A view of a lavender field at Sirhama village, south of Srinagar, on June 27, 2024. | Photo credit: ANI
Bollywood’s star film directors on Thursday interacted freely with locals about the magical reel life and tried to further strengthen the decades-old bond between beautiful Kashmir and the silver screen by encouraging locals to take up filmmaking.
Bollywood directors Vishal Bharadwaj, Imtiaz Ali, Kabir Khan and actor Sanjay Suri were on hand to share information about cinema even as film production has almost stopped in the last three decades, making it easier for local audiences to understand what it takes to make a mark in cinema. They were speaking at the session on ‘Film tourism and its potential in promoting Jammu and Kashmir tourism’ of the two-day tourism conference held at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC).
Many in the audience are identifying with the real and imagined barriers to accessing cinematic prowess, said Mr Ali, who has thrown a new light on Kashmir through films like Rock Star And HighwayHe asked the locals to work hard to make a mark. “People of Kashmir have to overcome their constant opposition to opening cinema halls and choosing films as a career,” Ali said. He said Bollywood is always waiting for a good script with a Kashmir theme.
With the onset of terrorism in the 1990s, about a dozen cinema halls in Kashmir were closed. In the last five years, the Lieutenant Governor’s administration has been reviving cinema in Kashmir by opening cinema halls in every district of the valley.
director Khan, whose blockbuster film Bajrangi Bhaijaan The highlight of Kashmir’s Sonamarg dispelled the myth of the existence of a clique in Bollywood. “None of our relatives were in Bollywood. We came from different states and today have come to represent Bollywood, which craves for new talent. However, it requires a lot of hard work. The most important thing is the passion to do something different,” said Mr Khan.
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He praised the cooperation and understanding of the locals towards filmmaking. “Apart from the fact that it is quite easy to get permission for shooting and to provide scenes, it is the people who really help in filmmaking. Shooting in Delhi is much more difficult than in Kashmir. It is much easier to have three thousand spectators keep quiet while shooting in Kashmir. When dialogues are recorded they understand what is required. This one element makes all the difference,” said Mr Khan.
To attract local filmmakers, Mr Bhardwaj, whose film Haider Unravelling many layers of Kashmir’s violent past, Mr Bhardwaj asked locals to take advantage of the new film policy. “Local language filmmakers can avail double subsidy, which is ₹3 crore. I made my first film in ₹40 lakh. A Bengal film does not cost more than ₹3-4 crore. They make good films,” he said.
The launch of the J&K Film Policy by Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has resulted in permission for shooting of 350 films in Kashmir in the last four years.
