8 London Locations Where Bollywood Actually Filmed

Bollywood has been filming in London since before most of us were born — and the city has never looked more dramatic than through a Hindi cinema lens.

1. King's Cross Station — Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001)

The station where Shah Rukh Khan's Rahul arrives in London. K3G turned King's Cross into Bollywood shorthand for "I've made it to England." That slow-motion entrance with the overcoat and the emotional background score — peak Karan Johar. The station's had a facelift since 2001, but stand in the main concourse and you can still feel the drama.

2. Tower Bridge — Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001)

K3G used London hard. The Tower Bridge helicopter shot with the full Raichand family arriving is burned into Bollywood memory. They filmed the "Deewana Hai Dekho" sequence across multiple London landmarks, but Tower Bridge got the hero treatment. Tower Hill station drops you right there.

3. Piccadilly Circus — Namastey London (2007)

Akshay Kumar standing in Piccadilly Circus declaring his love for London is one of those frames that stuck. The film shot extensively across Central London and used Piccadilly's neon signs as the backdrop for multiple scenes. The circus hasn't changed much — still chaotic, still photogenic, still the first place Bollywood directors point a camera when they land in London.

4. Westminster and Big Ben — Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012)

Yash Chopra's final film. Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif on Westminster Bridge with Big Ben behind them — it's the shot that launched a thousand Bollywood-in-London montages. Chopra understood something about London that most directors miss: the Thames at golden hour is genuinely cinematic. No filter needed.

5. Battersea Power Station — Dhoom (Various Sequences)

Before its redevelopment, Battersea Power Station showed up in multiple Bollywood chase sequences and music videos. Its industrial brutalism reads as cool on camera — four chimneys and raw concrete make better backdrops than any studio set. The new development has changed the area, but the building's silhouette is still iconic from the south bank.

6. Trafalgar Square — Multiple Films

Trafalgar Square is Bollywood's default "we're in London" establishing shot. Salaam Namaste (2005), Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007), and London Dreams (2009) all filmed sequences here. The square with Nelson's Column behind works on screen every single time. Walk from Charing Cross station and you're there in two minutes.

7. Oxford Street and Bond Street — Cocktail (2012)

Deepika Padukone's London shopping montage in Cocktail used Oxford Circus and Bond Street as the backdrop. The film captured that specific West End energy — the crowds, the shops, the constant movement. Saif Ali Khan walking through Soho in the rain is pure London Bollywood.

8. Camden Town — Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016)

Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma's London sequences included Camden Town, with the market's colourful chaos as a backdrop. Karan Johar clearly has a thing for London locations — the man has filmed more in this city than most British directors. Camden's street art and market energy matched the film's youthful, messy love story perfectly.