Indoor and outdoor locations do not merely create a beautiful backdrop. They also provide with a beautiful canvas that is colored with story ideas. Sometimes, it’s not the director’s skills or the soulful music that go into the making of a blockbuster. The cinematographer’s depiction of locales leaves a lasting impression in the people’s minds.
Locations play such a powerful role that they can enhance the overall impact of the film. In today’s times, filmmakers create an aura of authenticity by imparting the appropriate backdrop to their cities. In Kahaani, the lens romances Kolkata’s emblematic images of the Howrah Bridge, Durga Puja and Victoria Memorial. So thoughtfully were they shown that they became an intrinsic part of the film. Like Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi have also had their moments on the big screen. A number of films have revolved around them.
Some among our B-town films have been camping in nondescript villages and towns of India. They are benefiting from the qualities that the simple, charming and cost-effective locales are bringing to them. Horror films and thrillers, for instance, are introducing the national audience to the face of the cities where danger lurks in street corners and mystery unfolds within crumbling buildings.
Mani Ratnam's Raavan is said to be a modern interpretation of the epic Ramayana. The film wouldn’t have been so visually attractive without Athirapally forests in Kerala, Ooty in Tamil Nadu, Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, Kolkata, and the Malshej Ghats in Maharashtra: places that the cameraman’s lens fell in love with. Kareena Kapoor’s dance on Yeh Ishq haye in Jab We Met created magic in Ladakh and other sequences of the film were shot in diverse locations, right from ganne ka khet which was shot in Chandigarh to the slopes in Shimla and Manali.
Kangana Ranaut and R. Madhavan in Tanu Weds Manu sat pretty on a charpoy in a village in Kanpur. Udaan was filmed in Jamshedpur, Peepli Live in Uttar Pradesh/ Haryana and 3 Idiots in Ahmedabad followed suit. Ludhiana’s famous fort Sarai Lashkari Khan is the place where some of the most popular scenes of Rang de Basanti were shot. Riteish Deshmukh and his reel-turned-real life partner Genelia D Souza’s Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya was shot in various locations of Patiala. Not only that, many Hollywood directors have been helming their movies in our national locales such as the Dev Patel starrer The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel that was shot in Rajasthan and the Julia Roberts starrer Eat, Pray, Love which had sequences shot in Haryana. Prakash Jha’s Aparahan filmed in Bihar was released in 2005. Jha’s romance with small towns continued with Rajneeti, Aarakshan and the soon-to-be-released Chakravyuh that was shot in Bhopal.
In recent times, the authenticity of the locale has acquired more importance than ever before. The recently released Gangs of Wasseypur directed by Anurag Kashyap is another such example. It would have been impossible to depict the film’s atmosphere without setting camp at Wasseypur in Dhanbad. And then, of course, there are period films like Paan Singh Tomar, which took the plot to places like Chambal and Roorkee. Ishaqzaade in which Arjun Kapoor played a grandson to the patriarchal grandfather and the actress Parineeti Chopra was a small-town girl living in a house full of overprotective male members was largely shot in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh.
One doesn’t have to belong to the film industry to know that shooting in these locales is cost-effective. Permissions can be sought more easily, while crowd management is infinitely easier. However, while less expenditure, authentic locales and imparting genuineness to the characters are significant considerations, this approach has more to it. Filmmaking, at the end of the day, has a direct link with the heart. Many filmmakers of our industry hail from some of these small towns. Hence, they get an opportunity to showcase their hometowns through their films. What is nice to see is they’re all giving us a chance to connect with our roots too.
No comments:
Post a Comment