Rupmati was a Hindu Rajput princess of Dharmpuri. One day Baz Bahadur came to the valley of river Rewa (also known as Narmada or Narbudda) for hunting. While he was pursuing a deer, he was distracted by a melodious voice. He followed the sound and reached the spot where Rupmati was singing and playing bin (a musical instrument). Baz Bahadur was struck in awe by her beauty and captivated by her magical voice; he told her that he wants her to accompany him to Mandu. She replied that “Never will I marry thee until the waters of Rewa, the goddess of my worship, flows through thy royal city there on high.” When Rewa shall flow through Mandu, I will be your bride. Thus Baz Bahadur built the Rewa Kund, a beautiful reservoir, at Mandu. When Rupmati’s father heard of this development, he opposed his daughter from marrying an Islamic king, he instead told his daughter to consume poison and die. The caste and religion came in way of the two lovers. Rupmati sang the poem on death and it seems that as she was singing the last verse of the song and was about to drink poison, Baz Bahadur rode up to her palace and took the bride to be to  Mandu after defending her father in a war. But the love story doesn’t end there.

As per writings of Ahmed-ul-Umri there is another version: The story begins during the reign of Shuja’at Khan. Bayazid had got the province of Sarangpur as Jagir from his father. In that city was a Brahman named Jadu Rai, with whom Bayazid was very friendly. One day Jadu Rai invited Bayazid to his house and arranged a great feast. At Jadu Rai’s house, his eyes fell upon the face of his beautiful daughter Rupmati. Bayazid was aware of her beauty from many others. After the death of his father, Bayazid became the Sultan of Malwa with the title of Baz Bahadur. Once, Baz Bahadur summoned Jadu Rai to his court at Mandu and bestowed upon him, the province of Sarangpur, on the condition that he should give Rupmati in marriage to him. When Rupmati entered Bahadur’s harem, he spent day and night in her company. He got engrossed in sensual pleasures and let his ministers look after the affairs of the kingdom. The ministers made mistakes after mistakes with their limited abilities. By 1555, Humayun returned to India, he died and his son Akbar succeeded him. Akber went on winning state after state in India. When the news of Akbar’s victories reached Mandu, Rupmati advised Baz Bahadur to take reins of his kingdom in order to save it from Akber.

Rewa Kund

Bahadur Khan (Sultan of Gujrat) led the first attack on Malwa in 1560, but he was soon recalled due to Bairam Khan’s (akbar’s advisor and right hand man) rebellion. In 1561, Akbar sent his general Adham Khan Koka (Akbar’s foster-brother) and Pir Muhammad to conquer Malwa. Baz Bahadur marched to Sarangpur to oppose them but was defeated and fled towards Khandesh. After Baz Bahadur’s defeat, all his treasures fell into the hands of Adham Khan including the ladies of his harem. Adham Khan summoned Rupmati to and told her that he would maintain her grace and make her his queen. Rupmati fled from the palace but Adham’s military captured her and brought her to the palace.  On that night prior to her union with Adham, she adorned herself in the very bridal dress which Baz Bahadur had given her. She took her bin and sang songs of sorrow for the last time. After that she went to the bridal chamber and took poison of powdered diamond. In the morning, when Adham Khan reached the bridal chamber, he found her asleep. He took her hand and tried to awaken her; but his effort was in vain; she had already died. She was buried in a tomb located at Sarangpur in the middle of a tank.

Hindola Mahal

Baz Bahadur and Rupmati spent pleasant days together for a brief period. Baz Bahadur was lost in her love so much as that he easily lost to Akbar’s general, Adham Khan when Mandu was attacked. Baz Bahadur had got so immersed in Rupmati’s love, that he not ready for a war and was forced to flee. Rupmati preferred to give up her life than falling into enemy hands.

Established in 600 BC as a fortified city, Mandu saw its moment of glory under King Bhoj’s reign and during the Muslim rulers. Its fortunes rose during the reign of Afghans and with the rise of the Khiljis, it became an important centre of power in central India. It exchanged hands between the Sultan of Gujrat and Mughals, and for a brief time Baz Bahadur, before being finally conquered by the armies of Akbar. Until the capital of Malwa was shifted to Dhar by the Marathas, Mandu maintained its importance.

Though the city is in ruins today, it remains one of the precious specimens the Islamic architectures in India. A little of it also talks about King Bhoj’s era. Its marvellous architecture is well maintained; the credit goes to the MP Government and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Jahaz Mahal is an awesome complex of palaces such as the Hindola Mahal, Jal Mahal, and the Champa Baoli which was a deep well. It is a very well maintained and offers fantastic views from the top. The beautiful and breathtaking steep staircase on the left of Jahaj Mahal takes you in the past era. There is something which keeps you glued to the place. The best time to visit is August to October, the water bodies are filled and the surrounding becomes lush green. There are ample food and beverages stall outside the heritage structure. I repeat, it is one of the ‘’must visit’’ places in MP.

I credit film makers for making historic locations famous through their craft. Over the years viewers of cinemas have started demanding location shooting because they give a realistic outlook to a scene. Secondly, location shooting has several advantages over filming on a studio set. The expense can often be far lower than that of constructing sets in a studio. The songs and scenes in movie look more pragmatic and rousing. The real-world wear and tear, as well as architectural details, and the vastness of a background add the intensity. As cinema and television have grown, various such locations are featured in innumerable films, television serials, music videos, ads and documentaries. Filmmakers have pushed the limits of their creativity and utilised the unique palace such as architecture, courtyards and skyline to captivate their viewers, film after film, year after year.

