Flavour of Old Delhi in Bollywood

The Chinese Akshay Kumar’s dil was actually in the sankri galis of Chandni Chowk in CC2C, and the sprawling spread of rooftops and minarets that’s seen in purani Dilli is a favourite with filmmakers. Many a movie recently has captured the wide roads around India Gate, which is the perfect picture postcard image for a Delhi film. Of course it’s touristy, but it’s also picturesque, and in this age when Dilli’s more dabangg in Bollywood, it’s oh-so-uniquely-Delhi. The naya-purana flavour of Old Delhi, the old-world charm of the monuments, the green spaces of Rajpath – that’s what filmmakers seek to capture when they set their films here. Today, on Day 2, we’re showing you that whether it’s a landmark or a middle-class residential colony, for Bollywood, Dilli ke paas cinemaa hi cinemaa hai!Delhi has alwaysbeen recognised by shots of either India Gate or the Rashtrapati Bhavan, but therecent increase in the number of Bollywood shootings in Delhi has also resultedin filmmakers exploring other symbols for representing the flavour of puraniDilli – one of them being the stunning red facade of the Red Fort.Be it movies that need to depict the ambience of old Delhi, or filmsthat just need the audience to identify the location of the movie as being inDelhi, directors have begun using the Red Fort as one of those easilyrecognisable monuments.This monument has caught the fancy of a lotof filmmakers. Why else would they go through the trouble of seeking permissionand doing paperwork just to shoot a couple of scenes at the picturesque RedFort? The Qila, it seems, has graduated from being just a passing shot in a filmto an actual location to shoot crucial scenes. The first half of theAamir Khan’s starrer “Fanaa” was shot extensively in Delhi.While Aamir plays a terrorist in the guise of a guide, the first half of themovie encapsulated the monumental panorama of Delhi. Red Fort made a cameo inthe film, which also featured other historical monuments inpassing.The year 2006 saw another movie based on Delhi, and to bemore precise on purani Dilli. The Abhay Deol-Soha Ali Khan starrer “AhistaAhista” which showed the life of a man who lives in old Delhi whoseoccupation is acting witness for couples going for court marriages, was alsoshot here. And while Red Fort’s cameo in “Fanaa” didn’taffect the plot of the film, “Ahista Ahista” captured the essence ofOld Delhi with shots featuring Daryaganj and Chandni Chowk. Andafter these cameos, Red Fort got a full fledged movie for itself. Confused?Well, we’re talking about the 2008 flick “Black And White”.This Subhash Ghai film explored the life of a suicide bomber, who is sent on amission to Delhi to detonate a bomb near Red Fort on Independence Day. The shotsof the Red Fort and the adjacent area of Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk weretherefore not simply montage shots, but integral to the story. Lastyear, Bollywood saw three big budget movies based on Delhi. First came theAkshay Kumar starrer “Chandni Chowk To China”, which, needless tosay, was about old Delhi. Director Nikhil Advani shot the movie in the old Delhiarea, and the Red Fort was also one of the locations. Actors Akshay Kumar andMithun Chakraborty were spotted at various locations shooting for this film.Remember the scene where Mithunda is standing next to his thela with chhotaAkshay sitting next to him? That scene was shot at the RedFort.Imtiaz Ali’s “Love Aaj Kal” which showed the rich man’s posh south Delhi, also featured the Red Fort, though quite briefly. Old Delhi and Red Fort have also made a cameo in the song “Chor Bazaari”.Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s “Delhi 6”hit the BO next. And anybody who’s lived in Delhi even for a brief whilewould identify the movie title with the pin code – 110006. Yup,that’s old or rather the ‘original’ Delhi for you. The movieshows the America-returned Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan’s character in thefilm) jogging along the boundary wall of the Red Fort, which perhaps capturedthe best of old Delhi.Follow us on Twitter for more stories