Locations in Europe: U.K and Poland
Storyline
Director/Producer: Vikas Bahl (Director); Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap and Madhu Mantena, Vikramaditya Motwane (Producers)
Line Producer/Executive Producer/ Associate Producer: Vivek Aggarwal (Co-producer); Tanvi Gandhi (Executive Producer); Krzystof Solek and Maciej Zemojcin (Line producers)
Star(s): Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor, Sanah Kapur, Pankaj Kapur, Sanjay Kapoor
Songs/Dance/Action: Songs and dances shot in the UK
Indian/ International Crew: Indian and partially international
Language: Hindi
Film Location Analysis
By Ranjani Mazumdar
Shaandaar begins with an animation sequence that functions like a prologue, setting the stage for a rom-com that is mounted almost like a fairy tale. This opening transitions to Joginder on his bike, driving through breath-taking Yorkshire terrain in northern UK. This extended bike ride combines ground-level perspectives with low-flying aerial views and locates us in the region without being specific about the place. It is here in this green landscape that Joginder and Alia encounter each other for the first time. Shaandaar is a romantic comedy that was shot in the U.K., Poland, and India. The film shows no specific desire to use identifiable notions of place; the topophilia here is linked to the generic beauty of a pastoral landscape that could also appear somewhat magical given the fairy tale quality of the narrative. The film revels in gardens, waterfalls, and beaches, along with the lavish interiors of castle-like spaces conveying wealth. Since the story is about two formerly wealthy families now bankrupt and hoping that a marriage between the families will help them out of their crisis, the narrative tries to offer comic sequences to play out the performance of the marriage as a business deal. Both families, however, do not know that the other is bankrupt. Like in most big-budget rom-coms, the spatial imagination is scaled up, making both the exteriors and the interiors appear breath-taking in terms of vista and wealth, respectively.
From the green pastoral landscape, which includes an insert of the manicured and decorative garden of Temple Newsam Leeds, we arrive at Carlton Towers, a privately owned country house built in a Victorian-Gothic style. The heritage value of this castle in northern Yorkshire has made it a popular destination for weddings. The two sisters, Alia, and Eesha arrive here with their father. Their arrival in an open convertible presents Carlton Towers as a dramatic location with its dense bougainvillea creepers on the front wall. The characters in the narrative are as enchanted by the architectural quality of the castle as the spectators are meant to be. The castle is surrounded by gardens and offers great views, which makes the exclusive use of the house so popular during weddings.
The interiors of six other castles were used to establish the film's primary setting. Some of these interior shots were also taken in Poland, where, according to the executive producer, Tanvi Gandhi, there is more gold and ornamentation, whereas the interiors of UK castles are much browner. The production team maintained that 10% was shot in Poland, most in the UK, and a little bit in Mumbai. In Poland, the Kozlówka Palace, located 30 kilometres from Lubnia, was used to highlight ornamentation to go with the film's inherent aspirational desire. Unlike many other monuments, the Kozlówka Palace survived the Second World War unscathed, and in 2007, the building was recognised as a historic monument, preserved almost entirely in its original form.
The film's songs were shot in locations that were meant to offer different kinds of backdrops. The song Gulabo was shot in the stables of a property in Leeds. A barn-like set was created in the stables to invoke an underground New York gangster-like space, but with the aim of simulating a site that would fit the Yorkshire location template. The performance of a qawwali spoof, "senti wali mental," takes place in the Leeds Grand Theatre, West Yorkshire, with dramatic interiors. The theatre is used for well-known shows, and its use in Shaandaar only shows how much the UK authorities were involved in making these sites available. The camera work in the song is energetic and constantly highlights the decorative balconies and ceilings of the theatre space. Similarly, the song "Nazdeekiyan" was shot as a ballroom dance in one of the castle interiors to showcase the woodwork, the sculptors, the floor, and the ornamentation of these castles. The black-and-white sequence only added to the heritage value of a sense of grandeur and royalty located in the past.
The Low Force Waterfall in County Durham was used for an extended encounter between Joginder and Alia. Joginder thinks Alia is jumping into the water to commit suicide and follows to rescue her. Then he realises she has come for a swim, and they sit by the waterfall to share their inability to sleep at night. This insomnia discussion takes place at night, with the waterfalls shot with a blue filter, and ends with the sunrise. There is a desire to present the sequence as a magical encounter that goes with the overall visual template of the film.
Given that this film was critical in creating a favourable context for tourism to northern England, several other locations were used to showcase the offerings for wealthy tourists. The locations included Broughton Hall in North Yorkshire, Eddsfield Airfield in East Yorkshire, Goathland Station in North Yorkshire, and Saltburn Beach, to name a few. Alia Bhatt and Shahid Kapoor joined several promotional events to help attract tourists to North Yorkshire. They also conveyed their love for the region and its offerings in several interviews with the media.
Tourism as an experiential industry depends on the production, circulation, and management of images. These images are meant to create spaces that appear distant yet are full of leisure, happiness, a relaxed existence, and sites to discover. They are generated to take us out of our everyday routine and into another space. Yet all this only makes clear how the images sell the holiday or vacation to us through a concerted attempt to layer the sites with an affective charge and value. In the case of Shaandaar which was criticised almost uniformly by the media, the desire to work through a tourism iconography trumped all other considerations, making the film a typical aspirational family drama with absolutely no conflict even on the edges of the frames. With its combination of pastoral and architectural heritage, Shaandaar works with a pictorial form that remains flat and uneventful, making the comedy appear frivolous and superficial.
Additional Information and Links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2K85QCBhkI
https://www.bollywoodpresents.com/shaandaar-movie/
The film's production team drove across 15000 kilometres of the Yorkshire terrain and decided it was the place for the narratives primary setting.
Tourism
https://bollyspice.com/alia-bhatt-and-shahid-kapoor-promote-tourism-in-britain/
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3mhlvh
http://www.musafirnamah.com/alia-bhatt-shahid-kapur-to/#.ZB_nA3bP2Uk
