10 Films and Music Videos You Need to Watch that Were Shot in Sri Lanka

The Bridge on the River Kwai is the story of the Northern Thai railway that connected Thailand to Malaya, and how it was built by British prisoners of war. Adapted from the book by the same name, The Bridge on the River Kwai was filmed in the ’50s in the Sri Lankan highlands. A makeshift bridge was built over the Kelani River; the scene in which it explodes is one of the most famous in cinematic history. The real bridge over the Kwai is in Thailand, and is a popular tourist spot. There is nothing left of the filming location now, but film buffs sometimes make the trip there.

The Temple of Doom was supposed to be filmed in India, but local officials were offended by the story and refused to let the producers shoot there. Instead, the crew went to Sri Lanka, where they filmed the shrine in the jungle and the hanging rope bridge scenes. Both were filmed in the Kandy highlands. The rope bridge isn’t there anymore, but movie buffs can hike all the way to the edge of the cliff and photograph the big rock wall that is a huge part of the bridge scene. The rest of the movie was shot in a sound stage!

The Second Jungle Book movie was filmed in 1997 on location at the Udawattakele forest and sanctuary in Kandy. Ironically, there are no Bengal tigers in Kandy. Unfortunately, this movie didn’t do so well.

A Common Man (2013) is an American/Sri Lankan production that was shot on location in Colombo. Ben Kingsley and Ben Cross act as a terrorist and police chief, respectively, in this police drama/thriller. It won the Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor awards at the Madrid International Film Festival.

Tarzan the Ape Man was filmed in the Sri Lanka jungle. Bo Derek acts as Jane, and also produced the film. There were a lot of problems during filming, and the original Hollywood crew of 23 ended up being only eight by the end. Tarzan does not speak throughout the film!

Back in the ’80s, when the first music videos were being made, Duran Duran came to Sri Lanka to film videos for “Save a Prayer”, “Hungry like the Wolf” and “Lonely in your Nightmare”. They were shot in the Pagoda Tea Room in Colombo, The Amangalla Hotel in Galle and the architectural remains in the Cultural Triangle. At this time, music videos started telling stories, and had a more artistic feel to them. Here are all three for your enjoyment!

Save a Prayer
Hungry like the Wolf
Lonely in your Nightmare