I recently watched The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and soaked in the beauty of Middle Earth aka New Zealand for the last time—from Turoa, Ohakune, North Island or the mythical and imposing Erebor to the idyllic Lake Pukaki which provides the stunning backdrop to the waterside village of Lake Town, the character of the films has been intrinsically tied together with the landscape of New Zealand, bringing this island nation alive in all its virgin splendour. The Hobbit: There and Back Again, the original title of the film marked the perfect journey of discovery and homecoming across this country, capturing its natural epic grandeur and preserving it on film for all time. This is the power of real and mythical journeys on screen. They imbue a land with an imagined history and drama, thus drawing you into viewing even a humble rock from a whole new perspective. A case in point would be travelling through Ramanagara, a small town about 50 km from Bengaluru on the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway, a completely nondescript sort of a place that you only pass through. Its only claim to fame are the ancient granite outcrops on its outskirts, another sight I would have bypassed for greener climes, had it not been for Sholay. The Ramadevarabetta formed the backdrop for iconic scenes from the film including the introduction of Gabbar, Hema Malini's memorable dance on broken beer bottles and key chase and fight sequences. For me these rocks resound with the sounds of Gabbar's classic dialogues and Hema Malini's ghungroos. This is but one of many points on a journey through various points on the celluloid map of the world.
The Sideways Wine Tour (California)
This quirky and humorous story about two middle-aged men, Miles and Jack (played by Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church) is all about wine, great food, inebriated conversations, naked cuckolded husbands and fleeting holiday romances. Laden with high spirits and lubricated with good wine, this film brings to life the Santa Ynez Valley in Santa Barbara County with its mountains, lush rolling meadows, its expansive vineyards and quaint tasting rooms. The film piqued the interest of travellers and actually contributed to an increase in the tourism of the area. The famous Hitching Post II restaurant (Miles’ favourite restaurant where he meets Maya) actually exists and is a pitstop for most undertaking this tour. Apart from their excellent collection of wines, they also have quality meat, poultry and seafood grills. This apart, who can forget the celeb ostriches which show up in the film. The quirky Ostrich Land is home to these feathered bipeds and you can feed, meet and hang out with them just like our onscreen duo.
The Highway trip (J&K, Punjab and Rajasthan)
This film offers a fresh view of some of the lesser travelled paths on screen. Imtiaz Ali’s beautifully shot Highway, captures the sometimes pristine, sometimes chaotic and always colourful scenery as Alia Bhatt and her captors travel across North India in a truck. Far from the urban setting, this film dwells on the journey, the silences and often lets the backdrop emerge as the central metaphor in the film. As Alia Bhatt’s character breathes in deeply of the fresh air outside of her constrictive city life, she finds her personal freedom in the midst of her captivity. One of the most powerful scenes in the film include the nighttime shot in the monochromatic Sambhar salt pans in the Rann of Kutch where while attempting to escape, Alia Bhatt is overwhelmed by the futility of the exercise as well as the infinite night sky teeming with its stars overload. Then there are the stark snow-clad peaks of Kaza as well as the fairy tale setting at Aru Valley in Kashmir. The film makes us want to hitch a ride on the first truck leaving the city.
The Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara trip (Spain)
This film brought to life this Mediterranean country with its sun-kissed beaches, its plethora of churches, historical towns, cobblestoned paths, age-old traditions and colourful music and dance while showcasing some equally beautiful people (special note must be made of Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif whose tanned and toned bodies made them perfect poster children for Spanish tourism). This slice of life film ushered in a very modern and urban Bollywood ethos spearheaded by Zoya Akhtar and also introduced a countrywide audience to obscure rituals like the La Tomatina as well as the Bull Run at Pamplona. With a great soundtrack and an easy vibe, the film did for Spain tourism among the urban youth what Yash Chopra had done for Switzerland back in the day. So much so that there was a reported 32 per cent hike in the number of Indian tourists to Spain in the first year following the film. Suddenly everyone was interested in the Flamenco and everyone wanted to visit Spain. Designed for the young and sporty, this trip traverses the coastal towns of Costa Brava and includes all the elements for a real life bachelor party/trip which mimics the one on screen.
Nice trip. Thanks for sharing your trip experience. Check out more about Aru Valley also.
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