Filmmakers feel the chill
However, with the new decision and beefed-up security, shooting seems to be an arduous task, affecting the business of filmmakers.
With the scrapping of Article 370 amid the curfew-like impositions in Jammu and Kashmir, the fate of many upcoming Bollywood projects is uncertain.
Captain Vikram Batra’s biopic Shershaah, starring Sidharth Malhotra, and Alia Bhatt’s Sadak 2 were to be shot in the Valley. While obtaining permissions to shoot in Kashmir has never been easy, this did not stop the filmmakers from venturing to their favourite destination.
However, with the new decision and beefed-up security, shooting seems to be an arduous task, affecting the business of filmmakers.
Director Anil Sharma of Gadar fame is of the opinion that things actually might get easier. “I have shot five films in Kashmir and I have had the best experience shooting there. The entire situation will get stable, trust me. Now that it’s a Union Territory, it will be easier to travel to Kashmir; the rates will also increase in local places. following which the locals too will make more money,” he says.
The director goes on to add that with time things will get better. “It is going to be a good time for everyone. Yes, when a new decision is made, it takes time to find stability, and it will take around six months to get stable, but once things are under control, everything is going to be fine and the economics of filmmaking or shooting in Kashmir will only get better.”
Director Anees Bazmee, who has also shot in Kashmir, says, “It is too early to speak on this; let’s wait and only then one will be able to answer all these questions. I have shot in Kashmir and there is no replacement for this place. We can only hope that things get easier and better for everyone.”
Though the two directors have high hopes, film critic Murtaza Ali Khan begs to differ. “In the past also, (National Conference leader) Omar Abdullah had said that ‘a particular film is said to be shot in Kashmir but it wasn’t’. So filmmakers use different locations to show Kashmir. And why move to foreign locations when you have Kashmir? It has suffered even in recent years. There will be people who want to take the risk to go to the Valley and shoot. So definitely this will affect the economy,” he says.