Some of the historic Indian destinations have always been popular with our Hindi cinema makers. Some songs have become popular for their perfect backdrop and scenes. Sometimes because the camera focuses on a spotlight on a lesser known facts of some tourist destination they have become famous. Many Bollywood songs have made the tourist destinations overnight famous after release of the movie. Some of them were totally unheard of, others were already famous in their own right but after being included in iconic Bollywood songs, their fame has increased tremendously.

Here are some such songs:

Dil ka bhawanr kare pukar: Film: Tere Ghar ke Saamne, 1962: Location: Kutub Minar:

The song is picturised on Dev Anand trying to woo his love – Nutan in the song. They both climb up and down the Minar. Mohammed Rafi’s magical voice has made the song evergreen. Nutan’s flashing smile and batting her eyelashes to tease Dev Anand’s romantic appeal is mesmerising.  The song is choreographed so simply, there are no frills added to it. One great old cameraman told me that, because the cameras in that era were too big, they couldn’t be fit inside the tower’s narrow passage, and hence the song was shot inside a replica of the tower instead. But the song does show another young couple walking outside the minar. The simplicity of the choreography of the song is very appealing. Both Dev Anand and Nutan had to walk up and down the Minar, surrounded only by stone walls and a staircase.

Aaj phir jine ki tamannah hai: Film: Guide, 1965: Location: Chittaurgarh Fort.  Chittorgarh is one of the largest forts in India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage sites. The fort was the capital of Mewar. It sprawls over a hill 180 m (590.6 ft) in height spread over an area of 280 ha (691.9 acres) above the plains of the valley drained by the Berach River. The fort ground has several historical palaces, gates, temples and two prominent commemorative towers.

The song is picturised on Wahida Rehman and Dev Anand. The song and the location depict Wahida’s (the female protagonist in the movie) newly found independence from a ruthless archaeologist’s clutches. The song, written by Shailendra, is the lightest and the most heart-warming in the entire movie, music is rendered by S.D.Burman. Lata Mangeshkar has sung the song with liveliness and energy. In one of the scenes you will see the reflection of the heroine on one of the mirrors, during the song, is inspired from the legendary tale of Alauddin Khilji catching a glimpse of Queen Padmini on the same mirror in the main hall. Waheeda dances over steep walls, frequently running the risk of falling down. In one of the shots, she is almost about to miss a step, when she finds Dev Anand down below, signalling her to hold it together.

Oh mere raja: Film: Johny Mera Naam, 1970: Location: Nalanda ruins. Dev Anand seemed to be charmed by historical monuments and therefore he chose them for a lot of songs shooting. Here’s another, filmed among the excavated remains of the ancient university of Nalanda in present-day Rajgir, Bihar. Nalanda, established between the 5th and 6th century AD, was a major centre of Buddhist learning till the late 12th century, when Bakhtiyar Khalji and his troops destroyed it. According to legend, the library of Nalanda was so huge that it smouldered for six months after being torched by Khalji’s soldiers.

Dev Anand and Hema Malini sing this song as romantic pair for they try to deceive the cops, they play hide and seek in the ruins of Nalanda in Rajgir, Bihar. I had visited this heritage site last year; our guide began the tour by first telling us about the song being shot here. The song is sung by Asha Bhosale and Kishore Kumar. And, the music directors are Kalyanji-Anandji.

Tere Bina Zindagi Se Koi Shikwa, Film: Aandhi 1975, Location: Avantipur Ruins, Kasmir. This haunting melody from the movie Aandhi is shot in the backdrop of Avantipur Ruins. The song shows the hero and heroine of the movie meeting after a long gap of separation. Suchitra Sen and Sanjiv Kumar were two tremendous actors. The song is about yearning, wanting to surrender in love and about circumstantial separation. This controversial political drama had beautiful songs. This particular song just stands out in the backdrop of the ruins. It takes us through a virtual tour through the ruins of Avantipur temples. They were built by King Avantivarman, located in Kashmir somewhere between Srinagar & Anantnag. The black and gray coloured stones of the ruins add to the feel of the song. The song is written by Gulzar, sung by Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar and the composer is great R.D.Burman.

It seems the temples were discovered when British excavations were at their zenith in the eighteenth century. Not surprisingly, many of the idols were taken to museums in England.

Naam gum jayega: Film: Kinara 1977, Location: Mandu which is an ancient fort city in Madhya Pradesh. It is located in the Malwa region of western Madhya Pradesh. In the 11th century, Mandu was the sub division of the Tarangagadh or Taranga kingdom. During monsoon, Mandu is most romantic. The beauty of the pastel orange shades of the monuments of the Mughal era set off against the brilliant green scenery is doubled as it gets reflected on the water bodies present in the fort. Mandu is artistically appealing. You should visit it for the stories of incomparable love of Baz Bahadur and Rani Roopmati.

The beautiful lines of the song personify the eternal glory of this beautiful land. Kinara had a sensitive script. This song is shot on Hema Malini and Jeetendra. The duet ‘Naam Gum Jayega’ is sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Bhupinder, lyricist is Gulzar and the song is composed by R.D.Burman.