Haider shooting creates buzz in Valley

Bollywood stars Irrfan Khan and Shraddha Kapoor on Monday attracted large crowds in the city centre Lal Chowk during their shooting for the upcoming film Haider.

The Vishal Bhardwaj-directed movie is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet. The initial shooting was done last year in the Valley, and was marred by controversy.

The film is the first Bollywood movie to be entirely shot in Kashmir. Amid tight security, the two actors and the film crew shot in Press Enclave here from early morning till afternoon.

The film has Shahid Kapoor in the lead role with Tabu also playing a part. Shraddha, clad in parrot-green salwar kameez and a black overcoat, plays a journalist and Khan is in the role of a militant.

Shahid Kapoor, who will sport a bald look in the film for some of its scenes, took to Twitter to inform his followers about his arrival in the Valley. “Reading scenes for the final schedule of ‘Haider’.. Nervous and excited.. Last four days of hair I can run my hands through.. Snowed out Kashmir calling,” the 32-year-old tweeted.

The film crew will stay in the Valley for over three weeks. Khawar Jamsheed, line producer for the film, told reporters that most of the shooting will be done in Srinagar. Then the crew would move to south Kashmir tourist resort Pahalgam.

Earlier last year, the first phase of the shooting took place in ski resort Gulmarg, Pahalgam, in River Jhelum at Panthachowk in the outskirts of Srinagar, and Kashmir University.

Controversy eclipsed the movie while shooting in the university when students protested over hoisting of the national flag atop a makeshift bunker, forcing Bhardwaj to cut short the shooting.