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‘Hotel, Motel & Patel’ to begin filming this year
Filming is scheduled to begin in the United States later this year.
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Malvika Choudhary - Wed, 25, Mar 2026
- 18:04 EDT
- 21
Kanji Manchhu Desai / patelhotelhistory.com
A new feature film based on the history of Indian immigrant motel owners in the United States is set to begin production later this year.
Titled Hotel, Motel & Patel, the film is being produced and directed by Mitesh Patel and will star Indian television actor Krishna Bharadwaj in the lead role.
Also Read: ‘The Patel Motel Story’ to premiere at Tribeca Festival in New York
The project is currently in pre-production and is scheduled to begin filming in the United States in July or August, with casting underway in both the U.S. and India.
Described as a comedy-drama centered on immigrant life, family pressures and adjustment in a new country, the film follows an immigrant family that moves to the United States in search of opportunity and ends up running an aging motel.
According to the release, the story draws on the so-called “Patel Motel” phenomenon, referring to the large number of motels owned by Indian Americans, many of them with the Patel surname, and traces its origins to the 1940s, when entrepreneur Kanji Manchhu Desai leased a small hotel in California.
The project also draws from director Patel’s own experience working in the hospitality industry after moving to North America. Patel has over 25 feature films to his credit, with projects released in over 120 countries.
Bharadwaj, who is known for his role in the Indian television series Tenali Rama, has been cast in the lead role. The wider production team includes Rakesh “Rocky” Shah as associate producer, Smitt Jay as music composer, Vinay Dave as lyricist and Pankaj Trivedi as writer.
Dave has written for Gujarati and Hindi film and television projects, while Smitt Jay most recently worked on the 2025 Gujarati film Laalo – Shree Krishna Sada Sahayate. Shah is founder of RShah Entertainment.
Filming is planned across multiple locations in the United States. The production team said it is also engaging with Indian diaspora communities in the country as part of the project’s development. The release added that additional casting and production updates are expected in the coming months.
No release date has been announced.
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