the hotel without his make-up,' the hotel employee said.

Other shooting location was the Ruthi Rani's Palace at the Jaisamand Lake, over 50 km from here, which served as Darjeeling, the resort town in eastern India.

The unit took a break during weekends and remained in the hotel.

Udaipur, one of the most popular tourist destinations in India, has attracted celebrities like Chelsea Clinton, Angelina Jolie-Brad Pitt and Liz Hurley in the recent past.

Hollywood film shoot takes place in Udaipur
Hollywood stars Owen Wilson and Adrian Brody who won an Oscar for best actor for his role in Roman Polanaski's 'The Pianist', 2002, stayed in the lake city of Udaipur filming Wes Anderson's current film,' The Darjeeling Limited'. The shoot took place at Naramagra Rajmahal, Udaipur from January 11, 2007 to January 26, 2007. The film covers the story of three brothers and their spiritual journey to India. The film's script is written by Anderson and Roman Coppola, son of the illustrious director Francis Ford Coppola. The film crew's Wrap Party was organized at The Zenana Mahal on January 27. Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar of Udaipur attended the evening with Princess Padmaja Kumari Mewar of Udaipur and Maharaj Kumar Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar of Udaipur. Amongst other distinguished guest were Ms, Kaveri Bamzi from India Today; Mr. Bharti Motwani, a freelance travel writer ; Mr. Leo Mirani from Time Out, Mumbai and Sir Anthony and Lady Bamford visiting Udaipur from the UK.