10 Bollywood films that will give you travel goals

There is nothing more relieving and refreshing than a vacation and we all long for one every time we get too bogged down by our mundane routines. However, watching a film that takes us to a distant location is no less a soothing delight. Films like ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ and ‘Tamasha’ had enough fodder to make us all the more eager to pack our bags and leave for a vacation with friends or solo. Check out the most loved travel movies made in Bollywood which will give you new travel goals.

Imtiaz Ali has a penchant for places and his films are a testimony to that. While he explored the highways of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir, he ventured abroad and cast Shah Rukh Khan as a travel guide in Europe in ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’. It is to be noted, Imtiaz’s characters are such that they travel far and wide as part of the story. While Anushka Sharma and SRK went all around from Paris, Amsterdam, Budapest in search of the ring, they certainly evoked the hungry traveler among all of us.

True to his image, Imtiaz Ali made the characters portrayed by Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone meet on their trip to Corsica. From exploring all the fun places in the scenic tourist destination, ‘Tamasha’ also dug deep into the serene bylanes of Shimla besides a bit of Delhi. What happened in Corsica may have stayed in Corsica, but the film definitely made the moviegoers long for the much-needed vacation – solo or with a loved one.

Irrfan Khan and Malayalam actress Parvathy’s ‘Qarib Qarib Singlle’ was a hardcore travel film but not with the couple ending up with a living together, die together love story. As the two took a short journey to which turned out to be the trip of their lives, the film traced their journey from the ghats of Rishikesh, sands of Bikaner to Gangtok in the east encapsulating all modes of transport from trains, buses, ropeway to taxis. How unexpected events from missed trains to simple walks hit the notes of friendships and fights on their path to self-discovery forms the crux of the film. The film could easily evoke the traveller in you with its diverse scenic locations and experiences across India. It was shot in real locations like Dehradun, Delhi, Alwar, Bikaner, Rishikesh, and Gangtok.

Kangana Ranaut’s solo honeymoon in ‘Queen’ after the groom walked out just before the wedding was a path-breaking film which not just earned the actress huge applause but also convinced skeptical souls for solo trips. The unexpected experiences on a vacation from meeting new people to becoming lifelong friends with them, dealing with street thieves to opening up to an all-new world while roaming around Paris and Amsterdam made for a wonderful travel film. If this couldn’t inspire the lazy ones to pack their bags, nothing will.

The Rohit Shetty film ‘Chennai Express’ starring Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone ventured down South-India for some eye-soothing locations. As SRK ends up travelling to Rameswaram while on the way to Goa, his journey loaded with twists and turns took him and Deepika through the green terrains of Munnar, the Dudhsagar Falls and several unseen gems in Kerala like Devikulam Lake, Meesapulimala, Wagavara, and Kannimala. While the characters portrayed by the two fell in love on their topsy-turvy journey, the scenic locales of Kerala made many get up and take notice of this part of India which is becoming the most sought-after choice for a vacation.

Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar and Abhay Deol’s typical guy-trip film ‘Zindagi Na Milega Dobara’ hit the right chord with the youth. As three friends – Farhan, the workaholic Hrithik and the groom-to-be Abhay set off to Spain on a bachelor trip of a lifetime, their journey becomes the turning point of their lives. They have a lot of fun as each of them chooses a dangerous sport for the group to partake from bull-run, sky-diving, deep sea diving to the La Tomatina festival. The film definitely puts Spain on the must-visit list of many moviegoers.

As the nerdy Naina played by Deepika Padukone dares to join friends Kabir (Ranbir Kapoor), Aditi (Kalki Koechlin) and Avinash (Aditya Roy Kapur) for a trip to Manali in the film ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’, the romantic love story showed how a trip can bring out a major change in a person and can end their search for love. The film that takes up from the adventurous mountain trekking to Ranbir’s journey around the world as a videographer for a travel show on TV, it was a big hit pepped up with added flavours of a Holi celebration and a destination wedding in Udaipur.

Just like Imtiaz Ali, filmmaker Zoya Akhtar also has a penchant for travel films. The cruise taken by the Mehras, a dysfunctional Punjabi family along with their family and friends, came as a breath of fresh air. Not only did it give a glimpse of the lavish cruise life while sailing across the Mediterranean, it also showed glimpses of the tourist spots on land in France, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, and Italy. With fun and drama on the ship, how the vacation brought up a huge change in the lives of the characters formed the crux of the film.

Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor’s detective drama ‘Jagga Jasoos’ ventured into the less exploited shooting locales in India and abroad. As a boy with sharp detective skills goes out in search of his missing father, the journey he takes while struggling amid dreaded gangsters and a smuggling mafia made the film a musical delight. From the amazing locales of Darjeeling, Cape Town, Thailand and Morocco, the film was one of a kind.

‘Dil Chahta Hai’ gets a lot of credit for making almost every single youth long for that much-needed Goa trip. Much before the guy road trips became the flavor among the youth, this one hit the right chord with the audience, evoking their travelling desires, especially with friends. Be it Saif, Ali Khan, Aamir Khan and Akshaye Khanna’s road trip to Goa or Aamir’s Sydney outing with Preity Zinta, the film successfully showed the best visual locales of the two popular tourist spots from the eye of the camera.