A still from the shoot location at Darjeeling’s Chowrasta
A West Bengal tourism account of the region’s film history lists productions, ranging from ‘Sagina Mahato’ and ‘Do Anjaane’ to ‘Mr and Mrs Iyer’, ‘Via Darjeeling’, ‘Kahaani 2’ and ‘Petta’, underlining the diversity of industries that have come to the Hills. Darjeeling : The cameras are rolling again in the Hills, and this time Darjeeling has a new Bollywood face in front of them. Popular actor Sharman Joshi , best known for his iconic role as ‘Raju Rastogi’, is currently shooting here for his Bengali debut, bringing another prominent name from mainstream Indian cinema to a landscape that has for decades doubled up as one of the country’s most sought-after film sets. Joshi is shooting for ‘Bhalobasar Morshum’, directed by MN Raj , which marks his first Bengali film. He shares the screen with Bengali actress Susmita Chatterjee and Bangladeshi actress, Tanjin Tisha . The film’s shooting schedule includes locations in Darjeeling and Murshidabad. Joshi’s presence has once again put the spotlight on Darjeeling’s enduring relationship with cinema. A few years later, Basu returned to the Hills with ‘Jagga Jasoos’, with locations including Chowrasta, Bhutia Basti and St Paul’s School featuring in the film. The attraction has never been restricted to Hindi cinema. Bengali, Nepali, Tamil and Telugu productions have also used Darjeeling and the wider Hills as shooting locations.
Long before the arrival of film crews, the Hills had become part of the visual vocabulary of Indian movies — their toy train, mist-covered slopes, colonial-era buildings, winding roads and views of the Himalayas repeatedly finding their way onto the big screen.