Four decades later, Bollywood rekindles its romance with Kashmir

The J&K tourism department said recently that it had selected hundreds of destinations to promote film tourism in the UT this year. The G20 tourism working group meeting, to be held on May 22-24 in Srinagar, will include a mega side event on film tourism.

“Our focus this year is to promote film tourism, for which we have kept 300 destinations on the table for producers and directors to choose from,” said UT’s Tourism Secretary Syed Abid Rasheed, adding that the department will promote film tourism in a big way so that many untouched destinations are explored.

Actor Ranveer Singh during the shoot of Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani in Kashmir earlier this year. (Photo credit: Suhail Khan)

Talking about the G20 event, he added, “It will be a great opportunity for J&K to showcase its beauty. Through the meeting, we will be able to promote film tourism in J&K.”

Late last year, National Award-winning filmmaker Onir shot his film Chahiye Thoda Pyaar in Gurez Valley, located close to the Line of Control (LoC). Officials said with the security situation improving, areas close to the border have been opened for film shoots. Places like Bhaderwah and Kishtwar are also attracting Bollywood filmmakers, they added.

During the Covid-19 lockdown, when international travel remained largely curtailed, several filmmakers from regional film industries — particularly Telugu and Tamil — fell back on Kashmir to shoot song sequences

The new film policy launched by the UT administration in 2021, along with single-window clearance and subsidy options, also entails “appropriate security and safety arrangements to be made free of cost to enable filmmakers to complete shooting”. Officials said this has reassured many film crews seeking to shoot in tougher terrain and in picturesque villages close to the LoC.

Director Kabir Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan, starring actor Salman Khan, was also shot in Kashmir. (Express photo)

In Harwan, on the outskirts of Srinagar, veteran actor Zarina Wahab recently returned to Kashmir after 45 years to film the Urdu web series Armaan. Noted filmmaker Lokesh Kanagaraj’s upcoming Tamil project Leo, featuring Vijay, Trisha and Sanjay Dutt, also included a schedule in Kashmir.

“All the spots in almost all the districts in the UT are open for filming,” said a senior official, adding that the maximum number of requests have been received for shoots in and around Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Dal Lake, Mughal Gardens, Sonmarg and Doodhpathri.

During the Covid-19 lockdown, when international travel remained largely curtailed, several filmmakers from regional film industries — particularly Telugu and Tamil — fell back on Kashmir to shoot song sequences, which they otherwise would have shot against the backdrop of the Alps. This gave a boost to J&K’s allied industries, including hotels, tour guides, taxi operators, translators and film production facilitation enterprises.

Raj Kapoor’s 1949 film Barsaat is credited to have introduced the Valley to a larger audience, following which several filmmakers made a beeline for Kashmir. However, things began to change in the 1980s, after insurgency reared its head.
In recent years, films like Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Mission Kashmir, Yash Chopra’s Jab Tak Hai Jaan and Kabir Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan were shot in Kashmir. But now, officials said, 350 of 500 requests for permission to shoot films in the Valley have already been granted.

Actor Smita Gondkar shooting for Hai Tujhe Salaam India in Srinagar. (Photo credit: Shuaib Masoodi)

The official added that the biggest change the new policy introduced was the single-window clearance system. “It is a seamless portal, where a simple application and minimum documentation is solicited from applicants and permission to shoot is provided within a month of the application being received,” he said.

The applicant only interacts with the portal and clearances are coordinated from all the departments concerned. The official added that besides the location permission committee, headed by the respective divisional commissioners, the script screening committee looks at scripts for sensitive or anti-national content before giving the nod.

In fact, there are incentives connected to the themes of films and series. For instance, as per the policy document, films produced to inspire the feeling of ‘One Nation, Best Nation’ shall be given 50 per cent of their cost or Rs 50 lakh, whichever is less, by way of subsidy. Films related to child and women empowerment will be given an additional financial assistance of 25 per cent.

The 2021 film policy, which sets the vision till 2026, also aims to uplift the local film sector. A filmmaker giving work to local artists will get an additional subsidy of up to Rs 50 lakh, over and above the Rs 1 crore subsidy, in case more than 50 per cent of shooting days have been spent in Kashmir.

Local Kashmiri actors are being taken as main leads, something that has not happened before. In fact, most actors in Onir’s Chahiye Thoda Pyaar are said to be Kashmiris.

To popularise Indian films, the UT is also hoping to reopen closed cinema halls and upgrade existing ones. Last September, the UT got its first multiplex, with INOX opening doors in Srinagar. No wonder then that the epic moment was marked by the screening of two epic films — Vikram Vedha and Ponniyin Selvan.