It took only a phrase for Sanjay Suri to give his nod to Imtiaz Ali’s Main Vaapas Aaunga. “Imtiaz used this line, ‘Opening of the heart’. That is what I was hoping someone would make,” recalled Suri, referring to Ali’s Partition drama that views the historic chapter through the lens of inclusivity, not divisiveness.

In the Naseeruddin Shah, Diljit Dosanjh, Sharvari, and Vedang Raina-starrer, Suri plays a Sikh man separated from his family after Partition and spends the rest of his life waiting for them. Ali’s treatment, coupled with the role, was just what the actor was looking for.

“There was a comfort in working with Imtiaz because I knew he is not leading you to hate. He is leading you to love, and to opening of the heart. The film asks what we humans are made of. This othering is so non-inclusive. If we live a life with inclusivity, it can be a joy to live,” reflected Suri.

His fondness for Ali began with the first meeting itself.  Suri recalled how they spoke more about life than his role. “I’m from Kashmir and he has a connect with the place. So, we chatted about life and then he said, ‘I am making a film, which is being seen from an old man’s viewpoint.’ Then we started talking about humans seeing grief, loss, and identity.”

Daisy Shah is gearing up for a new challenge on screen as she steps into the shoes of an IPS officer in the upcoming film DGP Kashmir. The teaser of the film was recently launched in the presence of the cast.

While Daisy has portrayed a cop in the past, she says this role comes with a different set of responsibilities.

She says, “I had played a cop before, but here I get to play the role of an IPS officer. What makes it even more special is that the film is inspired by several true incidents that happened in Kashmir. As a child, I dreamt of becoming an IPS officer.”

Directed by Imtiyaz Bhat, DGP Kashmir is based on the struggles and sacrifices made by security forces and police officers in the Valley. Drawing from his own experiences of growing up in Kashmir, Bhat aims to shine a light on the bravery of officers who risked their lives to protect civilians during difficult times.

For Daisy, the film is also an opportunity to pay tribute to those often-overlooked heroes. “The film is about those unsung heroes of Kashmir. Their stories deserve to be told. Audiences will also get to see a different side of me through this film, especially when it comes to action,” she says.

The actress who will begin shooting her portions in July, is already preparing for the physically demanding role.

“I haven’t started shooting for my part yet, but I have about a month to prep for it. Since I am a national level shooter, that experience will definitely help me play the role better and bring authenticity to the character,” she adds.

Even as filmmaker Kabir Khan has begun shooting his next that is led by Kartik Aaryan, the actor has reported to the set of Anurag Basu’s romantic musical. It looks like the actor will juggle the two projects for some time to ensure that Basu’s film, reportedly titled ‘Tu Meri Zindagi Hai’, races towards completion. What’s brought on the rush? From what we have heard, the makers’ desire to arrive in cinemas before ‘Ramayana: Part 1’.

The Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, and Yash-led epic is expected to dominate screens upon its release this Diwali.

A source told mid-day, “Anurag and the makers want breathing space at the box office. They are aiming for a clean theatrical run without competition from a spectacle like ‘Ramayana’. October has one major release, ‘Drishyam 3’. So, producer Bhushan Kumar and Anurag are considering an October release.”

Aaryan and leading lady Sreeleela shot for a week in Kashmir, and will now move to Manali. The source added, “The idea is to wrap the bulk of the film before peak summer. Then Kartik will move to Kabir’s sports drama, while Anurag will lock his movie’s final cut.”

Filmmaker Kabir Khan isn’t quite done with sports dramas after Chandu Champion (2024). Nor is he done with the movie’s leading man Kartik Aaryan. The director called action on his next, a yet-untitled sports drama inspired by Kashmiri kickboxing prodigy Tajamul Islam, at a restaurant in Parel on March 16. While details about the actor playing the kickboxing star are kept under wraps, Aaryan will reportedly play her coach in the movie.

On the first day of the shoot, Khan filmed with a crowd of nearly 70 junior artistes at a popular Parel restaurant that was reimagined to capture the texture of a lived-in, middle-class world. Aaryan is expected to join the unit later this week.

“The early scenes are about grounding the story in everyday details. Kartik will join by the weekend. He has been training in kickboxing for the role,” said an insider.

The Mumbai stint is expected to run for roughly two weeks, after which the unit will head to Kashmir for an extensive schedule. The insider added, “A significant portion of the film unfolds in the Valley considering Tajamul Islam, the inspiration behind the movie, is from there. Kabir and his team had conducted a long recce in Kashmir in February.”

- She is India’s first and youngest two-time world kickboxing champion. 

