# The Taj Mahal (some questions) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [December 21, 2025, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922 "2025-12-21T20:20:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922/1 "2025-12-21T20:20:24Z")
I happened to be flipping around and caught the last hour, or so, of _ **The Bucket List** _ movie. In one scene Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson are walking in front of the _ **Taj Mahal** _. As they walk around, the hills and landscape in the background looks like a painting. It has the Leonardo da Vinci _sfumato_ (Italian-smoked off) look. Has anyone been to the Taj Mahal? Did it look like that in person? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922/2 "2025-12-21T20:43:19Z")
Yup, several times. Yes, it does. I’m not sure what it is about the Taj Mahal, just great proportions or what, but it just seems to command the viewing space the way the subject of a painting does. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922/3 "2025-12-21T21:18:24Z")
Thanks- I think that’s why I never noticed the distant background all these years in pictures, movies, etc. I was too focused on the grandeur of the marble mausoleum. In the movie, they walk around the perimeter for a while, so I happened to notice what was in the background. This first five seconds of this clip does not do the movie scene, or the site justice, but it is all I could find. It almost looks fake. In the movie, the mausoleum, Morgan, Jack, the plants and water in the foreground are bathed in sunlight. It’s crisp and sharp, then you look in the distance. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ybDnO54FJbc/maxresdefault.jpg "The Bucket List movie 2007 Tajmahal scene Jack Nicholson · Edward ; Morgan Freeman · Carter") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybDnO54FJbc) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922/4 "2025-12-21T21:51:52Z")
Ewwwwww that dialogue “Shah JEE-han”, though. How could they have shot that in real-world Agra without learning that the emperor’s name was “Shah JaHAN”? But yeah, the Taj pretty much looks like that. (And yeah, Delhi air quality probably has something to do with the haziness.) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922/5 "2025-12-21T22:01:49Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Ewwwwww that dialogue “Shah JEE-han”, though. How could they have shot that in real-world Agra without learning that the emperor’s name was “Shah JaHAN”? Maybe it was an intentional choice, to reflect that the characters weren’t familiar with the correct pronunciation? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922/6 "2025-12-21T22:09:45Z")
Pictures of the Taj Mahal are usually taken from the front of the building. Which is why I hadn’t realized it’s built with a river right behind it. And there’s a park across the river. So there’s no tall buildings nearby to loom over it. Here’s a view of the back of the Taj Mahal. [![](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/3948938285_2bcfb437aa_k.jpg) ](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/3948938285_2bcfb437aa_k.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922/7 "2025-12-21T22:11:41Z")
When I visited it, I was surprised at how small it was. I think I imagined it being bigger. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922/8 "2025-12-21T22:15:11Z")
Nice. I’ve never seen it from that perspective. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922/9 "2025-12-21T22:42:25Z")
Really? I found it quite large. It’s like 240 feet high. I almost didn’t go because I didn’t want to deal with the tourist scene, but I’m glad I made the slight detour to Agra on the way from Jaipur to Delhi. I got there really early, so I got to take a photo of my wife before the crowds arrived (well pre-AI, nothing removed or added to the photo): [![](https://i.ibb.co/hx0cWY3y/IMG-2143.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/hx0cWY3y/IMG-2143.jpg) And a perspective from Agra looking onto the Taj Mahal: [![](https://i.ibb.co/84BBc0mM/IMG-9287.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/84BBc0mM/IMG-9287.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922/10 "2025-12-21T22:43:35Z")
I had heard there are always big crowds? And there used to be litter? ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922/11 "2025-12-21T22:55:29Z")
It looks large in all the photos, videos, etc. I remember the picture of Princess Diana sitting in front. It seemed huge. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922/12 "2025-12-21T23:56:04Z")
Nice picture you took of your wife. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922/13 "2025-12-22T01:02:58Z")
> [@saucywench](#): > > It almost looks fake. In the movie, the mausoleum, Morgan, Jack, the plants and water in the foreground are bathed in sunlight. It’s crisp and sharp, then you look in the distance. That bit at the start of the clip totally does look fake. It probably is. The foreground with moving people is real. The rest of the grounds, the building, and into the distance? Maybe, maybe not. The interior shots? Hard to say whether that’s a set or the real interior. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922/14 "2025-12-22T01:12:05Z")
If you could see the whole clip from the movie, I’m pretty sure the part with Morgan and Jack walking around was real. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922/15 "2025-12-22T02:11:22Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Here’s a view of the back of the Taj Mahal. That’s pretty impressive! Have you got a picture of the basement of the Alamo? ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922/16 "2025-12-22T04:47:49Z")
> [@saucywench](#): > > As they walk around, the hills and landscape in the background looks like a painting. It has the Leonardo da Vinci _sfumato_ (Italian-smoked off) look. I think because it is a painting. I don’t believe that there are any mountains or hills in the view seen in that clip. And those clouds seem to be moving very, very quickly. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922/17 "2025-12-22T05:37:47Z")
It’s a beautiful place. There are some good birds at the river out back, too. My lovely wife took a photo of me with binoculars looking not at the Taj Mahal but behind it. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922/18 "2025-12-22T08:12:21Z")
> [@saucywench](#): > > the hills and landscape in the background looks like a painting. It has the Leonardo da Vinci _sfumato_ (Italian-smoked off) look. Am sure it varies by season and time of day but the dust and heat haze around in high summer would have that impact. That image is broadly as I recall in a late afternoon visit recently ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922/19 "2025-12-22T18:04:04Z")
Thank you for the replies. Don’t ask thinks it’s a painting. What do those of you who have seen it in person think? It’s the first five seconds of the movie clip in the third post. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922/20 "2025-12-22T18:07:02Z")
I honestly don’t remember hills or anything back there, but I also went on a day with a lot of morning mist/fog, as you can tell in the photo, so I think I lack the information. I’ll have to look through my photos and see if I have any views later on in the day when it cleared up a bit. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-taj-mahal-some-questions/1025922.md?page=2)