Bollywood big banners in Kashmir

STATE TIMES NEWS

SRINAGAR: The big banners of Bollywood are on a 4-day visit to Kashmir to explore scenic backdrops for their future film projects.
The top names which have arrived here include Ajay Devgun Films, Sanjay Dutt Productions, Reliance Entertainment, Rohit Shetty Films, Zee Studios, Adhikari Brothers & SAB (Marathi), Endemol, Rajkumar Hirani, Excel Entertainment, etc besides representatives from Producers Guild, Mumbai.
Soon after their arrival here yesterday, the 24-member delegation of top notch banners and other artists visited Gulmarg today. The team will stay in Srinagar on 29th January and also have interactive sessions with media, travel trade associations and Valley’s film and line producers. They will also be exploring the favourite backdrop locations at Pahalgam on 30th January before departing back to Mumbai.
Director, Tourism, Kashmir, Dr. G N Itoo said the top production houses are here and have visited various locations. “Kashmir has been receiving good response from the Bollywood filmmakers since opening of the tourism here in addition to the country’s regional entertainment houses for shooting song sequences and commercial ads,” said Dr. Itoo.
Dr Itoo said Kashmir is a natural backdrop for the filmmakers and the department has been making it easy for them to get permissions for shooting.
Kashmir has witnessed a steady increase in tourist footfall due to continuous snowfall since the onset of winter.
Celebrities who recently visited Kashmir include Singers Jubin Nautiyal, Guru Randhawa, Salman Ali, former Indian actress and model Sana Khan, Music Composer Salim Merchant, TV Host and Anchor Aditya Narayan, business tycoon Anil Ambani and most of whom visited Gulmarg. The ski resort also received 100 percent booking as most of the hotels are booked till February end owing to the huge tourist rush.
The Producers Guild praised the pristine beauty of the Gulmarg and expressed keen desire to shoot for their upcoming film projects at Various locations in Kashmir.
Kashmir has been traditionally a favourite spot for the Bollywood who have shot scores of movies here at Dal Lake, Srinagar’s Mughal Gardens, Gulmarg and Pahalgam.