HOW THE SOPHIA COLLEGE CAMPUS COULD BE A ROMANTIC MOVIE SET

By Komal Badve (Team Creative)

Imagine this: Jaya Bachchan, running down a hallway as fast as possible, with tears in her eyes and her saree flowing behind her. She stops in front of doors that very grandly fly open and as the background score slowly goes “kabhi khushi kabhi gum”, you get goosebumps and take a deep breath because that’s just what Dharma does to most people.  This is exactly what I think of when I imagine the campus of Sophia College as a movie set.

1) The amply lit, huge corridors in the college are perfect for a melodramatic heroine to run down with her extra long saree flowing behind her as she tries to catch up with the protagonist because she’s finally realised she loves him and he’s going somewhere else forever and ever.

2) The huge garden in the centre of the campus is ideal for anyone with an inclination towards romanticism to recreate the last scene from The Princess Diaries, when Mia and Michael finally kiss. Popularly known as the Central Lawn, this is by far the most attractive feature of the college and looks like it came straight out of a fairy tale when lit up with golden lights all over. The marble benches around the centrepiece of the lawn remind me of the song “16 going on 17” from The Sound Of Music and they always make me want to dance. The only problem is that I have no one to dance with. 

3) Another scenic spot to recreate romantic songs would be the Triangular Terrace. Overlooking the driveway, the terrace is easily one of the windiest spots in college (around 4 pm) and is perfect to belt out a song from and proclaim ones love for someone to the world. The small garden with colourful flowers adds to the ‘filmy-ness’, making it a very charming spot.

4) An almost secret passageway that runs through the garden makes the perfect spot for lovers like Raj Kapoor and Nutan to meet under the street lamp while it rains, and sing “Pyaar Hua, Ikraar Hua”. (Please don’t get any ideas.)

5) The Spiral Staircase would easily pass off as a part of an extravagant Sanjay Leela Bhansali set, decorated with colourful cloths, and petals scattered everywhere along with tiny diyas on every step. I can imagine Paro running down these stairs at full speed to be reunited with Devdas as her saree casually catches fire. (dun dun dun)

Keeping aside the overall romantic and charming feel of the campus, there are a few spots that get extremely creepy at night. As bright and positive as the corridors are during the day, at night the eerie sound-scape of the cats here and there echoing through the hallways make my inner demons collide. (Just kidding, there are no cats.) But trust me, it gets creepy when there’s a single light on at only one end of the hallway, and every single sound echoes throughout the campus.

In conclusion, I would like to thank the East India Company and the Maharaja of Bhavnagar for developing this beautiful piece of property we now call our college (and not really for anything else) and that has been a shooting site for many movies in real life.