-At seven years of age, she won the gold medal in the Under-8 category at the World Kickboxing Championship in 2016. Islam, who hails from Jammu and Kashmir, repeated the feat in the Under-14 category in 2021.

- Criticizing the lack of sports facilities in Kashmir, she started her own training academy in Bandipora in 2019.

Be it Highway (2014), Tamasha (2015), or Amar Singh Chamkila (2024), through his movies, Imtiaz Ali has a way of saying something bigger than the story itself. A responsibility that the filmmaker believes is only magnified when the world is in conflict. When mid-day caught up with Ali at the India International Film Tourism Conclave (IIFTC) in Mumbai, he emphasised that amid the conflict in West Asia, sparked by the US and Israel’s war against Iran, it’s all the more important for artistes to show the potential of a better world.

Imtiaz Ali believes that as much strife as there is in the world, the requirement for entertainment to provide relief and pleasure also increases.

He explains, “I know that the world is in a terrible place right now, and I hope that things improve, but if I do get influenced by what's going on in the world, it is not actually to make films about what is happening but somehow to make films about what should happen or what the world is missing right now.”

Imtiaz asserts that art can compensate for the absence of a certain condition and draw attention to the real reason why such things happen, aggrieving everybody. “This is the time for all artists to communicate an alternative way of looking, thinking, and feeling to have a better world,” he adds. 

Imtiaz has never shied away from taking his craft to high-conflict areas. His films, like Rockstar and Highway, have been shot in parts of Kashmir, which he claims felt safer than any other place.

He states, “I have only had extremely cooperative people and peaceful situations. I've had more insecurity in every other place that I've shot. Kashmir has been the easiest place to shoot. Certain narratives get set about the safety and security of certain places. Unfortunately, it takes a lifetime to take that away. People believe that Dharavi is an unsafe place in Mumbai, but there are many more unsafe places.” 

Imtiaz stresses the fact that although there’s a war looming overhead, one can’t wait for the ideal situation before making a move. He feels it is paramount that we normalise the world as much as we can.

Imtiaz Ali’s next film, Main Vaapas Aaunga, is his second collaboration with Diljit Dosanjh, the lead of his previous hit, Amar Singh Chamkila. Citing how it is rare for him to work again with the same actor consecutively, he says, “This is going to be a Diljit who is very different from the previous film, and this is equally significant to him, maybe more. I’m always very happy to work with great actors, and Diljit is one of them. Personally, I am thrilled to work with him, and I hope to have more chances with him.”

For Hindi cinema, Kashmir has long been synonymous with snowy peaks, chinar trees and shikaras . Recently, when Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) campus in Mumbai, he reminisced about a time when almost all Bollywood films shot at least one song sequence in Kashmir. “Uske bina film ko film nahi mana jata tha ,” he recalled.

Over the decades, films – especially song sequences – have been shot at scenic locations such as Pahalgam, Sonamarg, Gulmarg and the Baisaran Valley, a long-time favourite among filmmakers. However, last year, following the Pahalgam terror attack, film shoots came to a halt and now efforts are on to revive shoots and create infrastructure for film production in J&K.

Addressing the change, Abdullah said, “Pehle song sequences ki shooting zaroor Kashmir mein hua karti thi. Lekin haalat badal gaye. Aise halaat aaye ki wahan pe film banana hi naamumkin hua.”

Talking about the plan ahead, he said, “Badalte haalat ke saath hamari koshish hai ki filmon ka jo Jammu Kashmir ke saath rishta tha, uss rishte ko hum dobara se bahaal karein. Lekin iss 20-30 saal ke arse mein film banane mein bhi bahut tabdili aayi hai. If you have to make a film where absolutely everything has to come from Mumbai, it becomes cost-wise prohibitive,” he added. “Therefore, if we want to make Jammu and Kashmir an attractive destination for film shoots, a certain amount of infrastructure and human capital has to be developed within the state.”

​Emphasising on the revival of local cinema, Abdullah said, “Hamari koshish hai ki Jammu and Kashmir mein dobara filmein bane. Doosra, Jammu-Kashmir ka apna film industry dobara kaayam ho, kyunki hamari apni kahaniyaan jo hain, woh hum hi dohra sakte hain. Mumbai se koi aaye aur hamari kahani batana shuru kar de, woh utna hi galat hoga jitna main Mumbai ki kahani batana shuru kar doon.”

In recent years, films such as Ground Zero (2025) , Sam Bahadur (2023) and Laila Majnu (2018) have been shot in Pahalgam. The Jammu and Kashmir Film Policy 2024 aims to give filmmakers easier access to the region, opening up scenic areas closer to the Line of Control (LoC), including Gurez, Machil and Tangdhar, for the first time in several decades.

