India, Oct. 31 -- From Gangubai's Kamathipura to 1919 Amritsar, here's how cinema recreates the magic of real locations and by gone eras one set at a time.

Scene: A sun-drenched market street in Karachi, Pakistan. The by lanes are choked with bullock carts, street vendors haggling incessantly, auto-rickshaw drivers, and pedestrians. Wires hang loosely from old buildings, billboards give a glimpse into the lives and occupations of the locals, and the smoky smell of freshly made kebabs pervades all around. The air is thick with dust; heat and the thousand odd sounds add to the hum of daily life, which masks the underlying tension-the tension of the CIA's mission. The scene was set for the Kathryn Bigelow-directed Zero Dark Thirty (2012). B...