Paulchili

We will be in Mumbai overnight with a cruise ship. We have been to Mumbai before so I would like to do something new - do a tour of Bollywood studios. The ship does not offer this tour.
Can anyone recommend a tour company or a private guide for this tour?
Thanks

dogster

www.bollywoodtourpackage.com/

There are more. Google it. I reckon they'll all be terrible - but that might be all the more fun. What cruise are you on? Azamara?

dogster

Oh, here's another option:
www.realitytoursandtravel.com/slumtours.html

and
www.mumbaimagic.com/

Cicerone

It has always been my understanding that it is quite difficult to take tours of any of the Bollywood studios, and my Lonelyplanet guide goes so far as to say it is not possible. So, I would look carefully at whatever the “tours” are which are offered as they may be a drive by of the exteriors, and not an actual studio tour like you can do at Universal in LA, for example. The only studio tours which I understand are available are down in south India at the studios in Hyderabad.

As you may know, Juhu is the Malibu of India in that a lot of movie stars live there. It is in no way as beautiful as Malibu and you won’t find quite as many large beachfront luxury homes, but you can walk along some of the lanes which run from the main street, and you will see some homes and apartments. There is also Bandra which is nearby and also fronts the water, Bandra has several art galleries and artists studios, interesting shops and some churches as this was a Portuguese area, and is a fun place to wander around; I think if you have a few hours, and there are many restaurant options, including the excellent Mahesh in Juhu or one of the restaurants at the JW Marriott. The JW Marriott Juhu is quite nice on the beach, and I personally have seen both Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan there (Amitabh is known to work on in the hotel gym on occasion, and he by the way, is much more gorgeous than his son IMO!).

Note that if you are docking at Ballard pier in downtown Mumbai, these areas could easily be a 2 hour drive each way on a weekday to Juhu with traffic, so plan accordingly.

I have see the Mumbai Magic site from time to time and it has always look interesting to me, I’d love to try one of their tours myself, so if you do one, pleas post your impressions. You might ask them about Bollywood tours and might get the skinny on it, or try contacting someone like the concierge at the Four Seasons Mumbai. Another one to consider would perhaps be Heritage Walks (http://www.bombayheritagewalks.com/), but I have not yet taken any of their tours.

Paulchili

Thank you Cicerone and dogster - both of you have been invaluable sources of information on this board (although I often take dogster with a large grain of salt).
Dogster, I had already e mailed
www.bollywoodtourpackage.com/ several days ago and I am still waiting for an answer. After reading Cicerone's post I sent another e mail asking about the tour and the itinerary (inside studio visit vs drive-by).
I am not particularly interested in the slum tours but I e mailed mumbaimagic asking about their tours.

Jaya

Dogster's advice...a grain of salt? I love Dogster's advice, even when he's grumpy and cranky.

The newbies who post vague, directionless questions are set straight pretty quickly once he gets hold of their posting.

Paulchili

PS
dogster - the cruise is on the Wind (Silversea).

dogster

Thanks Cicerone, for the heads up on Bombay Heritage - I've emailed them. [I guess you know about www.calcuttawalks.com ?]

Don't dismiss the slums out of hand, Paul. It truly is a unique experience - altho' fraught with a labryth of politically correct/incorrect opinions. I think 'Slumdog Millionaire' might be an appropriate choice of movie. But, I know it's not to everybody's taste...

'a grain of salt...?' lol. Smart man. Why not put your touring arrangements in Mumbai in MY hands? THEN you'll get your grain of salt - and a lot more seasoning besides. I have a friend called Jimmy just waiting to meet you...

Paulchili

dogster - notice, I said a LARGE grain of salt (lol).
I enjoy your posts, even though I don't always agree (it's not required - right?).

dogster

No-o-o-o, total agreement with some of the idiot choices I make is definately not required. lol. A smart man would suggest quite the reverse.

But I do appreciate your benign tolerance of my ramblings - it's the best I can expect under the circumstances. I've been blessed in here with buckets of that.

As a general rule, I'd suggest that you take my experiences as a blueprint of what NOT to do. lol.

Paulchili

dogster - you are not all bad and you know it.
I'll pick & choose from your suggestions.
Happy travels.

Paulchili

Cicerone (& dogster) - I had a prompt reply from Mumbai Magic. While they do not offer Bollywood tours, they sent me a nice brochure (via e mail) that you might be interested in.