“A well-nurtured film industry can be a major source of wealth creation, employment generation, and an effective tool and platform for the preservation of culture and the expression of the people of Jammu & Kashmir,” the policy states.

The beauty of Kashmir has served as the backdrop for classics such as Kashmir Ki Kali (1964) and Kabhi Kabhie (1976), as well as more recent films like Laila Majnu (2018).

Arhan Bagati, co-producer of Ground Zero, said during the film’s release, “Initially, many locations were being discussed for the movie. My reaction was, ‘Why not Kashmir?’ – because it is a film set in Kashmir. I thought the authentic way to do the film was by shooting in Kashmir and going to actual locations. We went to the locations where the encounter happened, for instance. That authenticity can’t be created with CGI. More than 80% of Ground Zero was shot in Kashmir. The administration was extremely helpful, the LG supported it, and the J&K Police was indispensable through the entire process – not just showing us where the actual encounter happened, but also in giving us access to the locations. All that together made it an authentic film.”

There is a sense of pride in Gitikka Ganju Dhar’s voice when she speaks about Dhurandhar. The actor plays Shabnam Jamali, a Pakistani politician’s wife in the espionage thriller. Stepping onto a set populated by Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna, R Madhavan, and Arjun Rampal can be both intimidating and inspiring. Yet, she feels differently.

“The biggest star for me was the film’s director Aditya Dhar. We are both Kashmiri Pandits, and I keep telling him how proud we all are, as a community, of his craft as a director,” she says.

The director was the reason she said yes to the movie in no time. Remembering the casting call, she says, “The casting team said, ‘Dhurandhar by Aditya Dhar’, and I told them, ‘Don’t even ask me, just say yes!’” Working with Aditya was just as Gitikka had imagined. “Aditya explains thoroughly what one needs to do. After that, you have to deliver it with the energy he is looking for. He is centred and clear about what he wants.”

Gitikka’s character Shabnam was envisioned as a brash and overbearing woman. Paired opposite Rakesh Bedi, she says she felt the pressure to up her game. “I knew I had to pack a punch. In an excellent film, every element has to excel for it to truly [work].”

(L-R) Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub and Manav Kaul in ‘Real Kashmir Football Club’

Put Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub in any role and he owns it — yet he doesn’t map out wins or losses, he tells mid-day. It’s been a packed year: he opened with the Abhishek Bachchan-starrer Kaalidhar Laapata, followed by Chandan Arora’s Kanneda, and Criminal Justice: A Family Matter with Pankaj Tripathi. Now, as the year closes, he returns as a coach in SonyLIV’s Real Kashmir Football Club. Still close with the cast and crew a year on, Ayyub recalls meeting Shamim Meraj — the man who inspired his role, explains why sports stories matter, and how the series weaves Kashmir’s socio-political reality into its theme. Excerpts from the interview.

After Chhalaang [2020], this is my first sports series and it’s about a football club. It’s based on a real life story, one I got to know only after meeting the director and producer. The fact that I didn’t know anything about it actually excited me to be part of the project. It is a story of hope and inspiration.

I think sports is a very important part of any culture because it develops the temperament of people, especially football. I watch and love the sport a lot. In most sports, if you have one excellent player, then he/she is compensating for others. But in football, everyone has to be on their toes and play as a team. If you have even two or three weak links, your team [suffers]. Sports definitely inspires people, it also connects, and brings them closer.

I think it will resonate with everyone, and it needs to. That is the beauty of this story. You can see the real people in Kashmir, their resilience, and the way sports connects them because the youth in Kashmir also face the same problems that anyone around the world faces. They are trying to do something with their lives; trying to achieve something, and earn bread for the family. They have passion and energy. The club channelizes that energy and [gives the youth] a target and ambition; [it brings] respect to all of them. It is not just a story about Kashmir.

That was something unexpected. I met him at a party, but I didn’t know it was him until deep into our conversation. He informed me that I was playing him in the show. When I met him, I saw a confident gentleman who knew what he was doing. But the thing is we were portraying the character very differently, which I believe was the right way to go. He is vulnerable. He is also trying to find himself through the group. He has one vision — to bring hope to Kashmir. If he fails, he gets up and tries again. It shows a common man standing up to something and becoming a hero. But the real person is confident because he has [already] achieved everything now. He was intrigued when I told him we were making him more vulnerable in the show.

