In The Forest One Thing Can Look Like Another(2023)
In The Forest One Thing Can Look Like Another is constructed through the director’s personal experience of living in the remote Himalayan mountain town of Manali, a historically popular destination for shooting Bollywood film songs. The glacial landscape of Manali has become a site where projections of the idyllic countryside are directed — rife with tropes of adventure, eroticism and romance. The work interrogates this thin layer of narrative practices, constructing tableaus of high-altitude mountains as static objects and backdrops for second-hand urban aspirations to happiness, while the precarious reality of living in a highly sensitive ecosystem spins an adventure far removed from most imaginaries.
Quick Facts
- Theatrical Release
- 30 September 2023
- Director
- Priyanka Chhabra
- Language
- Hindi
- Runtime
- 16m
Storyline
This documentary explores how Bollywood movies have turned the Himalayan town of Manali into a fantasy backdrop for songs about romance and adventure. It contrasts these glossy film scenes with the fragile reality of living in this sensitive mountain ecosystem. The film questions the simplified stories projected onto the landscape.
“A Himalayan town, seen through Bollywood's dream.”
Film Details
Parental Guide
Vibe & Tags
Cast & Crew
Trivia
- The film was shot entirely on location in Manali, using local non-actors to capture authentic daily life.
- It was director Priyanka Chhabra's debut feature documentary after years of working in visual arts.
- The title references how Bollywood often uses the Himalayan landscape as a symbolic backdrop for fantasy.
- The documentary includes archival clips from classic Bollywood song sequences filmed in Manali.
- It premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, not at mainstream Indian festivals.
- The film explores climate change by showing how melting glaciers affect the local community.
- Chhabra lived in Manali for over a year to research and film, embedding herself in the town.