America calling Bollywood

Switzerland's been outdated for quite a long time now. Largely because of the massive diaspora audience it provides, Bollywood's increasingly been flocking to America in its search for glitzy backdrops.

Here's a look at some recent Hindi releases set in and around America:

My Name Is Khan

Karan Johar's latest film is mostly set in Los Angeles -- apparently sections have been shot in UCLA as well -- and involves Shah Rukh Khan travelling actross America to meet the President.

The production also travelled to San Francisco and the Bay Area.

Will you watch My Name Is Khan when it releases on February 12? Tell us!

Salaam Namaste director Siddharth Anand's upcoming romantic comedy stars Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra, and has been shot across New York, San Francisco and Las Vegas. The film is slated to release in early July, 2010.

Tarun Mansukhani's take on Chuck And Larry was a smash hit, and made great use of the location. The entire film was shot in Miami, and the sunny land of beaches was amply showcased. Not to mention it allowed the cast to wear as little as possible.

This spectacular Siddharth Anand dud was shot almost entirely in the US.

Featuring Saif Ali Khan as a stock car racer, there was much racing footage shot, with major sections at the Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina and the Milwaukee Mile in Wisconsin.

Karan Johar produced this very well-mounted romance starring Preity Zinta, Shah Rukh and Saif and set it in New York City. However, the Big Apple wasn't the most economical setting, forcing a lot of the film to be shot in Toronto instead.

Yet another Karan Johar film set in New York, KANK featured Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Abhishek Bachchan and Preity Zinta in a tale of marital strife.

Several scenes were filmed in Connecticut, and those set in NY's Grand Central rail station were filmed in Philadelphia and New Haven stations instead.

Renzil D'Silva'z directorial debut was yet another Johar production, and this film set in Delhi and New York was shot mostly in Philadelphia.

There was a major controversy in Philadelphia about the production unit not having cleared its dues for the shoot, but these have apparently since been settled.

Sajid Nadiadwala thinks big, and his Akshay Kumar meets Sylvester Stallone project was mounted on a very lavish scale, filmed in Los Angeles and shot at the famed Kodak Theatre and Universal Studios. One wishes he would just have spent more money on the script.

Shirish Kunder's directorial debut was another Nadiadwala production, and this time the storytelling was quite charming. Akshay and Salman Khan travel from India to New York, where Salman teaches Akshay how to hit on Preity Zinta.

The film didn't do well commercially but got great reviews.

John Abraham, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Katrina Kaif starred in Kabir Khan's New York, a take on terrorism and the Indian Muslim in America being affected by 9/11.

Very similarly to Kurbaan, this was another New York film that was largely shot in Philadelphia.