Aahana Swrup
‘Haseen Dillruba’ unravels as a murder mystery, with one obvious suspect attempting to prove her innocence by regaling the story of her marriage with her husband—the obvious murder victim. Rani Kashyap, a zealous crime-novels-loving woman from Delhi, marries a small-town engineer, Rishab “Rishu” Saxena, in an arranged marriage. However, their mismatched personalities only lead to an unhappy relationship. Months down the line, a gas explosion at the house results in Rishu’s death, cementing his known unfaithful wife as the immediate suspect in the eyes of lead Police Officer Kishore.
As a result, the interrogation that follows explores the nature of Rani’s relationship with Rishu and the man she had an affair with, Neel, the latter’s cousin. Thus, the film ends up charting an impassioned tale about marriage, infidelity, and murder as they unravel in a small Uttrakhand town, Jwalapur. However, does Rishu’s hometown hold any relation to real life?
Jwalapur is a Real Neighborhood in Haridwar
Even though the storylines and characters of ‘Haseen Dillruba’ are works of fiction, credited to screenwriter Kanika Dhillon and director Vinil Mathew, the town where the story unfolds is actually based in reality. Jwalapur, Rishu’s small town that becomes Rani’s new home after their marriage, is an actual region in the Uttrakhand city of Haridwar. However, the area is only a neighborhood within its overarching city rather than an entire town. Since the project’s filming took place in Haridwar, one of the most prominent features in the city—The Ganges, remains easy to spot in multiple scenes. In fact, one can see the recognizable river meeting the horizon through the Saxena residence balconies.
Furthermore, the Ganges finds two narratively significant features. The first is related to Rishu’s character undergoing prominent character development after learning about Rani’s extramarital affair with his cousin. Meanwhile, the second remains tied to the central crime and the process of its cover-up. Thus, the story’s setting in the city remains consistently evident. Nevertheless, Haridwar itself is narratively detached from the film, as Jwalapur takes center stage in its stead.
In the film, Jwalapur maintains such notable prominence that one might be compelled to believe it is a town in itself rather than a neighborhood. Even though there isn’t anything about the area that resonates with Rani and Rishu’s narrative to necessitate its presence in the story—the region’s name naturally fits into the storyline. Jwalapur, roughly translating to City of Flame, offers a perfect background to Rani’s tale, vividly highlighting the fiery and passionate nature of her relationships and their outcomes.
As such, the narrative equips the geographical benefits of Haridwar while sporting Jwalapur as the central location for the stirring imagery it evokes. Likewise, by magnifying the area’s significance as the entire narrative world for the most instrumental storylines, the film highlights the small-town nature of Rani and Rishu’s tale. Ultimately, even though the area may not have seen the blazing mysteries that occur in the film, Jwalapur remains a real location.
Read More: Haseen Dilruba Ending, Explained
