Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; February 10, 2014)

Kyoto, prior to Tokyo, was the imperial capital of Japan. During the cold war era between the US and Russia, it was considered a neutral venue for both the countries to hold their discussions. The prestigious Kyoto International Conference Centre was the venue for the United Nations conference held on climate change which is an international treaty binding industrialised countries to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

In Jackky Bhagnani’s upcoming film Youngistaan, he plays the Prime Minister of India who is required to go to the UN to make a speech. While, of course, the UN would not allow films to be shot there, the team of Youngistaan was lucky to have got permissions to shoot inside the Kyoto International Conference Centre. This venue is usually booked years in advance but Jackky and his Japan team got the permissions in just 48 hours. While the charges to get this venue were extremely nominal, the prestige is humongous.