Once upon a time Kashmir was the perfect setting for romance. Filmmakers thronged the Valley for a picturesque backdrop of snow-clad mountains and majestic Chinars. But when violence struck the “heaven on earth”, no films were shot there with the advent of militancy in the 90s.

But it was not the end of the story — just a long pause, a disheartening wait. Decades later, many mainstream filmmakers are now going back to Kashmir, and the beautiful Valley is shining bright on the silver screen again. So, if last year it was Jab Tak Hai Jaan by Yash Chopra, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif, this year it is Imtiaz Ali’s Highway, starring Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda, slated to release in December. Parts of Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani too have been shot in the famed ski resort of Gulmarg and Pahalgam. Even director Steven Spielberg is planning a movie, a part of which will be set on the de facto border in the disputed region of Kashmir and will be shot there.
The team of Highway has been shooting in the upper reaches of Aru valley in the small hutments of the local shepherds and also at the snow-clad upper reaches of Chandanwadi.
During a recent interview, Ali said, “Kashmir is the most beautiful place I have seen in my life. I have been very attracted by Kashmiri culture — the way they eat, cook, etc. It is the most sophisticated society I have known. I love Kashmir and I want to show it through my films.” However, the director feels a little stressed because he wants to do justice to the place after all the turmoil that the
Valley has gone through.
Filmmaker Piyush Jha, who shot his film Sikandar in the Valley in 2009, says that it’s a place where you know you won’t get a wrong shot if you have planned the story well. “It’s so beautiful that wherever you turn your camera, you will get a good frame,” says Piyush, who thinks that more filmmakers are turning towards the Valley because the violence has abated. “The intensity of that turbulence has faded and what meets you there now is a more friendly and charming place,” remarks Piyush, recalling his days of filming when he got support from the local people there.
Filmmakers who have shot there once can’t stop gushing about their experiences and want to go back as soon as they get a good script.
Shoojit Sircar, who shot his debut film Yahaan in the Valley in 2005, says that it’s the history behind the place that intrigues a lot of creative people. Reminiscing the time he shot at the Valley he says, “It wasn’t a troubled outing. But it wasn’t easy too. We had to shoot without any proper infrastructure and most of the time we had to shoot hiding our identity to avoid unwanted attention. We did not let people know what we were up to,” says Sircar, who observed that the people and officials in the Valley came forward to help only if they were convinced that they weren’t getting involved “politically”.
Actor Zulfi Syed, who shot in Kashmir for Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story in 2007, was mesmirised by its beauty, but he also remembers the difficulties he faced while shooting. “Once a curfew was announced and everything came to a halt for some days. It was something that we were experiencing for the first time,” he recalls and hopes that newfound attention proves good for the Valley.
Filmmaker Onir Anirban, who directed the movie I Am and highlighted the plight of Kashmiri Pandits in it, says, “Earlier commercial movies shot in Kashmir highlighted its landscape as it was a beautiful tourist destination. However, after the militancy, Kashmir became a subject in itself — documentary filmmakers picked up stories that spoke about the misery of local people, and even mainstream filmmakers chose scripts that represented the entire scenario rather than just wax lyrical on its beauty,” he concludes.