5 memorable Malaysian moments in Bollywood

From high-speed chases beneath the Kuala Lumpur skyline to splashy scenes in Langkawi, Malaysia has featured in some of Indian cinema’s biggest productions.

To commemorate World Bollywood Day today, here are five times Hindi cinema left its mark on our country – and how Malaysia, in turn, became part of its story.

‘Don’

When Shah Rukh Khan’s “Don” arrived in local cinemas in 2006, audiences recognised more than just the actor playing its charismatic criminal mastermind. Much of what they were seeing around him was Malaysia.

The Farhan Akhtar-directed action thriller moved production to Kuala Lumpur in April that year, with about 80% of the film shot in the capital and in Langkawi.

The Malaysian leg lasted 70 days and covered 42 locations, including KLCC, Kampung Baru and Penchala Link – not forgetting a climactic fight scene on the Langkawi Sky Bridge.

Malaysian actors including the late Ridzuan Hashim and Adi Putra also appeared in the film, while more than 1,000 local extras were selected through auditions.

The Malaysian connection continued with the 2011 sequel, “Don 2”, which was also partly filmed here, including scenes shot at the Melaka Prison.

‘Yaadein’

Released in 2001, Subhash Ghai’s “Yaadein” was filmed across Britain, India and Malaysia, with the Malaysian leg taking place in Langkawi.

Eagle Square and the Langkawi Yacht Club were among the locations used, while scenes featuring Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor included a bicycle sequence on the island.

The shoot even produced a memorable behind-the-scenes moment. During filming in Langkawi, Ghai fell into the sea after a ladder gave way while he was returning from a yacht. Roshan, who was nearby, helped pull the director out of the water.

Perhaps the most unexpected Malaysian connection, however, comes through the soundtrack. Siti Nurhaliza’s “Balqis” can be heard in one of the scenes, bringing a Malaysian voice into a Hindi production starring some of Bollywood’s biggest young stars at the time.

‘Roy’

By the time “Roy” arrived in 2015, Malaysia was no longer an unfamiliar destination for Bollywood productions. This time around, though, the country was woven more directly into the story.

Starring Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Rampal and Jacqueline Fernandez, “Roy” was filmed in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Langkawi, with its plot following a filmmaker who travels to Malaysia to make a movie.

Our locations, therefore, became part of the narrative rather than simply serving as scenery.

The Malaysian connection was much more personal for Fernandez, whose mother is of Malaysian-Canadian descent, giving the actress a familial link to the country where she was filming.

Notably, “Roy” spread its cinematic lens across lesser-known city streets, heritage settings and island landscapes, presenting several very different sides of Malaysia to Indian audiences. It’s not always about the Petronas Twin Towers, tum sab.

‘120 Bahadur’

Last year, Malaysian actors Fred Chan and Seng Soo Ming found themselves on the other side of the Bollywood-Malaysia connection when they appeared in the Hindi war drama “120 Bahadur”.

The pair made history as the first Malaysians to be cast as leading antagonists in a Bollywood production. Chan plays Captain Aimer, the principal antagonist, while Seng portrays Major Memeti.

Seng, an experienced theatre actor and director who also mentors Chan, was approached for recommendations for local Chinese actors. He subsequently suggested Chan, who submitted a casting video before being selected.

Chan had already made his Bollywood debut in “Jigra” in 2024, but “120 Bahadur” gave him a significantly larger role.

‘Paa’

For director R Balki’s 2009 Hindi drama “Paa”, Amitabh Bachchan filmed at King Edward VII School, one of Malaysia’s oldest educational institutions.

Bachchan played Auro, a 13-year-old boy with a rare condition that causes him to age rapidly.

For Malaysia, the film offered an unusual Bollywood setting: not the glamorous KL skyline, but a historic Taiping school founded in 1883 that went on to produce generations of prominent Malaysians.

Interestingly, Malaysian children waited for about three hours hoping to see Bachchan, only to miss him despite the superstar being right in front of them. His elaborate prosthetic makeup had transformed him so completely that they did not recognise him!

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