Is UP-Bihar the New Punjab in Bollywood?

Anurag Kashyap, who hails from Eastern Uttar Pradesh himself, has set his latest film Gangs Of Wasseypur in the political badlands in Jharkhand, a state carved out of Bihar.

This has been a growing trend in Bollywood lately.

More and more filmmakers seem taken by the many volatile charms and stories that the heartlands of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar that haven't been replicated on screen.

It's quite like how, at one point, all things Punjabi had once taken over Bollywood -- there were countless films set in Punjab and Delhi, caricatures drawn, owing to their popularity and Punjabi food, fashion and bhangra ruling supreme onscreen.

Here's looking at films from the last decade that were set in the heartland of UP-Bihar, which contributed to the growing trend.

Arjun Kapoor's launch vehicle Ishaqzaade is a tale of campus politics and how two rival student leaders fall for each other.

Shot in Hardoi, an Uttar Pradesh district located near Lucknow, the film has some interesting promos and is set to release this Friday.

Salman Khan's Eid blockbuster Dabangg was set in Lalganj, a town in the Raebareli district of Uttar Pradesh.

Khan plays rowdy and corrupt cop Chulbul Pandey, who steals from the rich and helps the poor as he engages in verbal duals with his stepfather (who he detests) and courts the village belle Rajo.

Kangna Ranaut plays the new-age Kanpur girl Tanu Trivedi, who drinks rum and smokes and scares prospective suitors away with her freewheeling attitude.

There are amusing characters that constitute the quintessential UP family, beautiful shots of smal towns and a Pappiji (Deepak Dobriyal) that just lights up the frames.

Vidya Balan plays a 30-year-old femme fatale Krishna Verma, the wife of an absconding Gorakhpur ganglord, in Ishqiya.

With a generous sprinkling of regional expletives and caricatures, the film makes for an entertaining watch.

Vishal Bhardwaj's desi take on Shakespeare's Othello made for an engaging watch.

Ajay Devgn plays the title role of a Bahubali (political enforcerer) in a quaint UP town and Saif Ali Khan (in probably a career best performance) is his aide with evil and jealous designs.

Ajay Devgn plays the firebrand cop appointed in the crime-infested Tejpur district of Bihar.

Based on regional politics and a corrupt local goon, who constantly locks horns with Devgn, this Prakash Jha film also mentioned the blinding incident that happened in another Bihar district.

As the name suggests, Apaharan was set against the backdrop of the thriving kidnapping industry in eastern Bihar.

Released in 2005, the film starred Nana Patekar and Ajay Devgn in lead roles and was directed by Prakash Jha.

Sehar depicted the era of organised crime in the 1990's Lucknow, Utter Pradesh's capital city.

Arshad Warsi, in an acclaimed performamce, plays a newly-appointed SSP officer in the city who puts together a task force of some of his trusted and specialised cops to deal with the menace.

Sudhir Mishra's piece de resistance, Hazaron Khwahishen Aisi traces the lives three people, as they go through love, politics and ambitions in Bihar.

With Kay Kay Menon, Chitrangada Singh and Shiney Ahuja turning out powerful performances, the film was well received.