On the Tracks of Musical Screenscapes: Analysing the Emerging Phenomenon of Bollywood Filmi-song Tourism in Iceland

Abstract

Around the world, cities and regions are welcoming tourists after being in the spotlight of popular movies, games, novels, TV series or other forms of popular media culture. Popular Hindi cinema (Bollywood) too has long impacted destination imaginaries and the ensuing travels. What remains scarce in existing research is how its crucial component – Filmi-songs – impacts tourists’ imaginaries of a destination, and consequently how they perform their travels. This study investigates the role and significance of filmi-songs in tourism practices, by focussing on the case-study of ‘Gerua’ from the film ‘Dilwale’ (2015), after which Iceland experienced a rise in Indian tourism. Employing 18 in-depth interviews with tourists, but also various local stakeholders in the business of media-tourism, this study attempts to understand what impact Bollywood songs have on travel motivations of its audiences, how tourists experience the filmi-song location on-site, and finally how the phenomenon is perceived and evaluated by local stakeholders in Iceland. Results show that filmi-song tourists are actively engaged in reconstructing scenes from their beloved filmi-songs by indulging in shot re-creations and song re-enactments. By drawing links between Bollywoodized narratives and locations in Iceland, and by sharing these performances online, these tourist practices contribute to the imaginative heritage of Iceland in the global imagination.