Bollywood shootings

Making of movie Tahaan, in Pahalgam

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Pre-militancy days, the event list of Pahalgam used to be lined up with which bollywood crew was coming for shooting of which movie, and when. For tourists, getting to see in real the actors and the crew was an added incentive. Well, the spirit seems to be coming back to the valley of shephards. Read about this narrative on shooting of Tahaan in Pahalgam penned by Muzamil Jaleel for the Sunday Express recently:

Last winter, when Bollywood returned to Kashmir, Santosh Sivan turned his famed lens to its “wounded beauty”. In the six weeks he spent with his crew, he found humour, courage and donkeys. We bring you the making of Tahaan, a story of a boy and his beloved pet.

Snowflakes lay scattered on the pine branches. A thick blanket of clouds hid the mountain peaks. It was early winter and in the chill, Pahalgam valley looked grim. On the banks of Lidder stream, a short man with a bushy goatee and sleepy eyes sat alone, watching. He was satisfied with what he saw. The landscape had just the blend of beauty and ache he needed for his story.
The story, which he shot in the Valley last December, is not the usual concoction of violence and politics. Tahaan, a film about an eight-year-old and his donkey, is a fable that only obliquely deals with Kashmir’s conflict. It is slated for an international release soon.

Sivan was one of many filmmakers who came to the Valley last year lured by the thaw in violence. “Kashmir is a treat for your eyes,’’ said the filmmaker known for his magical camerawork. “But I wanted to retain the emotion in the images—this penetrating beauty and the heart-rending gloom.”
Tahaan: A boy with a grenade does not dwell only on the gloom. It is a life-affirming tale of eight-year-old Tahaan, played by Mumbai lad Purav Bhandare, and his journey across the mountains with a grenade—a task he takes up only to reclaim his donkey, Birbal.

Finding Birbal was a story in itself. Sivan wanted two donkeys and that, too, look-alikes. There was a small problem. Kashmir has mules and not donkeys. But Sivan was adamant and even threatened to import donkeys from outside. He had done something similar while shooting Malli (1998) in Mudhumalai (Tamil Nadu), when he got a deer from a hundred miles away for his film based on a wildlife cause.
The task of casting the right donkey fell on Faisal Burza, owner of Hotel Senator Pine and Peak in Pahalgam. A young Kashmiri hotelier, Burza played both host and local logistic guide to Sivan’s crew. His friend, the film’s producer and lifeline of its operations, Mubina Rattonsey, accompanied Burza as he ploughed through the villages surrounding Pahalgam town looking for a donkey. Finally, a villager told Burza about Sirhama, a village high up in the mountains. Donkeys had been spotted there. The crew was ecstatic and Sivan decided to go along with executive producer Kamal Mohammad for the casting coup. “When we told the villagers why we were here, they were delighted. The memories of Bollywood crews in Pahalgam were still alive here,” said Burza. So they lined up their donkeys for what turned out to be a full “audition”. “The problem was not just to choose any donkey. We wanted donkeys that would match Sivan’s imagination. The first few looked a bit arrogant,’’ Kamal said wryly. “Then we saw this calm and composed donkey. He looked a bit melancholic as well. And we knew we had found our star. But we took a few of them along. We wanted to see which one among them would bond with Tahaan.’’
Sivan, Kamal and Burza then began a search for his look-alike. “We were very lucky. We found a donkey, who was not only his double but energetic as well,’’ said Kamal. When the donkeys shuffled on to the lawns of the Pahalgam hotel, the crew was amazed to see Purav bond with the chosen donkeys.

In many ways, Sivan’s film also steers clear of cinematic stereotypes of the Valley. Kashmir’s beauty was not always a metaphor for despair. In the 1960s, films like Junglee (1961), Kashmir Ki Kali (1964), Jaanwar (1965), Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965), Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon (1963), and Aarzoo (1965) made it the romance country—tall mountains and Shammi Kapoor, freshwater streams and dimply Sharmila Tagore. After 1989, the year militancy began, it vanished from the movies only to return in the late ’90s as a backdrop for nationalistic films like Mission Kashmir and LOC which provided a skewed Bollywood view of Kashmir and its conflict. Tahaan, however, turns the focus to the individual. It is neither propaganda nor an opinion. “The boy is looking for the purpose of his life. After his father goes missing and his grandfather dies, he is the only ‘man’ at home. His struggle also explains the tragic story of this beautiful land,’’ said Sivan.

