Bollywood and Kashmir
One of my friends Shrirang Oak sent me a link to the song from 'Bemisaal', 'Kitni khoobsoorat ye tasveer hai.. ye Kashmir hai', when he came to know that we were going there. A very sweet gesture this, made me to think of other songs picturized over there. That turned out to be quite an exhausting task. There were far too many songs shot at the various picturesque locations in Kashmir. In fact until the turbulent phase in Kashmir in late 80s & early 90s, it seemed a perfect place to shoot not just the film songs but even entire movies. Later of course the delicate situation made it impossible to shoot & after 'DDLJ', the fascination for shooting in Switzerland grew & Yash Chopra became the unofficial brand ambassador for Switzerland.
During our stay in Kashmir, we came across so many locations that gave us a feeling of deja vu- we had seen this valley before in some movie... this bridge on the river in some other... the snow-capped mountains, the tall rows of pine trees, flowing rivers & their wonderful banks, serene lakes, beautiful flowers & well maintained gardens.. everything was just breathtaking ! I remember when we were returning from a trip to Aru valley, our driver pointed out to a small bungalow on the slope of a mountain on the other of river Lidder where according to him film 'Love 86' (Govinda-Neelam starrer) was shot. It seemed one of the most unlikely locations to shoot considering the slope of the mountain. Incidentally, the driver also added while in Aru & in Pahalgam that many scenes of 'Karma' were shot there.On our way to Pahalgam from Shrinagar, the other driver Shabbir showed us the location where 'Mere man ki ganga' from 'Sangam' was picturized. Almost every corner would have been fit for a movie song or shooting.Another point is that we had to rely heavily on the information provided to us by localites. So the authenticity of the information written here may not be 100%. If anyone adds/corrects to this, it is most welcome!
On this backdrop, I am going to undertake a gargantuan task here. I am going to post a few songs that have been shot in Kashmir & also post the photos of these places where we actually visited. In a way, this is just an extension of what Shrirang had sent to me. But I am also restricting to the places where we actually went & the photos we have of the places.
I would begin with this unlikely, yet good song from 1979 movie-'Prembandhan'. If you want to make a whirlwind trip of Kashmir, you won't find a better song than this to do so.Have a look...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9SjRIkexoM
This song first takes you to Gulmarg, then to Shalimar garden, then Pahalgam plateau, then Dal lake, then (most probably) Sonamarg Cherry orchards all in a span of just 5 1/2 minutes!
This next song is actually a combination of two places- first is the Shankaracharya Mandir in Shrinagar & second is at Gulmarg. Mumtaz sits on the footsteps of Shankarcharya temple in the opening shot of the song & later on the location changes. This is a famous song-' Jai Jai Shiv shankar ' from 'Aap ki Kasam '. The same temple is also seen in another song from the same film 'Zindagi ke safar mein.' Also the song 'Karvate badalte rahe' is shot in Gulmarg. At least 4 songs from this movie have been shot there.
Since cameras were not allowed in the premises of the temple, we could only take the photo from our hotel which was exactly at the foothills. But for you to get an idea I am posting a borrowed photo.
And here is the song-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpy0UzbHNr0
While returning from Chandanwadi at Pahalgam, we went to the 'Betaab Valley.' Yes..named after the Sunny Deol-Amruta Singh movie. They say that this place was a remote, discrete location before the movie. But the film changed everything.So full credit to Rahul Rawail or whoever did the recce of this place. Now this area is also called Betaabwadi. Even after so many years after the movie, the place has actually immortalized it. I don't recollect any other film's location that has been converted as a park (with entry fee!) & become a place of tourist interest.'Betaab' is no 'Mother India' or 'Mughal-e-Azam' or 'Sholay' but still has this honour & privilege. And it is not as if they have kept the Sunny Deol house as it was seen in the movie. There is only a wooden foundation that is suggestive of it.They could have done better to preserve the memories of the movie. But the park as such is very nice & views of the valley wonderful!
Here is the song...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaavlSpk7bE
Will be back with some more next time...
(Photos by Akshay Apte. Inputs- Mugdha Apte)
(to be contd...)
