After reading the novel, my impression was that Baskul (does this place really exist?), was in India. There was a revolt there but not such a dramatic, last minute take off. They were heading for Peshawar when they noticed the plane fly north over the mountains. Conway had spent time in China and knew how to speak the languages.
shareBaskul is in present-day Iran. In the novel, Baskul is in the proper place, west of India and their eventual destination. The plane heads east to Peshawar at first; the passengers only realize that something's wrong when the flight continues well past the point it should have landed, and they're surrounded by mountains.
shareAnd the planes' shadow is on the wrong side of the plane...
shareI'm guessing that Capra set that opening scene in China instead of in or near India, because so many Chinese people living in the LA area were available as extras.
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