Last week, Flanders Today reported that Indian film producer and director Mahesh Bhatt had pulled out of an agreement to make his film Blood Money in Antwerp. The same day, The Times of India published Bhatt’s claim that the filmmakers “were denied permission” to shoot in the city after, according to an anonymous source, “the diamond traders lobby in Belgium realised how this film might portray the diamond industry in a bad light, similar to the Hollywood film Blood Diamond”.

According to Lea Winkeler of TV, however, the decision was taken by Bhatt’s company, Vishesh Films. “The diamond industry wasn’t part of the consultation. They never had anything to say,” she says. The film, part of which has already been shot in India, is the story of a young man who marries and finds a job in Belgium. The main locations in Antwerp included Central Station, the Bourla theatre, the Grote Markt and the new MAS Museum. Scenes were also planned in Bruges, Ghent and Brussels Airport.

TV had planned a tourist campaign in India in conjunction with the film. They are, says Winkeler, still waiting for an explanation from Vishesh, which has now taken the project to Cape Town in South Africa. “After the contract had been signed, the filmmakers began to make additional demands that we could not fulfil,” she says. “Then their director called it off. We’ve received no more explanation that that.”

TV will now look into the possibility of being compensated for the investment in flights and hotel arrangements for the Indian cast and crew. The tourist agency is also estimated to have spent about €150,000 on the lobbying work required to bring the Bollywood production to Flanders.