Written by on Jul 23, 2014. Posted in Production News

Joshua Tree films off-road in southern India for new Tata Safari commercial

Joshua Tree filmed off-road in the southern Indian state of Karnataka for a new campaign for the Tata Safari. The lifestyle piece shows a group of friends enjoying themselves as they take a leisurely drive through the Indian countryside.

The production team spent ten days scouting locations in Karnataka before settling on an area near the town of Chikmagalur. Here they had access to a tabletop mountain at a height of 6,500 feet and they also gained permission to film at a nearby wildlife sanctuary.

“We shot for three 20-hour days, starting on location at 4 am going on till sundown each day,” recalls Joshua Tree producer Priyanka Kher: “The real challenge however came with handling a mammoth crew and getting the equipment as well as the cars up to a height of over 6,500 feet above sea level on one day and into the deep, obscure jungles to reach the waterfalls with practically no roads on the other.”

With limited access roads, the production team often had to establish separate base camps from which to transport their equipment further along the trails. In the wildlife sanctuary, the team was allowed to film only in certain areas and for a set amount of time.

Adds Joshua Tree founder and Executive Producer Joshua Upputuru: “Given the timelines and the scale of the project, what we were able to achieve by shooting in Karnataka both from visual and logistical point of view was exceptional. We’d definitely recommend and even help organize, if anyone wants to shoot there again.”

Credits:
Client: Tata Motors
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather India
Production Company: Joshua Tree, Mumbai
Producer: Priyanka Kher
Executive Producer: Joshua Upputuru
Director: Fredrick Callinggard

(Photos: Porus Khareghat)