The action thriller Vijay 61 by 33-year-old director Atlee Kumar is the first Bollywood film that will benefit from the film incentive programme available in the form of a cash rebate of 20% on qualifying Macedonian spend.
Macedonia started using the cash rebate scheme for film and TV projects in 2015. The French road comedy A Fond by Nicolas Benamou, previously spent about 2 m EUR in Macedonia.
Part of the film was shot in Macedonia from 1 May to 9 May 2017 on the stage of the Macedonian National Theater in Skopje and involved over 1.000 participants from Macedonia. A 70-member crew from India was working with over 40 Macedonian filmmakers and over 900 actors, dancers and extras from Macedonia. The shooting started in India in February and the film is expected to be finished by the end of 2017.
The shooting of the first Bollywood film in Macedonia is a result of the collaboration between Macedonian producer Dejan Iliev and Natarajan Ramji, known as the “location guru” in India. Iliev was the Macedonian executive producer on A Fond. The film is produced by Indian production and distribution company Sri Thenandal Films.
The film is written by KV Vijayendra Prasad, who works in Bollywood and the music is composed by A. R. Rahman. The cast includes the popular Indian actor Joseph Vijay.
