Chicago River set for Bollywood film

September 16, 2012 – (Above) A Eurocopter turbo-shaft helicopter films a scene on the Chicago River east of the Wabash Avenue Bridge early Saturday morning. With police boats blocking the area and traffic limited on State Street, Wacker Drive, Wabash Avenue, and Michigan Avenue, the action scene was filmed for Dhoom 3: Back in Action, an Indian “Bollywood” film shooting in Chicago. (Click on images to view larger versions.)

Last week, a company claiming to be “Big Rock LLC” notified property managers in the area, saying the film title was Victor’s Venom. It was reminiscent of Rory’s First Kiss, the fake title that turned out to be The Dark Knight. Except that the film industry news site Reel Chicago had the correct title when it reported on July 30 the film would be shooting in Chicago.

Downtown residents did not have to read The Hindustan Times coverage of Dhoom 3 to know filming started in Chicago on August 8 when scenes were shot at Wabash and Randolph.

The “Dhoom” series of action thrillers, described as “buddy cop” movies, is popular. Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra star as the cop and his sidekick. Aamir Khan plays the villain, a thief who is also an acrobat.

Filming will continue on Sunday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Wabash Avenue Bridge will be closed until 10 p.m. on Sunday. Also, some streets, walkways, and part of the Riverwalk will be closed at times. More scenes will be shot in Chicago through December. Dhoom 3 will be in Hindi and is scheduled for release next year.

The helicopter filming on Saturday is owned by a company in Costa Mesa, California, and does itself have a film career. According to the Internet Movie Database, it appeared in the 2007 film Live Free or Die Hard, the 2008 film Get Smart, and a 2006 music video with Nelly Furtado.