JOIN USBollywood crew cancels shooting due to 'misbehavior' of officials in Kashmir
At a time when Jammu and Kashmir government is working hard to get Bollywood film units back for shooting, a film crew cancelled its shoot at famous ski-resort Gulmarg after alleged misbehavior by officials.
The CEO of Gulmarg Development Authority (GDA) and other staff displayed "unruly behaviour" at the film set and the shooting had to be cancelled, Anupam Malik, an executive producer at Star Fortune Movies said.
The film crew was in Gulmarg to shoot a song on November 7, after securing permission from Deputy Commissioner Baramulla.
“Our line producer had informed the CEO of the GDA office through WhatsApp and email on November 4 that we have to shoot in Gulmarg on November 7 as we didn’t want to miss showcasing snowfall in the film,” he said.
However, on reaching Gulmarg, the CEO and his officials told the crew that we can’t shoot till they get permission from them.
“The official told us to stop shooting or he would lodge an FIR against our crew. After keeping us waiting for the day, we were told to pay a government receipt (GR) payment of Rs 10,000 in the evening and proceed to shoot. But it was all dark and there was no light. We decided to cancel the shoot in Kashmir and move back,” Malik said.
He claimed that they had three projects in the pipeline for Kashmir “but would not return to shoot here anymore”.
However, GDA CEO Ghulam Jeelani Zargar rejected the allegation. “The film unit was shooting without permission. As per the norms, they have to seek GDA’s permission first to shoot in Gulmarg after getting DC Baramulla’s permission. They had permission to shoot from November 10 but were shooting on November 7,” he said.
To woo back Bollywood filmmakers and bring back the golden era on the silver screen, the state government last August launched Film Policy-2021 in Srinagar in presence of actor Aamir Khan, filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani, and producer Mahaveer Jain.
Owing to its natural beauty, Kashmir was an integral part of Bollywood films till militancy erupted in the late 1980s, after which films lost their connection with the Valley. However, as the situation improved over the years, Bollywood again returned to its choice locations in Kashmir. Legendary Bollywood filmmaker Yash Chopra shot his last film ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ in Kashmir in 2012.
However, civilian unrest which broke out in the Valley after the killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burrhan Wani in July 2016, not only dropped the arrival of tourists to Kashmir, but Bollywood crews also avoided the Valley.
The J&K government believes that the return of Bollywood to Kashmir will encourage tourism and send a message of peace in the Union Territory, especially in the Valley.