Bollywood's love affair with Delhi: From reel romance to real obsession

While the film has a wider national theme, some of its most powerful sequences — especially the ones around India Gate and Delhi University — show the city as a place of youth-led revolution and awakening. It shaped how Delhi is viewed: youthful, political, and emotional.

No film wears its love for Old Delhi as proudly as Delhi-6. From Jama Masjid to Chandni Chowk, director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra presents a poetic portrayal of Dilli’s charm, chaos, and contradictions. The film doesn’t just show Delhi — it breathes it.

Set in West Delhi’s Janakpuri and DU’s North Campus, this film made wedding planning cool. Anushka Sharma’s street-smart Shruti and Ranveer Singh’s brash Bittoo are classic Delhiites — loud, ambitious, and full of desi swag.

Imtiaz Ali's Rockstar begins in Delhi — with the iconic Hansraj College and street performances in Connaught Place. The early struggles of Jordan, played by Ranbir Kapoor, are intertwined with the city’s youth culture and underground music scene.

This quirky comedy about sperm donation is deeply rooted in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar. Ayushmann Khurrana’s Vicky is your typical Punjabi boy-next-door, navigating love, family, and unconventional decisions — all while the city plays silent cheerleader.

A heartwarming story that begins in Delhi’s CR Park, Piku beautifully captures the Bengali community's essence in the city. The bustling traffic, morning jogs, and domestic squabbles in the capital’s backdrop feel instantly relatable.

Though most of Tamasha is set in Corsica and later in Mumbai, the parts featuring Ved’s routine corporate life were shot in Gurgaon and Delhi — painting a stark contrast between the mechanical cityscape and his inner emotional turmoil.