Whether it is dramatic monuments, bustling urban centres, or untouched landscapes, India’s rich cultural and natural tapestry has captivated Bollywood and Hollywood. The country’s vast and varied terrain, from bustling cities to rugged mountains and sacred rivers, has provided a perfect canvas for filmmakers to shape narratives of unforgettable stories.
In Mumbai, the city that never sleeps, you’ll quickly sense the pulse of a metropolis constantly in motion, much like the energy captured in Slumdog Millionaire (2008). While navigating its frenetic streets, you’ll understand how Mumbai’s stark contrasts—opulence and struggle, hope and despair—form the raw undercurrent of the film. Some scenes of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol also take place in the streets of Mumbai, including the Gateway of India.
The 1982 epic Gandhi features critical locations across India, including Porbandar, his birthplace in Gujarat, and the Aga Khan Palace in Pune, where Gandhi and other leaders were imprisoned. The film also highlights Delhi, the site of his tragic assassination. These locations vividly portray the story of Gandhi’s leadership in India’s struggle for independence. With its weighty historical significance and political power, Delhi offers a profoundly layered experience for Rang De Basanti’s themes of youth rebellion and patriotism (2006). You also find yourself drawn into the winding lanes of Chandni Chowk, as it was portrayed in Dilli 6 (2009). Walking on the narrow roads, past centuries-old havelis, and crowded markets, you’ll feel the intersection of complexity and contradictions in Delhi, just like its inhabitants.
Kolkata has an entirely different persona of colonial-era grandeur and intellectualism. In City of Joy (1992) and The Namesake (2007), the city’s crumbling mansions, winding alleyways, and grand Victorian architecture become a metaphor for the passage of time and the fragility of love. Even today, in some parts of the city, the air is thick with history, festivals, poetry, and art, creating a restless energy for filmmakers and travellers alike.
Ravla Khempur near Udaipur and Royal Castle in Kanota become powerful backdrops in the saga of the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), along with the railway station, Panna Meena Ki Kund, and Jantar Mantar of Jaipur. Udaipur’s ethereal Lake Palace blends into the high-stakes espionage of Octopussy (1983), while the Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, featured in The Dark Knight Rises (2012), amplifies drama by transforming the historic monument into a symbol of power and conflict.
Varanasi, India’s spiritual heart, is where time seems to dissolve, just as it does in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). The ghats, temples, and rituals unfolding on the banks of the Ganges offer a profound space to contemplate life, death, and everything in between. Some parts of Steve Jobs’s biographical drama, Jobs (2013), were also shot in Varanasi and Delhi.
Pondicherry’s combination of French colonial architecture and tranquil shores is the starting point for introspection, much like the journey in Life of Pi (2012).
From Mumbai’s relentless energy to Varanasi’s spiritual silence, every place invites you to journey through its landscapes, revealing a deeper connection to this vibrant country’s stories, people, and dreams. “
