SRINAGAR: Kashmir is emerging as the go-to place for Bollywood. This year, amid the huge footfall of tourists, Bollywood is also exploring the local picturesque for its flicks. After Emraan Hashmi, another Bollywood star Vicky Kaushal is in Kashmir, these days.
Hashmi landed in Kashmir is on his maiden visit last month. He shared his excitement before taking off for the shoot. He posted a picture from the flight, and captioned it, “First time in the paradise city of Srinagar !! Countdown to Zero … Lights camera ACTION”
While Emraan is shooting for Ground Zero, Vicky is currently in South Kashmir resort Pahalgam shooting for producer-director Meghna Gulzar’s Sam Bahadur.
Emran is was shooting in Srinagar for almost a fortnight following which he left for Pahalgam. The film is directed by Marathi director Tejas Vijay Deoskar.
The movie, according to media reports will be shot extensively in various parts of Kashmir and Emraan will be seen in the role of an army officer. He has worked on his physique for the same as he will be seen doing some high-octane action sequences, sources informed media.
Vicky Kaushal, who is currently shooting in Pahalgam, has also shared a photograph of the film shoot on his Instagram account. He can be seen wearing a green coloured hoodie which had Sam Bahadur written on it.
The movie is a biopic on the legendary Sam Manekshaw. Buzz is that actor Neeraj Kabri has been roped in to play Jawaharlal Nehru in the film. The makers are presently on the last leg of the shoot.
Bollywood and Kashmir has had a relationship for decades when the turmoil in Kashmir disrupted it. Though the crews would come routinely, off late, a good number of them are in Kashmir. The other day, Hashmi’s huge team was shooting on the banks of Jhelum. Lalit Parimu and Soni Razdan are in Srinagar for many weeks, shooting for Songs of Paradise.
The administration in Jammu and Kashmir said as many as 500 applications were received from filmmakers and more than 150 permissions have already been granted. Officials said the crews busy shooting in Kashmir are not from Bollywood alone. There are many South Indian film crews also busy shooting in the valley.
Only last week, Bollywood veteran, Sanjay Khan had a detailed interaction with Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha and the focus of the meeting was the promotion of destination through films.
Jammu and Kashmir, the Lt Governor told him has evolved a vibrant film ecosystem to bring back the golden era of filmmaking in Kashmir. He made special mention of the New Film Policy, developing better facilities and offering the most preferred film shooting destinations to the producers.