The basic decision to base it in Kashmir brings everything automatically. When you are trying to make a club, you need youngsters to join it, and [reflect] the problems they face in joining, or after. Everything is there because of their social, political, and economic background. The disparity we show is very risky. The writers had many characters and explored them well. You will see a different Kashmir — with real people who have struggled like us.

Now it’s absolutely fine. That thought never came back. I matured while working with him. Films will always be like this — some good, some bad. Some projects you expect from and they don’t work; some you don’t expect and they surprise you. Uncertainty is our life. If you can have one very good project every two years, that is great. I am emotionally stable and exploring myself more.

I’m sure it must have. But I’m fine with that. I say what I believe because I love this industry. If I see scope for improvement, I’ll say it. If someone asks me something, I won’t shy away. I won’t make reels criticizing the industry, but if asked, I will say what I believe. That is how I am.

As someone who graduated in electronics and telecom engineering, Aditya Suhas Jambhale is a science buff. Yet, the engineer-turned-director loves worlds where one can imagine beyond what is “scientifically justified”. It is from this instinct that his second Hindi feature, Baramulla, is born.

“I didn’t want jump-scare horror in Kashmir. The challenge was whether we can make something rooted in whispers that locals grow up with,” starts the director about the upcoming Manav Kaul-starrer.

Producer Aditya Dhar first floated the idea of a horror film set in Kashmir, even sharing a three-page draft. Jambhale took it and disappeared to Goa for months.

“I told Aditya, ‘If I’m doing this, I have to change everything’,” recalls Jambhale. He finally returned with a 120-plus-page new script that was approved almost instantly by Dhar.

The upcoming Netflix film weaves the lore of the Valley as it tells the story of Kaul’s police officer investigating the mysterious disappearance of children in Kashmir. Jambhale’s research began in Goa, where several Kashmiris now live, before he travelled to Kashmir and heard their tales — about not stepping out after sundown in certain parts of Baramulla, and winter evenings that turn the Valley a smoky grey. He won’t reveal specifics because a lot of it is crucial to the movie’s suspense.

“I want the audience to Google later and say, ‘Oh, this is real’. I want to resist spoon-feeding. If you explain every myth, it kills the magic.”

But he’ll underline one thing — that the supernatural is often influenced by geography. “Every place has its horror. Kashmir’s lore can’t be separated from its sociopolitics,” he observes.

The director shot the Kaul and Bhasha Sumbli-starrer in Srinagar, Baramulla, Gulmarg, and Pahalgam over 23 days, in minus eight degrees. Plus, the shadow of politics lingered. “Locals worry about portrayal. But as a filmmaker, my job is to be truthful to the story,” he says, adding that Baramulla — like his previous offering Article 370 (2024) — makes a point.

“Expect neutrality from the media, not from artistes. If I empathize with a character’s pain and am biased toward them, that’s storytelling. You may disagree with my ideology and that’s democracy. Baramulla carries a point too and I’m proud of that.”

Can cinema help us understand Kashmiri culture beyond strife? “The idea is to show Kashmir in a different light. A film like this shows how empathy should work.”

Banner and co-stars are hardly ever the criteria for actor and filmmaker Prithviraj Sukumaran when choosing a film. It has always been the script. That’s what drew him to Sarzameen as well — that it stars Kajol and is backed by Karan Johar are a bonus.

The actor shares, “I prefer to keep it straightforward. If a script appeals to me and I mean as a film lover, not as an actor or a filmmaker, that’s the first yes. From there, many things can make me say no. But with Sarzameen, everything was a yes at every step. I read the script in 2022. At that point, Kajol and Ibrahim Ali Khan weren’t attached. After reading it, I immediately called Karan Johar, who suggested that I speak to Kayoze [Irani].”

With his debut feature film, director Kayoze Irani attempts a complex human drama about the troubled relationship between a father and son, set against the backdrop of Kashmir. How does a seasoned actor like Sukumaran place their trust in a first-time filmmaker?

“For me, the number one requirement in a director is clarity — do they know how they want to tell the story they’ve chosen? It might be completely different from how I would tell it, that’s fine. What matters is clear vision. You can judge that quickly in a conversation. Kayoze had a vivid and focused idea of what he wanted to say.”

It’s fascinating how Sukumaran has two films mounted on a big canvas — the upcoming JioHotstar film, followed by S S Rajamouli’s SSMB29, easily among the most ambitious movies of India. He is unperturbed by their scale.

“Scale can never be the story; it’s just the canvas. Rajamouli sir chooses large backdrops because he excels at telling a story through big, visual strokes. Sarzameen has a big canvas; it has Kashmir, the army, and insurgency. But the story is human. The intricate character dynamics — my character’s relationship with his son, with his wife — were nuances [we] discovered as we shot.”

