Side Heroes Bihar is the story behind Imtiaz Ali and Mahaveer Jain’s upcoming Bollywood project, reportedly the first mainstream Hindi film to be shot entirely within the state of Bihar, from first schedule to last.
Key Takeaways
- Side Heroes is being directed by Imtiaz Ali and produced by Mahaveer Jain, two names with very different but complementary track records.
- Reports suggest it will be shot completely in Bihar, a first for a big-ticket Hindi film rather than just a few token schedules.
- Bihar has hosted Hindi film crews before, but almost always in fragments — this project is being pitched as the exception.
- The move ties into a bigger push to position Bihar as a genuine shooting destination, not just a backdrop for a handful of scenes.
What Do We Know About Side Heroes So Far?
Details on the plot are still being kept close to the chest, which is fairly standard for an Imtiaz Ali project at this stage. What has leaked out, through trade circles, is the title itself — Side Heroes — and the unusual production commitment attached to it.
Unlike a lot of “shot in India” announcements that quietly become “shot mostly in Mumbai with two days in a real location,” the buzz around Side Heroes Bihar is specifically about a full, state-wide shoot. That is the part exciting people who track production logistics as much as star cast.
Why Is Side Heroes Bihar Being Called a Rare Bollywood First?
Bihar has appeared on Hindi cinema’s map before, but rarely as the sole location. Anurag Kashyap shot large parts of Gangs of Wasseypur in the Dhanbad-Wasseypur belt, technically now Jharkhand, which was carved out of Bihar in 2000. Beyond that, Bihar has mostly shown up in reference — a character’s hometown mentioned in dialogue, never actually filmed there.
Side Heroes Bihar flips that script. If the makers hold to the plan, every schedule — interiors, exteriors, even studio-style sequences — gets built around real Bihar locations instead of Mumbai sets standing in for them. For a director like Imtiaz Ali, who has built his reputation on real geography doing real emotional work, that is not a small creative choice.
How Bihar Compares to Other States on the Bollywood Shoot Map
| State | Typical Bollywood Usage | Notable Example |
| Punjab | Frequent, full shoots | Amar Singh Chamkila |
| Kashmir/Himachal | Frequent, scenic schedules | Rockstar, Highway |
| Jharkhand (erstwhile Bihar) | Occasional, full shoot | Gangs of Wasseypur |
| Bihar (post-2000 borders) | Rare, usually partial | Kahaani 2 (partial schedule) |
| Bihar — Side Heroes | Reportedly complete shoot | Side Heroes (upcoming) |
Who Are Imtiaz Ali and Mahaveer Jain?
Imtiaz Ali needs little introduction to anyone who has watched Jab We Met, Rockstar, Highway, Tamasha or, more recently, Amar Singh Chamkila. His films lean hard on place — trains, hill towns, border villages — almost as characters in their own right. You can read more about his filmography on Wikipedia, and the pattern is obvious: he rarely fakes a location he can actually film in.
Mahaveer Jain is the less flashy but equally important half of this pairing. He has produced films like Mission Mangal and Satyameva Jayate, and has spoken publicly, more than once, about wanting to bring large-scale film production to Bihar, his home state. Side Heroes Bihar looks like the project where that intent finally becomes a full production line rather than a talking point.
What Changes When a Crew Shoots Entirely on Location?
This is where things get genuinely interesting from a craft standpoint, and it is worth slowing down on. A studio-built Bihar — a fake haveli courtyard on a Film City stage, ambient sound dropped in during post — is a completely different beast from an actual haveli in, say, Munger or Bhagalpur, with its own acoustics, its own light at 4 pm, its own dust.
Location sound recordists have to work harder on a true on-location shoot like this. You cannot loop out a passing train the way you can on a controlled set; you either wait for it or you build it into the scene. Cinematographers lose the luxury of a bounce board and a genny parked exactly where they want it — natural light dictates the schedule far more than the call sheet does. It is slower, riskier, and considerably more expensive per shot day. It is also, when it works, the difference between a film that looks like Bihar and one that merely claims to be set there.
That is the gamble Side Heroes Bihar is making, at least on paper. Whether the final cut earns that gamble will depend on things trade reports cannot tell us yet — blocking, sound design, how the edit paces itself against real geography instead of a controllable set.
What Could This Mean for Bihar’s Film Industry?
Several states — Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan — have leaned into film-friendly policies, subsidies and single-window clearances to pull productions in, and it has visibly changed how often their locations show up on screen. Bihar has talked about similar incentives for a while without a marquee project to point to.
A completed, released Side Heroes Bihar shoot — assuming it holds together as announced — becomes the kind of proof point state tourism boards love to cite. It also gives local crew, junior artists and line producers actual paid work on a big production, not just a handful of extras’ fees for a two-day schedule.
- Potential boost to local hospitality and transport around shoot locations.
- Training ground for local crew on a big-budget Hindi film set.
- A reference point for other filmmakers scouting Bihar seriously.
- Possible push for Bihar to formalise its own film policy incentives.
FAQ
Is Side Heroes officially confirmed by Imtiaz Ali?
Reports point to Imtiaz Ali directing and Mahaveer Jain producing, though full official confirmation with cast and dates is still awaited.
Why is Side Heroes Bihar being called rare for Bollywood?
Because most Hindi films shoot only a few scenes in Bihar, if any. A complete shoot in the state, start to finish, has not really happened for a major mainstream release before.
Has any big Hindi film shot fully in Bihar before?
Not quite. Gangs of Wasseypur came close geographically, but that region is now part of Jharkhand, which split from Bihar in 2000.
When will Side Heroes release?
No official release date has been announced yet. Given the shoot is reportedly still being planned, a 2027 window looks more realistic than a 2026 one.
What is Mahaveer Jain known for producing?
He has backed films including Mission Mangal, Kesari and Satyameva Jayate, and has been vocal about developing Bihar as a film production hub.
Conclusion
Side Heroes Bihar is worth watching less for star power and more for what it attempts: a full, honest-to-location Hindi film shot in a state Bollywood has mostly skipped. If Imtiaz Ali and Mahaveer Jain pull it off, it changes what “shooting in Bihar” can mean for the industry going forward.