From representing Bengali culture to capturing the beauty of Howrah Bridge, Kolkata has always been a favourite place for filmmakers. Many successful movies have been shot in the culturally rich and historic city of India, depicting its beauty in various moods, be it love, fear, confusion, chaos or mystery. From the costumes to the accent of characters to capture the backdrop of the city in the story, these films have their setups in this rich city.
So let us have a look at some of the most successful films that are set in Kolkata:
1. Kahaani
Starring Vidya Balan in the lead the thriller film was shot extensively in Kolkata. While Vidya played the lead, the film also starred some of the regional stars from Kolkata like Parambrata Chatterjee, Indraneil Sengupta, and many more. Be it the ancient lanes of the city to capturing the Howrah Bridge, the film kept the authenticity of the city real and natural.
2. Gunday
Ensembling the megastar cast of Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, and Priyanka Chopra, the film captured Kolkata like never seen before. Throwing the light on Kolkata's mafia raj, the film saw a major dominance of Kolkata's culture in its dialogues to the costumes the cast wore.
3. Barfi
Barfi! A super hit movie directed by Anurag Basu had Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, and Ileana D'Cruz in the lead. The movie captured the beauty of Kolkata from attire to landscape, depicting it in the 1970s. One could see in Ileana and Ranbir's attires from traditional Kolkata. It also captured the scenic beauty of the city, apart from which the film saw a major backdrop of Kolkata's evergreen beauty.
4. Piku
Piku is probably one of the best films of Bollywood that brought the essence of a regular Kolkata family starring Deepika Padukone and Amitabh Bachchan in the lead. As the actors majorly spoke the dialogues in the Bengali language, the film captured shots of an old Kolkata house and showcased the different nuances of family relations.
5. Parineeta
The musical romantic film was an adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's 1914 Bengali novella of the same name, the film stars Vidya Balan alongside Saif Ali Khan and Sanjay Dutt in lead roles. Taking the audience through a musical journey, the films celebrated the musical culture of Kolkata which was widely loved by the audience.
6. Lost
Starring Yami Gautam Dhar, Lost is extensively shot across the cities in Kolkata with major glimpses of different lives in the city. All the characters in the film saw the essence of Kolkata's accent. The film was inspired by true events in which Yami plays an investigative journalist who searches the length and breadth of the city to find a missing boy.