Lucknow is more than a city. It is an emotion. Its Mughal-era monuments, winding bylanes, and Nawabi grace make it a natural film set. No wonder Bollywood keeps coming back. Bollywood movies set in Lucknow span every genre — romance, crime, horror, and drama. The city does not just appear in these films. It lives in them.
Here is every must-watch film, all in one place.
Umrao Jaan (1981) — The Bollywood Movie Set in Lucknow That Defined an Era
Director: Muzaffar Ali Cast: Rekha, Farooq Shaikh, Naseeruddin Shah, Raj Babbar Genre: Period Drama / Musical Romance
No list of Bollywood movies set in Lucknow is complete without beginning here. Umrao Jaan is not just a film. It is a cultural monument. Directed by Muzaffar Ali, who himself hails from Lucknow, this 1981 masterpiece is set in the city’s Nawabi era of the 1840s and is based on Mirza Hadi Ruswa’s celebrated Urdu novel Umrao Jaan Ada.
The story follows Amiran, a young girl kidnapped from Faizabad and sold to Khanum Jaan’s kotha in Lucknow, where she is renamed Umrao Jaan. Trained in music, poetry, and dance, she grows into one of Lucknow’s most celebrated tawaifs accomplished, admired, yet forever searching for love and belonging.
Shot in Lucknow and its nearby areas of Malihabad and Faizabad, the film captures Awadhi culture with extraordinary authenticity, from the Jadau jewellery of Lucknow craftsmen to the intimate atmosphere of the kotha.
Why watch it: Because it is the definitive cinematic love letter to Lucknow, and Rekha’s performance alone is worth every minute.
Tanu Weds Manu (2011) — The Beloved Rom-Com Among Movies Set in Lucknow
Director: Aanand L. Rai Cast: R. Madhavan, Kangana Ranaut, Jimmy Shergill, Deepak Dobriyal, Swara Bhaskar Genre: Romantic Comedy
Among all the lighthearted Bollywood movies set in Lucknow, Tanu Weds Manu holds a special place in the hearts of audiences across Uttar Pradesh and beyond. Directed by Aanand L. Rai, this 2011 romantic comedy follows Dr. Manoj “Manu” Sharma, a London-based NRI doctor who comes to Kanpur and Lucknow to find a bride only to fall hopelessly in love with the free-spirited, rebellious Tanuja “Tanu” Trivedi, played with electric energy by Kangana Ranaut.
The film captures the culture and spirit of Lucknow in a way that feels deeply lived-in. The iconic scene on the Gomti bridge, the Rangrez song filmed through the bylanes of old Lucknow, the cloth dyeing area by the river all of it paints a portrait of a city that is simultaneously old-world and vibrantly alive.
Why watch it: Pure joy, great performances, and a genuine love for the culture and chaos of Lucknow’s streets. Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/in/title/70176968
Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015) — The Sequel That Outdid the Original
Director: Aanand L. Rai Cast: Kangana Ranaut, R. Madhavan, Jimmy Shergill, Deepak Dobriyal, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub Genre: Romantic Comedy / Drama
Rare is the Bollywood sequel that surpasses its original, but among Bollywood movies set in Lucknow, Tanu Weds Manu Returns achieved exactly that. The story picks up four years after Tanu and Manu’s marriage and it is a mess. Their dysfunctional relationship drives them apart, with Manu ending up in a psychiatric facility and Tanu heading back to Kanpur. But things get truly complicated when Manu encounters Kusum Sangwan, a spirited Haryanvi student-athlete who looks exactly like Tanu.
The story weaves between Lucknow, Kanpur, and Delhi, blending the Nawabi grace of UP with the earthy energy of Haryana. The dialogues blend the culture of Lucknow with Kanpur’s idiom in a way that feels completely authentic.
Why watch it: Kangana Ranaut’s dual performance is a masterclass. And the story’s treatment of love, marriage, and second chances feels genuinely real.
Ishqzaade (2012) — Young Love and Communal Tension in Lucknow
Director: Habib Faisal Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra Genre: Romantic Drama / Action
Of all the Bollywood movies set in Lucknow, Ishqzaade is perhaps the most charged with political and social tension. Directed by Habib Faisal, the film explores Lucknow’s communal fault lines the Hindu-Muslim divide through the story of young, passionate love between Parma, a Hindu politician’s son, and Zoya, a Muslim politician’s daughter.
While some of the story was recreated within Lucknow’s setting, the city’s layered identity its blend of Hindu and Muslim culture, its political intensity forms the essential backdrop of the narrative.
Why watch it: A bold, different kind of Bollywood love story that does not flinch from the complications of identity, politics, and passion.
