By Hindustan Times
A favourite haunt of the Bollywood since 70's, Kashmir's picturesque hill station Pahalgam on Monday saw actor Shahrukh Khan shooting his first ever movie within the valley and bringing back the destination, with an overly few movies shot since turbulent years of 1990s, at the film industry's map.
King Khan reached Srinagar from Ladakh within the morning and took a chopper ride as much as the mountains of Pahalgam, 100 south of Srinagar. Wearing black dress and armed forces boots, Khan shot all day at Aru in upper reaches of Pahalgam.
"Dark clouds, wet roads, too early for even life to feel alive…but I'M on my method to make movies. A cigarette and occasional as co-travelers," wrote Khan, at the micro-blogging website Twitter, as he reached Pahalgam within the morning.
Khan's presence in Pahalgam revived memories of 70s when Rajesh Khanna's blockbuster movie 'Roti' put a spotlight, for the primary time, at the destination --- famous for its fast-flowing river Lidder and skyline delineated with huge mountain ranges dotted with pine trees.
'Roti' was followed by Rishi Kapoor-Dimple Kapadia starrer blockbuster Bobby. The hut where the famous song 'Aur chabhi kho jaya' was shot remains to be famous as Bobby Hut, serving the state governor and the manager minister these days.
Another Bollywood milestone of Pahalgam remains Betaab Valley, the small green meadow where Sunny Deol-starrer 'Betaab' was shot. Vidhu Vinod Chopra's entire film Khamoshi was shot in a Pahalgam hotel.
More than a dozen Bollywood movies were shot on the tourist destination as much as 1990, when militancy started in Kashmir. For 2 decades, Bollywood remained dream for Pahalgam till film director Imtiyaz Ali's 'Rockstar' was shot in February last year. Since then the locales of Pahalgam has seen a beeline of Bollywood shootings, with Khan's visit coming as an icing at the cake.
"Shahrukh Khan's visit is a superb omen. (Director) Yash Chopra is a pal and that i persuaded him to restore his 70-mm romantic relations with the place," said Nazir Bakshi, a businessman, hosting the stars.
The tourism sector, which expects to host two- million visitors this year after a dip within the militant violence, sees Khan's presence nearly as good omen.
"Khan's presence means a comeback of Bollywood to Kashmir. We've got expectations that his visit will send around the message that the valley is safe," said Abdul Aziz Tuman, heading a houseboats' owners association.
Khan, who might stay for a week, is shooting for a Yash Chopra's movie, whose name is still under the wraps. After Pahalgam, Khan and his co-star Anushka Sharma will shoot at Dal Lake.
Chopra is operating on a love-triangle film with Khan playing a military officer. The opposite stars are Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma. Khan had earlier shot 'Dil Se' in 1990s at Kashmir's Ladakh region but never visited the valley.
