The picture postcard Delhi in B'wood

India Gate has always been one of those landmarks in Delhi that visually characterise the city. In the past, to show Delhi, as “Break Ke Baad” director Danish Aslam says, a few montage shots of India Gate or a car going down the roads around it, would give the complete picture.
Rajpath, synonymous only with the Republic Day parade till a few years ago, now features in every other Bollywood film.Aamir Khan has shot at Rajpath more than once – for “3 Idiots” and “Rang De Basanti” – which also featured India Gate in the protest sequences, giving it a visual significance beyond the usual touristy one.
Besides “Rang De Basanti”, and now Rajkumar Gupta’s “No One Killed Jessica”, India Gate has been featured in many Delhi-based films as the one landmark that visually identifies the city. Shah Rukh Khan was featured jogging in front of India Gate with his rag-tag girls hockey team in “Chak De! India”, and the comedy-thriller “Sunday” also canned shots of the popular memorial.
Rajpath, the ceremonial boulevard for the Republic of India, is equally popular among moviemakers who wish to register the presence of Delhi in their films. And then there is Rashtrapati Bhavan. The first half of the Aamir-Kajol starrer “Fanaa” was set in Delhi and the song “Des Rangila” was shot at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Nowadays, movies also have passing references of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. In the movie “Paa”, when Auro (Amitabh Bachchan) befriends his father Amol (Abhishek), he requests him to take him to Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Taking about filmmakers increasingly shooting at Rajpath, director Sudhir Mishra says that it’s becoming a stock image. “Although I had shot near Rajpath for my film “Hazaaron Khawaishen Aisi”, I decided to stay away from shooting at Rajpath again for “Yeh Saali Zindagi” since it’s becoming a shot that represents Delhi,” he says. Danish also says that he tried to stay away from shooting at the usual landmarks in Delhi, like India Gate and Rajpath, so that he could show a newer Delhi that non-Delhiites hadn’t seen before. In fact, Devika Bhagat, the writer of “Aisha”, says she feels a little irritated when people take just “montage shots of Rajpath to show Delhi. The city is so green, so wide, so visually stunning, a film shot here could be spectacular”. But these landmarks are still popular with filmmakers, and, hey, who minds seeing more of Dilli on screen, whether it’s a swanky new club or the India Gate?
Films shot at Rajpath, Rashtrapati Bhavan & India Gate:
-3 Idiots
-Paa
-Kurbaan
-Fanaa
-Rang De Basanti
-Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
-Cheeni Kum
-Lakshya
-Chak De! India
-Sunday
-No One Killed Jessica
(With inputs from Chandna Arora)
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