Shimla, the capital city of Himachal Pradesh State has been in the favorite list of Bollywood Film Makers for decades. Numerous scenes of many Bollywood movies have been shot in the past and the trend still continues. The picturesque landscapes and many attractive shooting points have allured the move makers from Bollywood to choose Shimla as shooting destination.
Shimla has no dearth of elegant and beautiful shooting spots for the movie makers. Well maintained gardens, snow clad mountain ranges around and vintage looks of many ancient buildings of Shimla have been favorite places for shooting.
Kudrat (1981), a hit Bollywood movie directed by Chetan Anand was shot in Shimla. Popular movies that have been shot in Shimla during late 90s and early years of 2000 are Kareeb (1998), starring Bobby Deol, Neha, Mousmi Chatterjee and the movie Black starring Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Dhritiman Chatterjee and others. Badal (2000), a movie by Raj Kanwar had scenes shot in Manali. The main casts were Bobby Deol and Rani Mukherjee. Woodville Palace Hotel has been a favorite spot for shooting for its vintage look, antique furniture and décor.
Another favorite place in Shimla that is preferred by many Bollywood film makers is the Town Hall. Ajay Devgan movie Raju Chacha (2000) and Main Aisa Hi Hoon (2005) were also shot in Shimla. Scenes from Black, a movie directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali had many of its scenes shot in the Woodville Palace Hotel. Movies of yesteryears like Mukaddar ka Sikandar, Lootmar, Bade Dilwale and Mohabbat ke Dushman also had scenes shot in this renowned hotel of Shimla.
The Mall Road of Shimla is seen in many songs and scenes shot in movies like Jab We Met by Imtiaz Ali. Another block buster by Rajkumar Hirani, 3 Idiots (2009) starring Aamir Khan, Sharman Joshi, Madhavan, Kareena Kapoor and Boman Irani, has many scenes shot on the Mall and near Christ Church.
Another movie Main Tera Hero (April 2014) by David Dhawan has many scenes shot in Shimla. The movie stars Varun Dhawan, Ileana D’Cruz, Nargis Fakhri and Salman Khan. The recently released movie Bang Bang (September 2014) directed by Siddharth Anand and having stars Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif has many scenes of Kullu Valley and Lake Vyas.
Mega serials like Kavyanjali and Millie have many scenes shot in Woodville Palace Hotel. Another popular serial CID, shown on Sony TV has many of its scenes shot in Shimla.
Magnificent mountain ranges of the Himalayas and lush green or snow covered valleys of Kullu and Manali have always been a favorite destination for the vacationers but recently many movie makers have started shooting their films in Kullu and Manali attracted by the panoramic landscapes offered.
The last year hit Yeh Jaawani Hai Deewani (2013) starring Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone has scenes shot at Hadimba Temple in Manali and Rahala Falls near Manali. Jab We Met (2007), another hit movie from director Imtiaz Ali had some mesmerizing scenes shot at Rohtang Pass. How could one forget the famous song Ye Ishq Haye Baithe Bithaye Jannat Dikhaye Haan... Many a times in this movie, the Mall of Manali has been used at the background.
The beauty and elegance of Solang Valley in Manali has been beautifully shown in the movie Krrish, a movie starring Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra. The recent hit movie Highway (February 2014) directed by Imtiaz Ali and starring Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda had few scenes shot in Manali. Aamir Khan and Rani Mukherji starrer Ghulam (1998) had its scene from the song Aakhon se tune ye kya keh diya.... shot at Chandiyari, a place near Manali on the banks of River Beas.
Hindi movie Akaash Vani (2013), starring Kartik Tiwari and Nushrat Bharucha, had two of its songs shot in Kullu. This Luv Ranjan directed Hindi movie has its song “Pad Gaye Tere Pyaar” shot near Kullu Monastery and has captured the breathtaking beauty of the surrounding beautifully. Another song of the same movie “Bas Mai Aur Tu” is shot at Neeralaya, Suri Orchards located in Kullu Valley. The panoramic beauty of Kullu Valley has been utilized beautifully while shooting these songs.
Decades old movies Heena (1989) and Lal Dupatta Malmal Ka..... (1989) were also shot in Manali. The famous movie Roza, released in 1992, starring Madhu and Arvind, have scenes shot at Hadimba Temple in Manali especially the scene where Arvind got kidnapped by the terrorists.
Quaintness of Dalhousie in Chamba District of Himachal Pradesh has always attracted people towards itself be it a tourist or a movie maker. Dalhousie has been a favorite spot for many Bollywood film makers and the latest in the list is the big hit Lootera (2013) starring Ranbir Singh and Sonakshi Sinha.
Another upcoming movie Monsoon starring Vijay Singh, fiancée of Mallika Sherawat, will have its shooting in Chamba Valley. Bol Radha Bol (1992) starring Rishi Kapoor and Juhi Chawla had many beautiful scenes shot in Chamba Valley. Chamba has beautiful spots like Kalatop, Khajjar and Chamba Valley where movies scenes are shot. Hit Bollywood Movies Gadar - Ek Prem Katha (2001), Vinashak (1998) and 1942 - A Love Story (1994) were also shot in Dalhousie in Chamba.
Dharamsala is known by its close link with Buddhism and is a place for solace through natural beauty and spiritualism. Natural beauty and serene atmosphere of Dharamsala have always attracted general tourists towards it and film makers of Bollywood have also stepped into this quaint city to shoot scenes of many movies.
The movie Rockstar (2011) starring Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri and directed by Imtiaz Ali has its hit song Sadda Haq..... shot at Norbulingka Institute of Dharamsala. Another low budget movie Lunch Box (2013) starring Irfan Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Nimrat Kaur had scenes shot in Dharamsala.
Mary Kom (September 2014), the biopic movie starring Priyanka Chopra as the boxer Mary Com has many scenes shot in various places of Dharamsala. They are Masrur Temple, Fatehpur, McLeod Ganj, Khaniara and Sidhbari. Some of the scenes showing the school days of Mary Com and her marriage have been shot in Dharamsala.
