Yeh Kashmir hai! Bollywood and its connection with the valley

Since among the hottest romantic motion pictures have been filmed in Kashmir, this place progressively got here to be related to good occasions in addition to love and affection and this added to Kashmir’s allure. (Picture supply: Yash Raj Movies Fb web page)

By Farooq Wani, 

Bollywood has had a many years outdated reference to Kashmir, an affiliation born out of the movie business’s fascination with the picturesque surroundings of what’s rightly known as ‘paradise on earth’. In olden days when the technique of communication have been each primitive and scarce, promoting of Kashmir as a vacationer vacation spot was restricted to images in magazines and first-hand accounts of these few who had visited this place. Nonetheless, each had its personal limitations- whereas pictures in these days couldn’t do actual justice to the topic, listening to somebody speaking about Kashmir’s magnificence was usually brushed apart as exaggeration arising out of the need to ‘show-off’.

There’s a saying “seeing is believing” and that’s why the main credit score for making Kashmir a well-liked vacationer vacation spot goes to Bollywood, which captured its unparalleled magnificence on movie and introduced it to audiences belonging to all sections of society all through the nation. Since among the hottest romantic motion pictures have been filmed in Kashmir, this place progressively got here to be related to good occasions in addition to love and affection and this added to Kashmir’s allure. Many tremendous hits like Junglee, Arzoo, Kashmir ki Kali, Jab-Jab Phool Khilen and Bobby have been filmed in entire or half in Kashmir and with each tremendous hit the variety of vacationers elevated.

Thus, along with its majestic magnificence, Dal Lake additionally reminded vacationers of the well-known Shammi Kapoor “Yeh chand sa roshan chehra, zulfonka rang sunehera” tune and after launch of Bobby there was a mad rush of vacationers who needed to catch a glimpse of Room 305 of Lodge Highland Park in Gulmarg, the place the well-known Bobby tune ‘Hum tum, ek kamre mein band hon, aur chabi kho jaye” was filmed. Equally, the Maharani Temple in Gulmarg the place the hit tune ‘Jai Jai Shiv Shankar,’ of the hit film ‘Aap Ki Kasam’ was filmed turned a well-liked vacationer vacation spot.

Sadly, eruption of militancy in Kashmir solid an evil spell on the tourism business and the Valley, which as soon as resounded with the hustle and bustle of vacationers, turned a forlorn place. As time handed and militancy entrenched itself, Kashmir misplaced its reference to Bollywood for almost three many years. Fortunately, Bollywood bought again to the picturesque Betaab Valley in 2011, when Imtiaz Ali took an opportunity and shot his Ranbir Kapoor starrer masterpiece ‘Rockstar’, which turned out to be a giant hit. Although motion pictures have been filmed in Kashmir thereafter, it was a far cry from the yesteryears.

With normalcy returning J&Ok Govt is now exploring numerous choices to revive Bollywood connections with Kashmir. Nonetheless, it takes time to alter folks’s notion and the federal government is decided to depart no stone unturned in doing so, as a result of Bollywood is the very best tourism model ambassador. Kashmir’s important business is tourism, which has taken a really unhealthy hit because of militancy and resulted in lack of hundreds and hundreds of jobs. As a result of Govt efforts some high cine manufacturing homes have visited numerous areas in Valley for taking pictures of movies and the nice response from film-makers has come as a giant respite to these related to the tourism business. It’s heartening to notice that regional leisure homes for taking pictures tune sequences have additionally arrived right here.

The Producers Guild has praised the fantastic thing about Kashmir and expressed eager need to shoot for his or her upcoming movie tasks at numerous areas in Kashmir. Mumbai primarily based Kashmir born multi-faceted music director, singer and founding father of Music Firm “A R Music studios” Jaan Nissar Lone with co-founder Rani Hazarika landed in Kashmir to shoot a music video album titled “Mere Ali Maula Ali”. Primarily based on revival of Sufi tradition of Kashmir, this Album is a Sufi-influenced composition of 4 to 5 songs written by Niteshwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to J&Ok UT LG JK Manoj Sinha and Tanveer Ghazi who wrote songs for common Bollywood hero Amitabh Bachchan starrer ‘PINK’. Versatile playback Singer Richa Sharma, who has many hit Bollywood Sufi songs to her identify has lent her voice to this album.

“The thought is to indicate the composite tradition of Kashmir to the world on this video. The music of the album promotes ethnic Kashmiri music. We need to present the world how Kashmir will be one other Switzerland,” mentioned Jaan. He noticed that because the huge pool of expertise present in J&Ok is various and encompasses each sphere of cinematic necessities, it could take us nothing to look and Kashmiris are stuffed with expertise. “They’re full of expertise on each entrance however what they want is the proper platform and steering,” mentioned Jaan, including that “I’ll attempt selling them to my greatest.”

These songs additionally characteristic younger Kashmiris like Kaif Peerzada, Mir Anjum, Atif Malik , Bollywood actress Aysha Kapoor and baby artist Grasp Rah . These songs have been directed by Jaan Nissar Lone and the venture has been designed and supervised by Bollywood playback singer Rani Hazarika. The unit shot at areas like Dal Lake (King of Sea Group of Home Boats) and in Sufi Shrines of Srinagar.

Should you nonetheless haven’t explored this pristine valley in Kashmir, you undoubtedly are lacking out on a magical expertise. Kashmir is the right location for movie taking pictures and makes an ideal view itself. I believe extra movie models want to go to right here and shoot in order to beef up the native tourism and the folks concerned in movie shootings and to advertise Kashmiri expertise is Jaan’s clear message to the Bollywood fraternity.

(The writer is Editor of Brighter Kashmir, Columnist, TV Commentator and Political Analyst. Views expressed are private and don’t mirror the official place or coverage of the Monetary Categorical On-line. He will be reached at: farooqwani61@yahoo.co.in )