If the dancing on Bondi Beach yesterday was anything to go by, recent news about Indian students being attacked in Australia has not ruined this country's attractiveness as a Bollywood film location.
Shivam is the first Indian film made in Australia since the news of bashings in Melbourne and Sydney made headlines both here and in India.
Media coverage of the issue in India reached fever pitch last month, and many were worried the growing Indian-Australian film industry ties would be damaged.
While some of the crew were initially reluctant to come, the Australian backers of the film reassured them they had nothing to fear.
"As an Australian of Indian origin I find it quite comical the extent to which the Indian media has hyped things up," Films and Casting Temple managing director Anupam Sharma said.
"As people were saying Bollywood would boycott Australia, these guys were booking their visas."
The film is a "Tollywood" movie, rather than a Bollywood one, as it is in the Telugu language of south-eastern India.
Mr Sharma said it was a typical story of boy meets girl, action, singing, and comedy. The action plays out across several Sydney locations, including Bondi and Darling Harbour, as well as the Hunter Valley.
The lead actress, known as Trisha, is a popular star of south Indian films. She was not worried by the bad press. "I had been out here a few times before and racism can happen all over the world," she said.
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