Bullet Raja (2013) — The Gritty, Swaggering Face of Lucknow on Film
Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Shergill, Ravi Kishan Genre: Crime / Action Drama
Among the gritty Bollywood movies set in Lucknow, Bullet Raja stands apart for its unflinching portrayal of the city’s rowdier, more political underbelly. Directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, this 2013 crime drama stars Saif Ali Khan as Raja Mishra, a small-town man who is swept into the world of UP’s political mafia its gangs, its power struggles, and its battles for dominance between industrial and political forces.
Filming took place at Kakori near Lucknow and at Hazratganj, bringing some of the city’s most recognisable locations to the screen. Even through its grittiness, the film offers a genuine and visually arresting view of Lucknow.
Why watch it: If you want to see the rough, political, mafia-inflected side of UP life, Bullet Raja is a vivid and entertaining portrait.
Daawat-e-Ishq (2014) — A Lucknow Film Built Around the City’s Love for Food
Director: Habib Faisal Cast: Aditya Roy Kapur, Parineeti Chopra Genre: Romantic Comedy / Drama
Among the more unusual Bollywood movies set in Lucknow, Daawat-e-Ishq uses the city’s most beloved character its food as the beating heart of its story. Directed by Habib Faisal (who shot three consecutive films in Lucknow), the movie stars Parineeti Chopra as a woman who devises a scheme to trap wealthy men into marriage, and Aditya Roy Kapur as Tariq, a passionate Lucknawi chef whose raw love for food mirrors his emotional depth.
The iconic stretch of Imambada Road near the Rumi Gate in Old Lucknow featured prominently, as it did in several other films of this era.
Why watch it: For the food, for Parineeti Chopra’s spirited performance, and for the way the film captures what food means to Lucknow’s soul. Netflix: Daawat-e-Ishq
Lucknow Central (2017) — A Prison Drama That Celebrates the City’s Spirit
Director: Ranjit Tiwari Cast: Farhan Akhtar, Diana Penty, Ronit Roy, Deepak Dobriyal, Gippy Grewal, Inaamulhaq Genre: Prison Drama / Music
Of all the Bollywood movies set in Lucknow, this one wears the city’s name as its title. Lucknow Central is inspired by a true story the formation of a real music band called “Healing Hearts” by inmates of the Adarsh Karagar prison on the outskirts of Lucknow.
Shooting took place in Lucknow and Varanasi, alongside recreated jail sets at Film City in Mumbai.
Why watch it: A heartfelt, musically rich prison drama inspired by a real and remarkable Lucknow story.
Raat Akeli Hai (2020) — The Finest Crime Thriller Among Lucknow Movies
Director: Honey Trehan Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Radhika Apte, Shweta Tripathi Sharma, Tigmanshu Dhulia Genre: Crime Thriller / Whodunit
Won the Filmfare OTT Award for Best Actor for his performance, and the film won Best Web Original Film at the same ceremony. Critics praised it for its sense of time and place, its terrific performances, and its command over tone and texture. A sequel, Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders, was released on Netflix in 2025 with the same team.
Why watch it: Nawazuddin Siddiqui at his absolute best, wrapped in a tightly crafted mystery dripping with the atmosphere of UP’s feudal hinterland.
Why Lucknow Keeps Attracting Bollywood Filmmakers
The sheer volume of Bollywood movies set in Lucknow is not accidental. The city offers filmmakers a unique combination of factors that few other Indian cities can match. Its Mughal-era monuments, the winding roads of Old Lucknow, the iconic stretch of Imambada Road near the Rumi Gate, the riverside at Gomti Nagar, and the grandeur of La Martiniere College have all appeared in multiple films. The state government has also historically offered significant incentives to productions shooting in Uttar Pradesh, which brought many more filmmakers here.
But beyond locations and logistics, Lucknow offers something less tangible and more important. A distinct culture, accent, cuisine, and worldview. Whether it is the tehzeeb (refinement) that defined the Nawabi era, the political intensity of UP’s current landscape, the communal complexities of its social fabric, or simply the aromas of its kebabs and biryanis, Lucknow gives every story a specificity that general “small town India” settings cannot replicate.
Final Word
From the courtesan’s kotha of the 1840s to a modern Netflix crime thriller, Bollywood movies set in Lucknow have given us some of Hindi cinema’s most memorable characters, stories, and settings. The city is not just a backdrop in these films, it is a character in its own right, breathing its particular brand of grace, grit, poetry, and passion into every frame.
If you have not watched all of these films, start tonight. And if you have perhaps it is time to visit Lucknow itself, walk the same streets, and see whether the city lives up to its on-screen legend.
