Bollywood Films That Captured The Right Essence Of Small Cities Perfectly This Year

From Ramgarh to Champaner, the most iconic of small towns in Hindi Cinema have predominantly been the brainchildren of writers. The trend of creating imaginary towns to suit the setting of a movie gradually diminished as viewers were made to give a tangible connect through real settings. 2018 as it turns out has been one significant development in taking us inside the alleys of real Indian cities and towns.

Writers and actors have come together to attach a real sense of connect by getting the accents, dialects and the apparel spot on, thereby making way to tighten the grip on its audience. Small towns in Bollywood have started adding an element to narration and these 4 movies this year have resourcefully proved that just right.

Batti Gul Meter Chalu

Set in the picturesque Tehri nestled in the Himalayas, Batti Gul Meter Chalu gets at least one thing right. It is almost difficult to believe that directors and filmmakers have not been using the scenic beauty of Uttarakhand for so long. From the rolling hills to the flowing Ganga complete with the quaint charm of the small town, the backdrop of the film adds so much to its narrative.

Manmarziyaan

Although Amritsar is not as obscure as Tehri, Manmarziyaan managed to capture the uniqueness of the city of Amritsar which is a city we don’t see in films as often as we would like to see. Amritsar which is a modern city by definition balances it with the charm of a small city. The meandering gullies dripping with vintage charm and characters being as wild and free as possible the film gave a perfect ode to the city it is set in that brilliantly balances old traditions and modern values.

Stree

We have all marveled at the simple charm of a Chanderi saree, but we had so little idea about the place of its origin. Stree captured the ancient city in all its glory and impressed all of us. From the dialogues to the treatment to each and every frame, Stree’s small town connect was so amazingly authentic that it became one of the biggest reasons for its success and after seeing the quaint and ancient palaces and temples of Chanderi we could not believe that filmmakers have not used this place as a backdrop for so long.

Dhadak

Whenever we think of stories set in Rajasthan, our mind drifts off to the images of palaces and Kshatriya kings and queens in heavy lehengas and pagdis. What we completely forget is that fact that there are real people living in these cities in the modern era as well and their lifestyle is as interesting as the stories of the yore. Dhadak managed to capture this in its right essence and we saw Udaipur in a light we have never seen before.