Soon, the actor will move to director Meghna Gulzar’s Daayra. He reveals that the film, which sees him opposite Kareena Kapoor Khan, has been the easiest yes he said. “Usually, you hear a narration and take some time to process it. With Meghna’s film, the narration was three-hour long, and right there in that room, I said, ‘I am doing this’. It’s a cracking script.”

Kabir Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan, which featured Salman Khan in one of his most endearing roles, recently clocked 10 years. It tells the story of a kind-hearted man who embarks on a journey to reunite a mute Pakistani girl with her family across the border. The film struck an emotional chord with audiences worldwide, with people often asking the director about a sequel to the film.

Kabir is often asked about a possible sequel to the movie. He says, “At a time when people are objecting to anything and everything, the kind of love the film gets even today, proves that deep down humanity exists. We got the timing of the film right, which is why it resonated with people. Of course, Salman and I have discussed Bajrangi Bhaijaan 2, but we don’t want to make a sequel just for the sake of it; when it happens, it will be done well.”

Recalling the casting process for Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Kabir tells us, “I knew if we didn’t find the right Munni, the film wouldn’t stand, so 2000 girls were auditioned, of which 10 were finalized. Shooting with children isn’t easy, so we had a 10-day workshop. She also had to have the stamina to shoot a six-month-long film in places like Kashmir and Rajasthan. That’s how we finalized Harshaali Malhotra, who met all requirements.”

Speaking of how Salman and Kareena Kapoor Khan came on board, he shares, “Salman and I had just delivered a big action film, Ek Tha Tiger, and conventional wisdom says one must repeat what is successful. But for me, Bajrangi was always Salman, and when I narrated the script, he felt strongly about the political angle and jumped on it. His love for children came across in the film, and it became his first production. I was apprehensive about approaching Kareena because the length of her role was less. Her character was the voice of reason, and I asked her to hear the entire script. By the end of the narration, she had tears in her eyes.”

Kabir says that Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s character Chand Nawab was directly inspired by Pakistani journalist Chand Nawab. The real Chand Nawab became famous after a video of him went viral in 2008, where he was seen struggling to deliver a news report at a crowded railway station in Karachi. 

Kabir says, “I had worked with Nawaz in New York and couldn’t find an appropriate role for him in Ek Tha Tiger. So, when we were casting for Chand Nawab, I just showed him the viral video and he fell off his chair laughing, saying he would do the film.”

The film’s locations in Kashmir and Rajasthan are now famous as ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan points’. The director recalls, “I love shooting in real locations. I tried shooting with Salman in Chandni Chowk, but a senior police officer told me that 20,000 people had gathered there. A decoy car with police had to take Salman out of Chandni Chowk. Reaching Munni’s village, which was in Aru, involved an hour’s trek for the cast and crew every day with all our camera equipment. Today, all those locations are known as Bajrangi Bhaijaan points. We would organize Kashmiri food feasts every 10-12 days and take days off so the team could travel and explore Kashmir. Even today, I regularly travel to Kashmir.”

Recalling some challenging moments Kabir adds, “We had to scout for a dargah to shoot ‘Bhar Do Jholi’ an important qawwali in the film. Getting Adnan Sami on board was Salman’s idea and in the end everything worked out well. Later, after we shot the climax with Harshaali and were working on the sound mixing, which had to be delivered the next morning, suddenly we realized the words ‘mama’ -Munni’s only dialogue in the film wasn’t clear. We called two security guards to test it and they couldn’t understand what Harshaali was saying. My daughter Sairah was around the same age, so I woke her up from her sleep, took her to the studio and got her to record Munnai crying out ‘mama’ that’s how the film got delivered in time."

On Wednesday, the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department, in partnership with the Border Security Force (BSF), hosted a special event at the Octroi general area in Suchetgarh to promote border tourism in Jammu. Huma Qureshi, who attended the event, met the families affected by the crossborder firing, interacted with the troops and appealed for tourists to return to the region and not let hate win. Speaking to us, Huma reflected on her experience of meeting the soldiers and their families.

The invitation to visit Jammu and meet BSF personnel came at a crucial time, and Huma was quick to accept. “When the officials reached out to me and said that they wanted me to come to Jammu, especially to Suchetgarh post, to meet with the BSF jawans, I immediately said yes,”

Huma shares. “It is an important time – we need to let them know that what they have done for this country, for the safety and security of India, has not gone unnoticed. We salute their valour and bravery.”

