India, Oct. 30 -- When the Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu-starrer Pink hit the screens in 2016, Delhi was already carrying the weight of a troubling reputation-the so-called "rape capital" of the country. The decision to set the film in the capital was no coincidence, says its director, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury. For the National Award-winning filmmaker, the cities he bases his films in breathe, emote, and evolve like characters themselves.

Whether it's the uneasy stillness of Delhi in Pink, the emotional void of suburban California in Aparajita Tumi, or the snowy expanse of Sikkim in Anuranan, Chowdhury chooses his locations with the precision of a storyteller and the intuition of a traveller.

In a candid conversation with Travel+Lei...