Delhi is Bollywood’s new Switzerland

New Delhi: The Indian film industry has its audience spread all across the globe. Thousands of films make it to the silver screen every year and the size of audience watching these films just seem to increase. Bollywood is, therefore, one of the best mediums for promoting tourism in India.

Shooting in India is not only convenient as compared to foreign locations like Switzerland, but is also quite budget-friendly. In the last few years, Indian film makers have largely resorted to the capital; becoming a hub for film shoots. Delhi has become a fixture in Bollywood, with storylines being increasingly set here.

Different parts of the city give different characteristics to a film, fromRang De Basanti, Delhi 6, Aisha, Vicky Donor, Raanjhanaa, Fukrey, and more recently ‘PK’.

 

Reasons why Delhi is best for shooting films:

Delhi is cheaper to shoot in and permissions are easy to get:

The first thing that line producers –who are responsible for the daily operations during a film shoot—point out is that shooting in Delhi is cheap. In Delhi, if you have to shoot on a road, you will need permission from the Delhi Traffic Police. That is the only permission you need.

Market associations not a hurdle

Delhi’s market associations allow film shoots to happen without any problems. ChandniChowk is one of the markets which are widely seen in movies shot in Delhi. If you want to shoot inside a restaurant or in a marketplace, you’ll easily get your shoot done in Delhi. The only condition owners keep is that the restaurant or shop’s name should appear on screen.

Delhi, Gurgaon have all kinds of backgrounds

One can show any kind of situation in Delhi and NCR, for the region provides all sorts of backgrounds. From the lower middle class family of Fukrey, and the Lajpat Nagar Punjabi family with the Daryaganj fertility clinics of Vicky Donor to Aisha’s posh locales, Delhi is apt for all kinds of shooting. Defence Colony and malls give a very posh look. If a filmmaker wants to shoot colleges, obviously, they go to North Campus. And for a typical Delhi look, film-makers prefer the Old Delhi area. Delhi has a solution for everyone’s demands.

Most new directors are from Delhi

A lot of Bollywood’s new wave filmmakers hail from the capital, or have lived at some part of their life in the capital, and that’s why most of them set their films in Delhi. They know Delhi better and they have explored the city and its surroundings. 

For example, Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra is from Delhi and so far, he has shot three films in the city – Delhi 6, Rang De Basanti and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. Similarly, Shoojit Sircar spent some years in Delhi hence he shot Vicky Donor extensively in the Capital.

In most cases, it is more about the script, as a lot of films revolve around Delhi as a part of their script. Also, Delhi-based films have a Punjabi flavour, which works in favor of a film in the north.

 

Here is a list of some recent films which were shot in Delhi

2 States

The film, an adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s book of the same name, was directed by Abhishek Varman and produced by Karan Johar and Sajid Nadiadwala. Arjun Kapoor’s character in the movie belonged to Delhi and the movie shows some scenes of different cafés, book stalls of CP. The song ‘Chaandaniyan’ was shot at Hauz Khas village.

 

Ek Tha Tiger

Some scenes from Salman Khan-starrer Ek Tha Tiger were shot in the high security Parliament Street area and other locations of Central Delhi. The film, directed by Kabir Khan, also stars Katrina Kaif. 

 

Queen

Queen marks the directorial debut of Vikas Bahl, who chose Lajpat Nagar in Delhi as the setting for his maiden film for a very special reason. As he was born and brought in the locality, so it was his dream to shoot his film in Lajpat Nagar. The film also had several shots in Alaknanda and Saket. Kangana Renaut’s clothes in the movie too are inspired by those of Delhi college girls.

 

Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania

Shashank Khaitan’s directorial debut Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania starring Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt were extensively shot in Khan Market and Delhi University. 

 

PK

Aamir Khan, who worked with Rajkumar Hirani for the second time after the success of ‘3 Idiots’, made all the right noises in the outdoor shoot of ‘PK’ in Delhi. The actor was spotted wearing a plethora of baubles as he shot in Dilli Haat. Red Fort and Chandni Chowk are some parts of old Delhi where the scenes were shot.  Aamir in the movie has been shown fooling around in the streets of Old Delhi.

Other locations covered in the movie are Humayun’s tomb, Qutab Minar, Raj Path, Adventure Island and various parts of central Delhi.