EARLY TIMES REPORT
SRINAGAR, Jan 28: A delegation of several Bollywood production houses have arrived on a four-day visit to Kashmir for exploring scenic locations for their future projects, an official spokesman said on Thursday.
Representatives of production houses like Ajay Devgun Films, Sanjay Dutt Productions, Reliance Entertainment, Rohit Shetty Films, Zee Studios, Adhikari Brothers and SAB (Marathi), Endemol, Rajkumar Hirani and Excel Entertainment arrived here on Wednesday, he said.
"Big banners of Bollywood are on a visit to Kashmir to explore scenic backdrops for their future film projects," the spokesman said.
Besides production houses, representatives from Producers Guild, Mumbai, have also come to the Valley, he added.
The 24-member delegation visited ski resort Gulmarg on Thursday. The team will be in Srinagar on Friday.
The members will interact with media, travel and trade associations and valley''s film and line producers during their stay in the summer capital of the union territory, the spokesman said.
They will also be exploring the locations in Pahalgam resort on Saturday before returning to Mumbai, he added.
"Kashmir has been receiving good response from Bollywood filmmakers since the opening of the tourism here, in addition to the country''s regional entertainment houses for shooting song sequences and commercial advertisements," Director, Tourism, Kashmir, GN Itoo said.
Itoo said Kashmir is a natural location for the filmmakers and the department has been making it easy for them to get permission for shooting.
The valley has witnessed a steady increase in tourist footfall due to continuous snowfall since the onset of winter.
Celebrities who recently visited Kashmir included singers Jubin Nautiyal, Guru Randhawa, Salman Ali, former actress and model Sana Khan, music composer Salim Merchant, TV host and anchor Aditya Narayan, besides business tycoon Anil Ambani, the spokesman said. Most of them visited Gulmarg.
The ski resort has received 100 percent booking as most of the hotels are occupied till February end owing to the huge tourist rush, he said. |
