Twenty-five years ago, an Indian-born film graduate from Sydney completed a thesis on Indian cinema and transformed that passion into a pioneering enterprise. With the founding of films & casting TEMPLE in 2000 and the motto “Worshipping Cinema,” Anupam Sharma turned cultural curiosity into a bridge between two of the world’s most dynamic screen industries — India and Australia.
Since then, TEMPLE has grown into a ground-breaking production and consultancy company that has reshaped how the two nations see, shoot, and celebrate each other on screen.
From Dil Chahta Hai and Heyy Babyy to Love Story 2050, TEMPLE — Australia’s first India-specialist film production and consultancy company — now celebrates 25 years of a legacy spanning more than 400 projects, symbolising a vibrant collaboration between Bollywood and the Australian film industry.
Founded by Anupam Sharma, filmmaker, author, and entrepreneur once dubbed the “Czar of Bollywood in Australia” and listed among the 50 most influential Australian film professionals, TEMPLE quickly gained recognition with early collaborations for industry icons such as Feroz Khan, Roshan, Yash Johar, and Aditya Chopra, before cementing its reputation with Farhan Akhtar’s cult classic Dil Chahta Hai.
Over the years, TEMPLE’s expert team has powered some of Bollywood’s most memorable shoots in Australia while also providing high-end consultancy and technical support in India. From animatronics for Koi… Mil Gaya to stunt driving for Dhoom, fire sequences for Om Shanti Om, and stunts for Lakshya, TEMPLE has been at the forefront whenever Bollywood called — and Australia answered.
The company also made history by conceptualizing the Australia–India Film Fund, which was announced by the then Prime Minister of Australia during a visit to India. Through this initiative, TEMPLE produced the cross-cultural romantic comedy ‘unINDIAN,’ starring Brett Lee and Tannishtha Chatterjee — the first Australian film ever featured on ‘The Kapil Sharma Show,’ beaming Australian storytelling into millions of Indian homes.
TEMPLE has also been the go-to company for India’s massive advertising industry, managing major campaigns with Percept, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Billoo Sandhu, and Kunal Kapoor, as well as large-scale promotions for Tourism Australia and Destination NSW — among the biggest ever filmed in Australia.
The collaboration between the two industries soon became a two-way exchange. TEMPLE became the first Australian production house commissioned by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to promote Australian films and talent in India. The company also played a key role in the first India-centric Australian reality show, Bollywood Star, and in filming several Australian television projects in India — a testament to its deep understanding of both markets.
As TEMPLE celebrates its silver jubilee, the company is developing a new slate of India-centric Australian feature films with support from Screen Australia, Screen Queensland, and Screen NSW. With the India–Australia co-production treaty in place, a growing Indian diaspora, and the rising popularity of Bollywood in Australia, the timing could not be more perfect.
Adding to the milestone celebrations, TEMPLE’s award-winning documentary Brand Bollywood Downunder — exploring the India–Australia film connection and featuring Bollywood luminaries — has just premiered on Netflix ANZ, poetically echoing the company’s 25-year journey.
“It’s cinema karma,” smiles Sharma. “A film about India–Australia film links premieres on Netflix ANZ just as we turn 25.”
Under Sharma’s leadership, TEMPLE also launched the National Indian Film Festival of Australia (NIFFA) — the country’s first national Indian film festival — showcasing the diversity and richness of Indian cinema to Australian audiences. The festival opened to overwhelming support from both the Australian and Indian governments and private agencies and is already expanding to regional Australia.
Reflecting on the milestone, Sharma says, “These 25 years are a celebration of Australia’s diversity, India’s creative reach, and the enduring power of cinema to connect cultures — a perfect arranged marriage between the most prolific and most professional film industries.”
As TEMPLE marks 25 years of Worshipping Cinema, it stands not just as a production company but as a cultural force — one that continues to shape the evolving narrative of India–Australia screen collaboration.