One of my friends Shrirang Oak sent me a link to the song from 'Bemisaal', 'Kitni khoobsoorat ye tasveer hai.. ye Kashmir hai', when he came to know that we were going there. A very sweet gesture this, made me to think of other songs picturized over there. That turned out to be quite an exhausting task. There were far too many songs shot at the various picturesque locations in Kashmir. In fact until the turbulent phase in Kashmir in late 80s & early 90s, it seemed a perfect place to shoot not just the film songs but even entire movies. Later of course the delicate situation made it impossible to shoot & after 'DDLJ', the fascination for shooting in Switzerland grew & Yash Chopra became the unofficial brand ambassador for Switzerland.
During our stay in Kashmir, we came across so many locations that gave us a feeling of deja vu- we had seen this valley before in some movie... this bridge on the river in some other... the snow-capped mountains, the tall rows of pine trees, flowing rivers & their wonderful banks, serene lakes, beautiful flowers & well maintained gardens.. everything was just breathtaking ! I remember when we were returning from a trip to Aru valley, our driver pointed out to a small bungalow on the slope of a mountain on the other of river Lidder where according to him film 'Love 86' (Govinda-Neelam starrer) was shot. It seemed one of the most unlikely locations to shoot considering the slope of the mountain. Incidentally, the driver also added while in Aru & in Pahalgam that many scenes of 'Karma' were shot there.On our way to Pahalgam from Shrinagar, the other driver Shabbir showed us the location where 'Mere man ki ganga' from 'Sangam' was picturized. Almost every corner would have been fit for a movie song or shooting.Another point is that we had to rely heavily on the information provided to us by localites. So the authenticity of the information written here may not be 100%. If anyone adds/corrects to this, it is most welcome!
On this backdrop, I am going to undertake a gargantuan task here. I am going to post a few songs that have been shot in Kashmir & also post the photos of these places where we actually visited. In a way, this is just an extension of what Shrirang had sent to me. But I am also restricting to the places where we actually went & the photos we have of the places.
I would begin with this unlikely, yet good song from 1979 movie-'Prembandhan'. If you want to make a whirlwind trip of Kashmir, you won't find a better song than this to do so.Have a look...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9SjRIkexoM
 |
| Shalimar Garden |
 |
| Dal Lake |
This song first takes you to Gulmarg, then to Shalimar garden, then Pahalgam plateau, then Dal lake, then (most probably) Sonamarg Cherry orchards all in a span of just 5 1/2 minutes!
This next song is actually a combination of two places- first is the Shankaracharya Mandir in Shrinagar & second is at Gulmarg. Mumtaz sits on the footsteps of Shankarcharya temple in the opening shot of the song & later on the location changes. This is a famous song-' Jai Jai Shiv shankar ' from 'Aap ki Kasam '. The same temple is also seen in another song from the same film 'Zindagi ke safar mein.' Also the song 'Karvate badalte rahe' is shot in Gulmarg. At least 4 songs from this movie have been shot there.
 |
| Shankaracharya Mandir |
 |
| Shoot site at Gulmarg |
And here is the song-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpy0UzbHNr0
While returning from Chandanwadi at Pahalgam, we went to the 'Betaab Valley.' Yes..named after the Sunny Deol-Amruta Singh movie. They say that this place was a remote, discrete location before the movie. But the film changed everything.So full credit to Rahul Rawail or whoever did the recce of this place. Now this area is also called Betaabwadi. Even after so many years after the movie, the place has actually immortalized it. I don't recollect any other film's location that has been converted as a park (with entry fee!) & become a place of tourist interest.'Betaab' is no 'Mother India' or 'Mughal-e-Azam' or 'Sholay' but still has this honour & privilege. And it is not as if they have kept the Sunny Deol house as it was seen in the movie. There is only a wooden foundation that is suggestive of it.They could have done better to preserve the memories of the movie. But the park as such is very nice & views of the valley wonderful!
Here is the song...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaavlSpk7bE
Will be back with some more next time...
(Photos by Akshay Apte. Inputs- Mugdha Apte)
(to be contd...)
1 comment:
Nice knowledge i am very impressed with this article
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