The summer has arrived so the tourists’ footfalls in Kashmir. This is for the first time in the last three years that Kashmir is expecting the tourist season.
Earlier, it suffered due to large scale shutdown post Article 370 abrogation and later in 2020 to global pandemic of COVID19. After Article 370 was abrogated and erstwhile Jammu Kashmir state was downgraded to the Union Territory, the Union government made lots of promises to bring back Kashmir on celluloid.
In this regard various steps are being taken both by the Union government and the local administration led by Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha. In winters various delegations from bollywood arrived in the valley to explore new destinations for shooting.
Though practically speaking Kashmir is still waiting for any big banner to visit Kashmir to promote its magnificent scenic beauty. On Monday a mega event was organized by the tourism department ‘another day in paradise’ in which various stakeholders were called to promote and explore Kashmir.
Sinha while speaking to the participants said that a film policy will be unveiled in 10 days and all the stakeholders will be taken on board. As per the policy, Sinha said that Kashmir will be going back to its golden era and all efforts will be made to restore its relations with bollywood.
The idea behind calling bollywood to Kashmir is actually promoting normalcy and economy of Kashmir. If bollywood decides to revisit the valley and resume its shooting, it will act as a great ambassador of Kashmir tourism and culture.
Bollywood’s best example of promoting the destinations and locations can be well gauged from the shooting of 3 idiots at Pangong Lake in Ladakh.
Following the shooting of a scene from 3 idiots by Amir Khan, millions of people have visited the lake since then. Similarly, very few movies were shot in Kashmir in past few decades and it didn’t mark any difference at promotional level. After an outbreak of insurgency in Kashmir, Bollywood changed its direction to Europe.
Now bringing it back to Kashmir requires large efforts. So any policy that the local government is unveiling must be holistic. Considering the local sentiments and the prevailing conflict, the bollywood shall be encouraged with certain radars.
No films shall be allowed to shoot that annoy the locals or hurt their feelings. Any movie shot in Kashmir must be promoting its culture, tourism and a great hospitality that Kashmris are unmatched for. On the other side, the government also needs to give extreme attention to the infrastructure like roads, electricity etc.
Kashmir is facing the worst experience of traffic jams followed by a dilapidated road network. Forget about the rural areas, the electricity in the capital city Srinagar is unregulated and power outages seems common phenomena now.
Through seminars, conferences and media statements, the government can only build the perception and it can only last if the services on ground are provided in real sense.