Stressing on the importance of not letting hate win, Huma says, “The whole idea of this exercise was that we should not let fear become our identity. We should not let hate become our identity as Indians. They are trying to divide us, instil fear and hatred, and we will not let hate win. This is a time for all of us to come together as Indians and keep up the morale of our soldiers. We should just remove hate right at the root.”

Supporting tourism to the region, Huma adds, “I urge every single Indian to just come and meet the armed forces and interact with them. If we stop tourism to Jammu, if we stop tourism to Kashmir, we will let the haters win. We will let the bad guys win. The idea is that we have to come together as one India, one voice and say that we will not be afraid. We will dance, sing and perform together, and you will not take away from our shine.”

Upon reaching the Suchetgarh border post, Huma says she was struck by the atmosphere and the courage of those stationed there. “The Suchetgarh border post is literally ground zero – it is India and Pakistan border. There was no sense of fear. I have never felt safer in my life. They were so warm, especially the female soldiers,” she shares.

Huma also met the families of the jawans. “I met so many mothers, wives and children. It was heartwarming. When you meet the families of the BSF soldiers, you really realise that their sacrifice is something that we can never even think about. They do it with just a shrug and a smile,” she says softly, adding, “I also visited the family of one of the martyrs – Raj Kumar Thapa (Additional District Development Commissioner of Rajouri, who was killed by Pakistan's shelling earlier this month). I met his family and it was really heartbreaking. There’s not much I could say but just to sit there, share their grief, and let them know that the son, the father, the husband that they love so much – we will always remember his sacrifice.”

The Maharani actress also acknowledged the difficulty of expressing opinions today, but stood firm in her resolve to support the nation. “It is difficult to be anyone today and have an opinion. Sometimes, even if you’re trying to say something with the most honest intentions, social media or people or just this mindless chatter has a way of twisting your words around and putting it in a different light which is not how you meant it. Of course, I totally understand why people are very reluctant to voice their opinions. However, showing solidarity with the soldiers of our country doesn’t require me to think twice. I think it’s the most natural thing to do. Being an actor is a very small part of my identity. Being an Indian is a much larger part of who I am,” she shares.

Director Tejas Prabha Vijay Deoskar, whose latest film Ground Zero released days after the terror attack in Pahalgam last month, recalls the turmoil he felt when he heard the news. “I have seen the Kashmir where [the attack] took place. We had a screening of the film in Srinagar, just three days before this incident. Mujhe dhakka laga,” he says.

Ask if he was worried about how this might affect the film’s performance and Tejas replies, “It wasn’t mentally and emotionally possible for us to even think about our film when we heard the news. The entire team was shaken. If I start thinking about whether this will benefit our film, I’ll be finished as a person.”

Starring Emraan Hashmi, Ground Zero tells the story of Border Security Force officer Narendra Nath Dhar Dubey, who led a 2003 operation to track down Ghazi Baba, the terrorist behind the 2001 Parliament attacks.

Despite its theme, the film opened to mixed reviews and a tepid box-office response, collecting around Rs. 1 crore on opening day. “I do not take criticism as negative reviews. The audience gives unbiased reviews and I’ve only received positive messages from complete strangers,” the director reflects.

He does admit, however, “A lot of people told me ‘Aapki film mein koi masala nahin hai, koi heroism nahin hai’, but I take that as a compliment. Achcha hai na, I’m true to the subject. I wanted to make a realistic movie and not something ‘filmi’.”

Even though a ceasefire is in place between India and Pakistan, the after-effects of the military conflicts can be felt across the board, including in Bollywood. The buzz in the industry is that several high-profile projects are being reviewed or undergoing significant rewrites to remove any references to Pakistan from their scripts.

Among the first to be impacted is Kajol and Prithviraj Sukumaran’s political thriller Sarzameen. The team is now reworking key sequences. “The film never explicitly made a reference to Pakistan, but it’s set in Kashmir, and certain scenes were interpreted as politically sensitive in the current climate. They were to release the film on May 30, but now, they are redubbing some parts,” said a source close to the production.

Another movie that must determine how to navigate the situation is Sunny Deol’s Lahore 1947. Sources shared that Rajkumar Santoshi’s directorial venture, centred on a Muslim family relocating to Lahore after Partition, is being internally reviewed.

An insider said, “The film is in sharp contrast with the sentiment of the nation and is being re-looked at. The team needs to decide how to make it work without compromising the story or being insensitive, given the current situation.”

