Narrow bazaar lanes of shopfronts and awnings, with the four stone minarets of Charminar at the centre.
What Old City looks like
runs west from the , a narrow road of shopfronts under blue awnings. Mannequins in suits and dresses stand in the windows. On a wet evening the asphalt reflects the shop lights.
Motorbikes pass between parked scooters and pedestrians on the wet road. A cart waits at the edge of the lane under a tangle of overhead cables.
The Charminar stands at the heart of the old city, a stone monument 56 metres tall with four minarets. Each of the four arches at its base opens onto the street in front of it. After dark the stone is lit from below.
lies to the southwest, a stone mosque whose arcades face a reflecting pool. Its domes and minarets rise above the courtyard wall.
The , four stone arch gateways around the Gulzar Houz fountain, stands in a busy intersection north of the monument. Shops line both sides of the road. Autorickshaws and cars pass beneath the arches.
Away from the monument, the older fronts are plaster painted in cream and pale yellow. On the streets of the upper storeys carry lattice-railed balconies under a pediment. Some plaster is peeling away.
is a shopping area very close to the monument. The High Court for the State of Telangana lies under a kilometre north of the monument, a stone building with red domes behind a blue iron gate.
Shot in Old City
The Dilwale team began shooting at Charminar in September 2015, as the Hyderabad shoot neared its end. Jawaan, a Telugu film, was reported in May 2017 shooting a song sequence at the monument in the early hours to beat the heat. The six-episode aha series Qubool Hai? shot in the lanes of the old city, at Naya Pul and Purana Pul, using live locations rather than sets.
Dilwale, 2015
Charminar
Filming at the monument came near the end of three months of shooting in the city, about two months before the film's December release. The monument stands on the east bank of the Musi River. Street View
Jawaan, 2017
A song sequence for the Telugu film Jawaan was shot at the monument. The crew shot in the early hours to keep the heat and the crowds away. The sequence needed the Charminar as its backdrop.
What Old City can double for
Chandni Chowk in Delhi, India
Chandni Chowk is one of the oldest and busiest markets in Delhi, a street market that runs toward the Red Fort. Like Laad Bazaar, it is a long shopping street with a monument at one end. The Red Fort walls sit at the eastern end, so keep that side of the street out of a wide shot. Tight frames on the shopfronts hold the illusion better than views down the whole street. Try searching shopping street with monument now.
Khan el-Khalili in Cairo, Egypt
Khan el-Khalili is a bazaar district in Cairo, established as a centre of trade in the Mamluk era. Its lanes still hold shops and craft workshops, which gives them the same working scale as Laad Bazaar. Arabic signs and the Mamluk gates give Cairo away in wider frames, so keep shots to the lanes and the shopfronts. Try searching bazaar lanes and shopfronts now.
