The curious case of missing cities in Indian cinema

Filmmakers agreed that cities in India, small towns or big metros have been portrayed in a stereotypical fashion in our movies and that contemporary Indian filmmakers despite shooting in "new cities" today still cannot get over the "Mumbai imagery".

"Mumbai has been shown so much in our cinema that one doesn't know if other cities in India exist. The recurring imagery of Mumbai is seen in Wasseypur set in Dhanbad as well.

"Apart from the underworld and the slum what else have we shown about Mumbai, anyway?," asked 'Peepli Live' director Anusha Rizvi at a recent seminar.

She further said that location is an important part of films but unfortunately not much importance has been laid on that in contemporary Indian cinema.

"I agree that 'Udaan' is a good film but where is Jamshedpur in it? Where is Mumbai in 'Shanghai'?," she asked.

Sudhir Mishra, who made 'Dharavi' in 1991, said, "The feudal structure of Bollywood is challenged by filmmakers rising from small towns and the democratization of technology will only put the power in their hands to make their cinema and tell their stories, of their cities, of their community."