The Real Picture

Over a period of time,Bollywood films have gone from being shot entirely in a studio,to being filmed at foreign locales,to exploring the cities and towns of India. Back in the ‘50s and ‘60s,nearly everything — from a car-chase sequence to a romantic encounter — was shot indoors. Later,Yash Chopra introduced the Swiss Alps on the silver screen. Although foreign locations continue to play a major role in Hindi films,some filmmakers,especially the younger lot,are making a conscious effort to show the real picture. Films such as Band Baaja Baaraat,No One Killed Jessica (NKOJ),Tera Kya Hoga Johnny,Delhi Belly and the recently-released Allah Ke Banday have been shot at real locations to explore the respective cities’ character in the story. “It’s a motivating factor for a filmmaker,” says Rajkumar Gupta,who claims he can’t think creatively while shooting in a studio. “Real locations lend that magic touch to the story. There is no replacement for it.” Gupta shot his first film,Aamir,at various locations in Mumbai,including the well-known Marine Drive,Dharavi slums and Bhendi Bazaar. For his second,NOKJ,he has shot in Old Delhi,parts of south Delhi,Connaught Place,Khan Market and also Gurgaon. “The recce is what usually takes time— it took a month to finalise the locations. But then,if you have planned well,things will go smoothly,” he assures.

Production costs are also drastically different,depending on the location,Gupta adds. “While the budget could go either way,putting up a set will almost always cost more than shooting on location,” he says.

Sudhir Mishra’s Tera Kya Hoga Johnny,focuses on the Mumbai underbelly,and has been shot in real locations. Mishra,who zeroed in on the Colaba slums for shooting,shares a word of caution: “Just placing a camera in a slum doesn’t make a scene artsy and hence,beautiful. One has to be innovative and bring in the magic of cinema.”

In the case of Band Baaja Baaraat and Allah Ke Banday,it was a tad different. While most directors would prefer setting up the shots in the studio,for debutants Maneesh Sharma and Faruk Kabir respectively,authenticity was a major factor. So while Kabir chose to shoot his film at a real remand home,Sharma based his characters in the middle class terrains of Delhi. As actress Anushka Sharma puts it,“We shot at Janakpuri in Delhi,which captured the true essence of the older part of the city. Our characters camouflaged well with the local residents,who dress in all their finery on any given day.” Shooting at these locales come with their own problems. Rao reminisces the time when she had to shoot a scene in a crowded Mohammed Ali Road with Aamir Khan. “It was just crazy. We had to quickly shoot our scene and get out of there,” she recalls. Crowd control isn’t the only hurdle,says Gupta. “There are too many permissions required and there is only a stipulated time allotted to you,within which you have to wrap up the shot.”