Pathaan (2023) and Tiger 3 (2023), the last two offerings from Yash Raj Films’ spy universe, had prominent characters hailing from Pakistan. For their future films, we have heard that many writers will take a cue from Pathaan, where John Abraham’s antagonist Jim creates his own terrorist network with no links to any country. “The approach is to shift focus to shadowy terror networks and rogue agencies without geographical identifiers,” said a source.

When mid-day reached out to YRF amid rumours that their upcoming films, War 2 and Alpha, are being reviewed in light of recent events, the spokesperson said, “There is no truth to any of these claims floating. Alpha, War 2, and Pathaan 2 have no Pakistan connection. War 2 and Alpha have already been shot and there are no changes being made because there are no changes to be made. Tiger is an Indian spy, Zoya is married to an Indian spy. So, there is no question of the [Tiger] franchise being in any uncertainty.”

Not all movies with a war backdrop are under the scanner, though. Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love & War — starring Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, and Vicky Kaushal — remains untouched. A trade analyst explains, “Bhansali has positioned his story in a timeless, almost mythical space. The film is set between 1960 and 1965, with the wars serving only as the backdrop. The love story takes centre-stage.”

A day after Pakistani actor Mawra Hocane was removed from Sanam Teri Kasam’s (2016) cover on music apps, Mahira Khan has met the same fate with Raees (2017). The cover of the film’s album on Spotify now features only Shah Rukh Khan. Meanwhile, the music of Fawad Khan’s Abir Gulaal has been pulled down from Spotify and Apple Music.

At a time when tourism has taken a hit in Kashmir, noted actor, writer and filmmaker Atul Kulkarni landed in Pahalgam on Sunday – merely four days after the heinous terror attack in Baisaran valley that took civilian lives. Speaking from Pahalgam, he told Bombay Times, “I’m not shooting here. None of my films are releasing in the next three to four months, so this is not a publicity stunt. No travel agency has sponsored me either to do this. People need to know this.”

In a telephonic interview, he tells us, “There’s no panic but sadness here. What happened was a horrific incident, and of course, we all are extremely sad about it. But I believe in action. Usually what happens is that we write something on social media, we talk to our friends and relatives or probably send some WhatsApp messages. While that also has its purpose, I wanted to take some action as a civilian. What more can we do beyond sharing stuff on social media? I was reading that 90% of the tourist bookings have been cancelled in Kashmir. We all know that for the past few years, tourism has been thriving here. We need to understand what the terrorists are trying to do. They are telling us, ‘If you are a tourist, don’t come to Kashmir’. So, I thought, you can’t dictate that to me. This is my Kashmir, this is my country, and you don’t get to tell me not to come here. I will come to Kashmir, and I did. Only love can defeat hate and terror. The government, the bureaucracy, what they are doing is, of course, commendable, and that will take time. We should trust the security over here, and we should come here. I thought this message can’t be given and should not be given while sitting in Mumbai. I felt if I say these things from Kashmir, then it will make sense. So, I came here.”

The actor further explains how this is a complex situation wherein we need to trust the governance. He states, “Terrorist and terrorism are two things. We will catch the terrorists, but what do we do with the thought of terrorism? Of course, we need to punish them. One is not saying that it should not be done, but we must also think pragmatically. Are we saying that those six people, whenever they are caught, and punished, will end the problem? Is it that simple a problem? It’s a complex thing, and when things are complex, we need to be a little bold, and we need to trust what the governance is doing. It is safe here… I’m telling you. Five to ten per cent tourists are here and they are safe. Some of them didn’t leave, and some came here, that’s courageous. We need to make this 100% and respect those 10%, who are showing this courage.”

Some stories floating on the internet spoke about the alleged hostility of the locals and price hike of the airlines and tourism sector. What’s the ground reality?

Atul clarified, “People need to dismiss all these notions from their mind. Meet the Kashmiris to understand them. How will you know what’s true unless you come here. Yes, money is important, but tourism is not only about money. Tourism is about people meeting each other, discovering each other’s culture. Ask anyone who has visited Kashmir in the past and they will tell you Kashmiriyat kya hoti hai. Love is the only remedy. You cannot hate and try to find solutions. I met a group of 20-25 people yesterday, who are here from Kanyakumari, and they said, ‘A few of us dropped out, but we didn’t’. A drop in tourism will hurt Kashmir, but what we risk to lose more is our connection with Kashmir. That is the purpose of this attack, that Kashmir loses its connection with the rest of India and the world. My appeal to those who have cancelled the bookings is that they should re-book themselves and those probably who had planned to go somewhere else, should also come to Kashmir, because as common people, this is what we can do to defeat terrorism.”

