Kathryn's film awaits govt nod

Five teams are scouting for various Indian locations, including the hills of Darjeeling, for Kathryn Bigelow's film on Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad
It all started with a remark made by "Tree of Life" and "The Help" star Jessica Chastain's comment in a celebrity website that: "I've been working on Bigelow's movie in Jordan after the Oscars I go to India to shoot more". The international media has since then been writing about where in India Kathryn Bigelow's film on the long hunt for Osama Bin Laden might shot.While some reports have claimed that it might be shot in Chandigarh, others have speculated that the Rajasthan is more likely the shooting location for the film. However, industry sources say that nothing definite has been finalized on this as yet.
In fact, when RT e-mailed the producer of the film, Annapurna Pictures, in the US about whether India is actually on the radar for shooting, we received an acknowledgment of the mail without any confirmation about the shooting plans.
Meanwhile, an industry source says, "It's very difficult to shoot in Pakistan where the actual incident happened. The idea is to find a hilly terrain that will match the landscape of Abbottabad. Five teams have been scouting for locations in five different places in India."
While the media is abuzz about the probable locations being Chandigarh, Patiala, Delhi and even the hills of Rajasthan, few know that even Darjeeling and Sikkim are also being pitched as probable shooting locations. Incidentally, Oscar nominated Peter Weir had filmed portions of "The Way Back" in Darjeeling to narrate the story of soldiers who escaped from a Siberian gulag in 1940 and made their way to India. "The hills of Manali in Himachal Pradesh and Darjeeling are being considered," the source adds.
Though Saumitra Mohan, the district magistrate and collector of Darjeeling, is unaware of the scouting for the Osama movie in Darjeeling, he says,
"Anurag Basu is shooting in Darjeeling now and we have had international movies being filmed here before. If such an international film is shot in Darjeeling, we will love to extend all the support required."
Permission for shooting Kathryn's film has already been sought from the ministry. "We have applied for permissions. The final nod is expected," says a source. As things stand now, the photographs of the locations or video footage will be sent to Kathryn before she finally decides on coming down to India to check them out. "In another 15 days, one should be able to decide if Kathryn will herself come down to see the places. Only then can one decide on whether the film will be shot in India or not," the source adds.
Apart from Oscar nominated Jessica Chastain, the film's cast includes Harold Perrineau, Kyle Chandler, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Nash Edgerton and Chris Pratt. The film is expected to release in the US on December 19 this year. Incidentally, Australian actor, Joel, has already shot in India before when he filmed for "The Waiting City" in Kolkata.
Though no official announcement has been made about the casting of the film which has screenwriter Mark Boal of "The Hurt Locker" fame working with Kathryn, buzz is that while Chastain (who is running for the Best Actress in a Supporting Role Oscar honours for her work in "The Help") will play a military analyst, the Edgerton brothers, Pratt and Jason Clarke are playing Navy SEALs in the film that goes with the working title of "Kill Bin Laden".