Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; May 2, 2015)

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed met leading filmmakers and actors on Thursday evening and urged them to explore the northern state as a location option for film shoots. Producer Rahul Mittra, who played a key role in bringing the industry folk to the J&K 70 MM event, discussed with the political leader about issues that generally kept film units from heeding the call of the Valley.

Says an industry source, “Mittra told him that many movies have been shot in Kashmir, but security issues act as a hindrance. They also discussed the possibility of introducing a subsidy system like it exists in Uttar Pradesh. Some Bollywood members also suggested that a similar meeting be conducted in Kashmir soon so that filmmakers can go for a recce there.”

Boney Kapoor, Imtiaz Ali, Manoj Bajpayee and Bhushan Kumar are said to have proposed for a series of film-related activities to be hosted in Srinagar so that the film folk feel confident about taking their projects to J&K. A source said Mittra is likely to lead a delegation to the state and is also contemplating hosting a film festival there.

Vishal Bhardwaj, who filmed Haider in Kashmir, interacted with Sayeed while Irrfan Khan spoke about shooting experiences in the Valley. Anupam Kher, a Kashmiri Pandit, was seen conversing with the chief minister in his mother tongue. Rishi Kapoor made a brief visit to the venue and spoke to J&K finance and culture minister, Haseeb Ahmed Drabu. Among others, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Madhur Bhandarkar, Gul Panag, Soha Ali Khan, Kunal Kemmu and Rajiv Shukla were also seen at the event.

Sayeed, who was accompanied by Drabu and his deputy Nirmal Singh, met Shah Rukh Khan earlier in the day at a fivestar hotel in Bandra. The CM also visited veteran actors Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu at their house and invited them to Kashmir.