The Indianization of Switzerland: Destination Transformations in the Wake of Bollywood Films

This chapter presents with a review of the rise of Bollywood-in-the-Alps, followed by a theoretical exploration of mediatized mobility and the concept of texture. It offers methodological deliberations on adapting textural analysis to a Swiss context. The chapter presents two dimensions of Bollywood-induced destination transformations; representations and textures. The birth of Bollywood-in-the-Alps can be dated around the 1960s, where Indian filmmakers started to shoot in foreign international locations. In the same period, military tension in Kashmir forced Indian film crews to look for new exotic sites for romantic productions. The comparison with the Himalayas was reiterated by the Indian tourists on the field trip, praising Switzerland for their cleanliness, safety, and organization. The chapter captures the Indianization of Switzerland, that is, the processes shaping emerging destination textures that are at once cosmopolitan and transcultural. It demonstrates that Yash Chopra's consistent romantic representations of Switzerland are turning Swiss mountain tops into liminal consumption arenas or altitude theme parks.