City on the silver screen

Vidya Balan starrer Bobby Jasoos is eagerly awaited

Any Hyderabadi will surely be proud of the forthcoming movie ‘Bobby Jasoos’ which stars the talented Vidya Balan. It’s been decades since a mainstream Bollywood film has been exclusively shot in the city, which incorporates the Hyderabadi dialect and mainstream Hindi language in its dialogues. With the national award winning actress playing the central character, excited movie buffs feel that Hyderabad will grow in status on the international circuit.

The city of pearls has been at its flamboyant best on the silver screen of Bollywood. Mainstream movies such as ‘Hero Heeralal’, ‘Hyderabad Blues’ and ‘Well Done Abba’, are a few examples of movies that were shot extensively in the city. Now the Vidya Balan starrer, ‘Bobby Jasoos’ joins the list. The trailer of the film, which was released this week, beautifully canned the hustle and bustle of the Old City, against the backdrop of the elegant Charminar.

Bobby Jasoos was entirely shot in various locations of the city in a single schedule of 55 days. Vidya Balan plays the role of a middle class woman, who aspires to be a detective, but faces many rejections. She finally decides to open her own detective firm by the name ‘Bobby Jasoos Pvt Ltd.’ The trailer looks exhilarating and the film promises to be a rollercoaster ride.

The film was shot widely in Old City. The beauty of the iconic Charminar and the bustle of Sultan Bazaar, was shot candidly in the film. To make the movie more indigenous, dialect coaches were hired for Vidya and her co-stars who were trained on Hyderabadi lingo. And Vidya, talented that she is, nailed the dialect to the dot. “Inhi choti choti galiyo me teri kismet chamkegi Bobby; Dilkus Ahemed Isi Mughalpure me Bobby Jasoos banke dikhayegi”, are some of the dialogues which is already viral on social media.

Apart from being shot in the city, the film has numerous other city connections. The movie is produced by Dia Mirza who has her roots in the city. Noted theatre actors like Sutradhar’s Vinay Varma and Sundeep Hemnaoni played a significant role in the film.

“The movie was one of my best experiences on a film shoot. The producers, the director and the crew were exemplary in their professional approach. The best part of the journey was each actor, small or big, was treated like a human being. The production house itself is an example of being humane in a world of hardcore cut throat professionalism. Much of this perhaps stems from the producer Dia Mirza herself being a Hyderabadi,” said Vinay Varma, who plays a prominent character in the film.

“It was a fantastic experience. Producer Dia Mirza, director Sameer, DOP Vishal and Vidya Balan, are all warm and down to earth people. They created an environment where every actor was respected. This is precisely the reason why 51 days of shoot in real locations, amidst a crowd of 100 to 150, progressed smoothly without any hassles,” said Sundeep Hemnaoni, who plays the character Aarif, a henchman, in the movie.

Nearly 15 artistes who will be playing a mix of roles in the movie have been cast from the city.

“The casting director Paraag was surprised to see the turnout and the quality of actors, who came for the auditions,” added Sundeep.

Interestingly Vidya Balan took at least 122 look tests for the film and will be seen in 12 different avatars. It was reported that while Vidya was sitting disguised as a beggar outside Nampally Railway Station during the shoot, she looked so real that a woman reportedly gave her some money and yelled at her for begging to eke out a livelihood.

The excitement of the film is palpable among movie buffs in the city. They hope that with blockbuster hits like ‘Dirty Picture’ and ‘Kahaani’ riding on the back of Vidya Balan, this movie will ensure that Hyderabad will grow in importance, once it releases on the silver screen on July 4.­