Bollywood comes to Healdsburg?

When I heard a Bollywood film crew was invading Healdsburg, I had to laugh: Could there be a more unlikely setting for the typical Mumbai movie masala than Alexander Valley?
Just as I was conjuring nightmare visions of the dapper, landed gentry of Healdsburg breaking into song and dance (another lame wine auction skit?), former Healdsburg council member Lisa Schaffner called to confirm that she’d opened up her house for filming along Greens Drive near Tayman Park golf course.
“They actually built my home - the interior of my home in Mumbai and filmed all the interior scenes back in India,” she said. “And now they’re doing garage and backyard and street and neighborhood shots for the next couple of weeks in Healdsburg.”
The film is “My Name is Khan.” And the most prolific film industry in the world has brought their big guns to Wine Country. Super-popular young director Karan Johar is known for his romantic comedies and love stories. Lead actor Shahrukh Khan is one of the top-paid actors in Bollywood - one of the “Three Khans” of Bollywood royalty, along with fellow stars Aamir Khan and Salman Khan. And lead actress Kajol Mukherjee is making somewhat of a comeback after taking time off to have a baby. The two actors were last seen together in Johar’s “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham” in 2001.
Also, actor Tanay Cheda, who took on the “middle Jamar” role in “Slumdog Millionaire,” is playing the childhood version of Shahrukh Khan’s character in “My Name is Khan.”
For the sake of perspective, I called my friend Vipul Sheth, president of the North Bay Indo-American Association. “This is huge - are you kidding me?” he said, awaiting a return flight to Santa Rosa in the Minneapolis airport. “I can’t wait to get back to Sonoma County!”
Based on a true story, the film focuses on an Indian man, who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome and lives in America. Screenwriter Shibani Bathija describes it this way: “It’s a love story of a Muslim man with Asperger’s navigating a complex world with the simplicity and strength of his humanity.” Filming resumes Monday through Wednesday next week in Healdsburg.