Santosh Sivan recently shot Dastaan, starring Rahul Bose, in Kashmir. Raj Kanwar is currently shooting Sadiyaan, a story of love across the Indo-Pak border. The film will mark the debut of Shatrughan Sinha's son, Luv. Sudhir Mishra has also captured Pahalgam's beauty in his latest film, Foot Soldier.
Though this is a recent trend -- filmmakers avoided it in the 1990s due to the ongoing violence in the state -- there was a time when Kashmir was a big favourite among filmmakers. We go down memory lane, and take a look at movies that have captured Kashmir the best.
Kashmir Ki Kali
We usually associate Switzerland with Yash Chopra and his movies, but it was Shakti Samanta, who first discovered it. Just as he had discovered Kashmir.
Kashmir Ki Kali introduced Sharmila Tagore to Hindi cinema, and became an instant hit.
O P Nayyar's music is still a rage, with gems like Yeh Chand Sa Roshan Chehra and Kisi Na Kisi Se Dil Laga Na Padega
The Shammi Kapoor-Sharmila Tagore-Shakti Samanta trio worked again in An Evening In Paris, a hit musical, which was shot extensively in Europe.
Junglee
Most of us would immediately imagine Shammi Kapoor covered with snow if we hear the song, Chahe Koi Mujhe Junglee Kahen. The young actor, inbetween his 'Yahoo' shouts, jazzed up Kashmir in this song.
Like Kashmir Ki Kali, Junglee was also shot extensively in Kashmir.
Saira Banu made her debut in this film.
If Shammi Kapoor made shikaras popular in Kashmir, thanks to his romantic song, Yeh Chand Sa Roshan Chehra, his brother Shashi wasn't too far behind either.
Jab Jab Phool Khile saw Shashi play a boatman, who falls in love with a tourist (played by Nanda).
The songs, Pardesiyon Se Na Ankhiya Milana and Ek Tha Gul Aur Ek Thi Bulbul, are still popular today.
Amitabh Bachchan may have been caught up with Raakhee's beauty in this film, making him sing: Tere Chehre Se Nazar Nahi Hat Ti, Nazare Hum Kya Dekhen, (your face is so beautiful that Kashmir isn't worth seeing), but director Yash Chopra made the valley look stunning in this film.
Heena
Legendary director Raj Kapoor wanted to make a film to spread a message of peace between India and Pakistan, and directed Heena. But he died before the film was complete.
His son, Randhir Kapoor, then finished the film. Heena was shot extensively in Kashmir, and saw the debut of Pakistani actress Zeba Bakhtiyar.
Ironically, the film released just before militancy hit Kashmir in a big way.
Roja
Roja will always be known for the super music A R Rahman composed for it, and the way they were picturised. Watch the song, Yeh Haseen Vadiyan, to see how beautiful Kashmir can look.
Starring Arvind Swamy and Madhu, Roja tried to highlight the issues of terrorism, and how a young couple got entangled in the violence.
Pukar was a love triangle between Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit and Namrata Shirodkar, set against the backdrop of militancy in Kashmir.
A R Rahman's score once again lifted the film to greater heights.
Mission Kashmir
Director Vidhu Vinod Chopra paid tribute to his native place Kashmir, with his film, Mission Kashmir.
Though the film -- starring Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff and Preity Zinta -- was about terrorism, Kashmir's beauty shone through.
Fanaa
Director Kunal Kohli managed a casting coup when he got Aamir Khan and Kajol together for this film.
A film about love, set against the backdrop of terrorism, large parts of Fanaa were shot in Poland, which substituted for Kashmir.
Yahaan told the story of a Kashmiri girl (Minissha Lamba), falling in love with a soldier (Jimmy Shergil).
Director Shoojit Sircar went through a lot of difficulty while shooting for this film in the valley because of terrorism activites. Yet, he emerged winner, with a good film on his hands.
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
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