Those who have visited Mumbai at least once, even if for a fleeting period would surely have fallen in love with the place. Yes, it is crowded, noisy, and possibly even dirty at some parts, but one cannot deny the bustling nerve of energy it sends. It is like a live wire all day, all year.
Surely, these words sound similar to everyone who had come to the city to make it big in the Hindi film industry. He would get to work in the film city, probably stand in endless queues, get to be a part of crowd of lookalikes of superstars and even outside the gates of Mannat, or Pratiksha, waiting for their movie idols to step out or wave to them.
The city nurtures the dreams:
It is true, Mumbai nurtures dreams and the spots are so scenic here, and most of them have remained so all these years, that they have become iconic. So, let us look at few of the iconic spots in Mumbai, which have become famous thanks to featuring in Hindi films, or Bollywood films.
- Marine drive: The actual Marine Drive is the long stretch in the posh Western side of the country, facing the Arabian sea. The marine drive is the coastal promenade, which has featured in many Hindi films. Do you remember the song, ‘Rim Jhim gire saawan,’ which featured superstar Amitabh Bachchan and Maushumi Chatterjee on a rainy evening? Even recently in Shah Rukh Khan’s most recent film, “FAN”, the Marine drive was in the background.
- Gateway of India: The entire film “Bombay” featured iconic spots from across Mumbai and Gateway of India was in many of the songs, like ‘Hallagulla.’ The Apollo bunder, and the impressive façade of the European structure of Taj Hotel rising in the background makes the place really a must-visit. It featured in films like “Ghajini”, “Hero No.1”, and “Kalyug” too.
- Haji Ali Dargah: The song, “Haji Ali” from the Hrithik Roshan-starrer, “Fiza” itself is sure to remind us of the place. The dargah is one of the most important places to visit and tourists and devout travelers go there to seek the blessings.
- Film City: The Goregaon Film City is a sprawling 350-acre complex that has been in many films since its inception. A visit to this film city will bring fresh memories of this place, which has sets of villages and cities ready. You might have recently seen this in films like “Ready” or “Bodyguard” or even catch a superstar shooting there too.
- Juhu Beach: The films like “Gharonda”, “Baaton Baatonmein”, and “Chhoti si Baat” and of course, “Anand” showed us Juhu Beach like never before. Even now, the Juhu Beach is a hot spot for filmmakers. Ranbir Kapoor had taken outstanding snaps of the beach in the film “Wake up Sid”.
Thanks to the films, that we got to see Mumbai very closely, live in it and breathe with Mumbai, the City of Dreams, and the City that Makes Dreams.
