Shimla, One of the most beautiful cities in India also happens to be one of the favorite shooting locations for the filmmakers. Snow-capped mountains, Green meadows, colorful flowerbed, cool climate throughout the year, friendly locals, easy policies by the state government, colonial monuments etc. are the factors that make Shimla a perfect film shooting destination. Shimla has connections with Bollywood since black & white era and Hundreds of movies have been shot in Shimla, but here we take a look at 10 Bollywood blockbusters shot in Shimla.
1. Bang Bang
One of the highest grosser of 2014 Bang Bang was shot in Shimla. The movie features Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif in lead roles where Katrina played a role of a Shimla Girl. Danny Denzongpa, Javed Jaffery, Deepti Naval, Pawan Malhotra and Jimmy Shergill are in other important roles. The movie was shot in different locations of Ritz, Mall Road, Kufri and Lakker Bazar.
2. Black
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s inspirational movie Black was shot in and around Shimla. Amitabh Bachan, Rani Mukharji, Ayesha Kapur and Nandana Sen are in lead roles. The movie majorly filmed in Woodville Palace of Shimla, which had been shown as the house of Michelle McNally(Protagonist). Black was selected as one of the 10 best Movies of the year 2005 from around the world by Time Magazine.
3. Three Idiots
Directed by Rajkumar Hirani and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra Three Idiots, the film was the highest-grossing film in its opening weekend in India and had the highest opening day collections for an Indian film up until that point. Amir Khan, Kareena Kapoor, R,Madhwan, Sharman Joshi, Omi Vaidya, Mona Singh and Boman Irani are in main roles. The movie had a number of scenes shot in Town Hall and Ritz.
4. Tamasha
Directed by Imtiaz Ali, Ranbir Kapur and Deepika Padukone starer film Tamasha was filmed briefly in Shimla along with Delhi, Gurgaon , Corsica and Kolkata. Ranbir Kapur played Shimla Boy in the movie, later he moves to Delhi for pursuing Job. The movie had scenes shot in Jakhu Temple, SummerHill and Toy Train in Shimla.
5. Jab we Met
Directed by Imtiaz Ali, starring Shahid Kapoor and Karina Kapur had a number of scenes which were shot in Shimla.It was one of the blockbusters in 2007. The popular song “Aoge Jab Tum Sajna” was shot at Mall Road. Mountain Railway and summer hill area in Shimla also made the significant presence in the movie.
6. Gadar Ek Prem Katha
The Movie released in 2001, is set in the time of Partition of India is based on real life of Boota Singh.One of the Biggest Blockbusters in Hindi Cinema Starring Sunny Deol, Amisha Patel, and Amrish Puri. Gadar: Ek Prem Katha is the most watched Hindi film in India as it recorded 5.05 crore footfalls in India.In Gadar, the convent school shown is, in reality, the famous Bishop Cotton's school of the town.
7. Mai Tera Hero
Director of the Movie “Mai Tera Hero” David Dhawan believes Shimla to be lucky for him.The film stars Varun Dhawan, Ileana D’Cruz and Nargis Fakhri in the lead roles and was released in 2014. The movie had various scenes shot in Shimla.
8. Udaan
Udaan is a coming age of drama film released in 2010. The film is based on the real life of Anurag Kashyap. It was not a commercially successful movie at the box office when released, but is regarded as a cult classic in Indian cinema.Rajat Barmecha, Ronit Roy, Ram Kapur and Aryan Barodiya are in lead roles. Rajat Barmecha played a character of Rohan who is expelled from the reputed Bishop Cotton School Shimla.The film was shot mainly in Bishop Cotton School Campus.
9. Raju Chacha
The film stars Ajay Devgan, Kajol, Sanjay Dutt and Rishi Kapoor in lead roles, was released in 2000. It was an above average grosser and received mixed reviews from critics. The movie was shot in different locations of Shimla including town Hall and Mall Road.
10. Main Aisa hi hun
Main Aisa hi hun directed by Harry Baweja was released in 2005. The movie features AjayaDebgan, SushmitaSen, Esha Deol and Anupam Kher in lead roles. The movie had scenes shot in numerous beautiful locations of Shimla.