Atul will travel to Srinagar from Pahalgam before returning to Mumbai in the next two days. He says some tourist spots in Pahalgam are cordoned off for obvious reasons, but that’s just a few places, otherwise, tourists are free to roam around.

He explained, “I explored the Pahalgam market yesterday. It was completely open. I am meeting the local people, and you can see the sadness in their eyes. Can an attack like this be executed without any local support? This sentiment is also there. Even if there is local support, what is the percentage? No responsible citizen should blame local support without any verification as it’s dangerous. You are including every Kashmiri in that word, which is not the case. You cannot generalize. The families I met here were talking highly about the local people, why are we not spreading that?”

Hina Khan is filled with gratitude and is beaming with excitement for Eid this year. And rightly so, because this Eid holds special significance for Hina, who has emerged stronger and resilient after a tumultuous year of battling cancer. Dressed in a stunning yellow sharara for an exclusive photoshoot with Bombay Times, she radiates happiness and positivity. Excerpts from a conversation.

Growing up in Kashmir, Hina’s Eid celebrations were always filled with anticipation. “As a child, I would eagerly wait for Eid, wondering when the chand would be sighted,” she reminisces and adds, “There was always an air of excitement and anticipation – would Eid be tomorrow or day after?

Hina says, “We would have a bag ready with our dress and footwear. For me, Eid was a lot about dressing up and Eidi. I was never as excited about the food.” She further says that as an actress, dressing up now has a different meaning, because she has to do it so often. “You dress up so much as an actor that on Eid, if you’re at home, you just want to chill in your pyjamas or probably dress up casually.”

Eid is a time for reflection and gratitude, and for Hina, the past 10 months have been extremely tough, but also a testament to her courage and determination as she battled cancer and underwent chemotherapy. “I am so grateful this Eid. I did not keep all the rozas. When Ramzan started, I kept six rozas at a stretch and I could even exercise. My doctors have been so kind and accommodative. They told me I can have my medicines, which I am supposed to have at regular intervals during the day, at sehri and iftar. They said, ‘Hina, listen to your body. If you can manage it, then it is fine’. So, I have a lot of gratitude for the way my body managed it all.”

Hina’s resilience is a beacon of inspiration for others, who might be navigating similar challenges in life. But even through this ordeal, she didn’t let her spirit take a beating. She admits, “I will not say it was not tough. I’ve had bad days. I’ve had terrible days. But there were good days, too. The last 10 months have gone by in a flash. I have made some amazing memories. I travelled with my family, and we had so many adventures and family gatherings. It’s our choice what we want to prioritise and what memories we want to feed into our life. I choose to make good memories.”

On a parting note, ask Hina what she wants as Eidi this year and she says, “I want to be cancer-free for life. What else would I wish for? I keep telling myself that I am healing and that I will be cancer-free for life. This is what any cancer patient who has gone through so much would wish for. Nothing else.”

Hina gets into a nostalgic mood as she tells us how she yearned to be in Kashmir this Eid, but couldn’t do that because of work commitments.

She shares, “When Ramzan started, I told my mom that we’d go to Kashmir to celebrate Eid with my extended family. I was very excited about it, but things didn’t work out. I have some wonderful memories from my childhood days there. My nani would take me to several dargahs where I used to go barefoot in the mornings.”

She adds, “This Eid is going to be simple. It will be Ro’s (partner Rocky Jaiswal) family, my family and probably a couple of friends celebrating together.”

The shoot of Border 2 is on in full swing at the Babina cantonment in Jhansi with leading men Sunny Deol, Varun Dhawan and Ahan Shetty. mid-day has learnt that Diljit Dosanjh, the fourth pillar of director Anurag Singh’s war drama, is expected to join the unit in April.

While the makers have remained tight-lipped about the actors’ roles in the movie that chronicles a chapter of the 1971 India-Pakistan war, Dosanjh recently revealed on a podcast that he will step into the shoes of Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, an officer in the Indian Air Force, who was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra.

Sekhon was stationed at the Srinagar air base on December 14, 1971, when it was attacked by six Pakistan Air Force F-86 jets. The officer was recognised for his lone defence of the air base.

A source says, “Diljit is currently shooting for the Punjabi film, Sardaarji 3, in Scotland. He will begin his prep for Border 2 by March-end. Anurag has charted out a 20-day, start-to-finish schedule for him. They will shoot the talkie portions at the Bombay Flying Club in Juhu. The wide angle shots will be filmed in Kashmir, where replicas of the Folland Gnat fighter aircrafts will be used and the Srinagar air base recreated.”

Deol is said to reprise his character of Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri from Border (1997).