Thaindian News

Shimla, May 5 (IANS) Remember Dev Anand singing “Tu kahaan yeh bataa iss nasheeli raat mein” on the streets of Shimla?

From black and white films to new age romance “Jab We Met”, this picturesque hill town continues to be a backdrop for
films. And shooting here has become all the more easy, thanks to Himachal Pradesh’s new policy.

The government has introduced a single-window system to grant permission to film and TV serial makers to shoot in the
region.

“To facilitate filmmakers, single-window clearance for shooting in various locales would be granted within three days.
Earlier, the promoters had to seek permission from various departments and it was a lengthy procedure,” Arun Kumar
Sharma, director of tourism, told IANS.

He said the producers have to just submit a request, specifying the place and date of shooting. However, the promoters
have to follow the usual conditions for shooting.

Indian filmmakers have typically loved scenic backgrounds and they spotted the serene locations of Himachal many years
ago.

And their all-time favourite has also been Manali in Kullu district. Recent releases like Govinda-starrer “Naughty@40″
was shot there and its suburbs in August last year; Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai’s “Action Replay” and Riya Sen-Vinay
Pathak’s “Tere Mere Phere” too captured the picturesque locales of the hill station.

“The hill state has always attracted big budget Bollywood film producers. Be it Subhash Ghai or Mani Ratnam or Rakesh
Roshan, hundreds of films have been shot amidst the hills,” Sharma said.

In the 1990’s, Ghai’s “Saudagar”, Ratnam’s “Roja” and R.K. Banner’s “Heena” were filmed in the state. Among the current
lot, Imtiaz Ali shot parts of his hit romantic movie “Jab We Met” there; so did Raj Kumar Hirani-he shot sequences for
“3 Idiots” in Chail and Shimla.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan spent time in the hills for Anil Sharma’s “Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo” and he also shot
for Sujit Sircar’s “Shoe Bite” there.

The town was captured in the reel in more than three dozen big banner films, including “King Uncle”, “Yeh Dillagi”,
“Badal”, “Gadar - Ek Prem Katha”, “LOC” and “Raju Chacha”.

Sanjay Sood, a Shimla-based artiste who performed miniscule roles in “3 Idiots”, “Mein Aisa Hi Hoon” and “Kareeb”, said
Bollywood biggies have a fondness for the Queen of Hills.

“Not only Shimla’s imperial grandeur of buildings but also its fairytale look has mesmerised the producers. The silvery
moon lighting up the lush green mountains at night is a sight to behold,” he said.

In 1960, R.K. Nayyar shot his black-and-white romantic musical hit “Love in Shimla” there. In fact, he fell in love
with his heroine Sadhana while capturing the beauty of the place.

Another sought after spot is Woodville Palace Resorts, a heritage hotel in Shimla.

“More than a dozen big budget Bollywood movies were filmed in the hotel. The latest in the series were “3 Idiots” and
Bachchan-starrer “Black”,” owner Raj Kumar Uday Singh said.

“3 Idiots” was also shot at the Chail Palace, a Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation heritage hotel, and an
official says the Aamir Khan blockbuster has popularised their property.

” ‘3 Idiots’ has given a good mileage to the hotel. Now more and more tourists are visiting and they love to visit the
room where Javed Jaffery reveals the truth about Rancho (played by Aamir),” said Sarla Chopra, senior manager of Chail
Palace, adding, “the tourists prefer to pose for photos with the waiters who played small roles in the movie.”

Apart from movies, television serial makers too trained their camera on the hills like “Tera Mujhse Hain Pehle Ka
Nata”, “Chand Chupa Badal Mein” and “Chotti Si Zindagi”.

The crew of tele-serial “C.I.D.”, including actor Shivaji Satnam, popularly known as ACP Praduman, too shot one of
their episodes in Shimla and they have an interesting anecdote to share.

Canning a reel-life chase involving actors on the busy Mall Road left police in cold sweat as unsuspecting onlookers
pressed the panic button, mistaking the outdoor sequence to be a real crime.

Police sprang into action as soon as a resident alerted them that some thieves were being chased by people. As they
reached the spot, tourists and residents guided them towards the spot where the “action” took place. It took the TV show’s crew some effort to convince police and onlookers about the reality.

“But it was quite an experience for all of us when the reel sequence turned into a real one!” said B.P. Singh, creator
of the serial.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)