While Bollywood has always had its fair share of stereotypical characters, of late the Hindi film industry has been experimenting with the traditions and cultures of the country's hinterlands. And Haryana seems to be the flavour of the season, with several recent films focusing on the fun-loving, boisterous and sometimes offensive ways of the Jats from the stage of Haryana.
Rishi and Neetu Kapoor's recent cop act in Besharam is yet another testimony of Bollywood filmmakers looking to explore the nooks and crannies of the country in a bid to capture the incredible India.
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Director: Neeraj Pandey
Identity check: Known for always getting the accent right - be it of a Malayalam nurse in The Last Lear or a Punjabi maid in Veer Zaara - Divya Dutta was inch perfect in her first release of 2013. In the heist film, she essayed a con woman, who passes off as a Haryanvi cop with her diction and flamboyant personality in place.
Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola
Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
Identity check: Imran Khan portraying someone from Haryana was unprecedented but the actor tried his best to get into the character. So much so he was spending five hours learning the local dialect. Talking about role, Imran said in an interview that his new avatar was very difficult for him and that he had once almost decided to quit the film.
Zila Ghaziabad
Director: Anand Kumar
Identity check: In this political action thriller, Sanjay Dutt and Minissha Lamba showcased a strong Haryanvi leaning. Turns out both the actors worked on getting their accent right. While Sanjay looked for help within, taking lessons from his Haryanvi driver, the actress enrolled in classes.
Aurangzeb
Director: Atul Sabharwal
Identity check: Though the story revolves around the nexus between power and realty, the burden of moral compass fell squarely on Prithviraj's character in the film. Having auditioned for the first time in his 80-film long career, the South star played a Haryanvi cop. However, there was absolutely nothing to pinpoint the regional distinction.
Chor Chor Super Chor
Director: K Rajesh
Identity check: Full of quirky individuals who steal for a living in Delhi, almost all the actors exhibit Haryanvi traits - all the way from the ring leader to his minions. The accent is uniform across the board, right from the protagonist to the antagonist to everyone else in between.
Fukrey
Director: Mrighdeep Lamba
Identity check: Set in the capital city, the Haryanvi touch was undeniably all over the screen. Interestingly, the four young actors more or less stuck to Dilliwala Punjabi accent while the antagonist (convincingly played by Richa Chadda) is called Bholi Punjaban but sounded Haryanvi for the most part.
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Some upcoming films that have an unmistakable Haryana connect:
Ram Leela
>> Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Ram Leela is set in Gujarat but shot in Udaipur. However, going by the promos, it's evident that Haryanvi flavour is unmistakable, especially in the tang the lead actors deliver their dialogues in.
Gulaab Gang
>> Gulaab Gang is all set to mark Madhuri Dixit's second comeback and interestingly enough, the biopic-like film has a Haryanvi rock song titled Gang Of Ghosts. Though the film is set in central India, the aforementioned number was shot in Navi Mumbai.