The film has a big star cast. For Anupam Kher, it was an emotional homecoming of sorts and Sivan had convinced him that it was safe to come to Kashmir. Rahul Bose, Victor Banerjee and Rahul Khanna, too, had doubts about security but once they were in Pahalgam, their fears were allayed. Several characters were played by local inhabitants. Burza’s sister-in-law Sana Sheikh has a role as do two employees of Hotel Pine and Peak Sajad and Abdul Majeed Shah. CRPF commandant in Pahalgam, Sandeep Gokul, plays the part of a civilian while two television artists from Srinagar are also part of the film.

There were also ordinary people who acted themselves into the script. In one of the film’s sequences, Kher, who plays Kashmiri shepherd Subhan Kakh, gets into a conversation with a few village elders in a barber’s shop. “We requested a few villagers to pose for us. One of them had assisted as a labourer in a Bollywood film in 1970s. But they had never watched a movie,’’ Kamal said. “When Kher sahib delivered his dialogue, the villagers started a conversation, oblivious that a script had to be followed. Kher tried to stop them but they didn’t understand. We continued shooting and it came out very nicely’’.

Not just the local people, the moody landscape and its surprises added to the film. In a scene, Tahaan was to be idling by a pond when another character would throw a stone into the water to attract his attention. “We found the pond completely frozen. We didn’t know what to do but Santosh (Sivan) asked us to carry on. And once the stone fell on the frozen surface of the pond, it made a different sound,’’ Kamal remembered. “Nature was playing magic with our script.’’
There were a few scares for the crew—Kher’s car skidded off a snow-laden stretch in Chandanwari where the road to Amarnath cave ends—but in all, they had a good time and predictably fell in love with the beauty around.

Sivan, though, said he found the grandeur of Kashmir’s landscape predictable. He wanted to look beyond. “When I looked through my camera, it was strange, unsettling. There was no violence while we were shooting but I could feel that strange mist of conflict. Kashmir’s beauty looked wounded,’’ he said. “The most amazing aspect was the people, ordinary people. Little kids would flock around whenever we were shooting. I have never seen so many children. And I saw a lot of hope in their eyes.’’
This film, Sivan emphasised, is a simple human story. “It is about the life of a boy, his family and a Kashmiri village,’’ he said. “It is also a prayer. A prayer that this beautiful land comes out of its tragedy and one day when the Tahaans of Kashmir grow up, they live with dignity, honour and peace.”

KASHMIR CLOSE-UP
The last film shot in Kashmir before militancy began was Elan-e-Jung starring Dharmendra in 1988-89
May 1998: Mere Apnay, starring Amrish Puri, Mukul Dev and Mayuri Kango  and written, directed and produced by Rattan Irani was shot in Gulmarg
March, 1999: Boney Kapoor shot several scenes of his film Pukaar, starring Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit under tight security
April 9, 1999: Ashok Thakeria’s Mann, starring Aamir Khan and Manisha Koirala, had a song and few sequences shot on the snowy slopes of Kongdori in the upper reaches of Gulmarg. The security provided by the J-K government was unprecedented
Nov, 1999: Mani Ratnam shot several song sequences for his Tamil film Allipadi (Breaking The Waves) at the Dachigam National Park
2000: Mission Kashmir by Vidhu Vinod Chopra
2005: Yahaan by director Shoojit  Sircar
2008: Director Raj Kanwar’s film Sadiyaan is based on the return of peace in Kashmir and was recently shot in the Valley especially in the colourful tulip garden. The film has a glittering star-cast of veterans including Rekha, Hema Malini, Rishi Kapoor and newcomer Shatrugun Sinha’s son Luv. Director Rahul Dholakia is currently in Srinagar, working on a Sanjay Dutt-starrer based in Kashmir

Amarnath Yatra

Managing lavatories for Amarnath pilgrims

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One of the bigger deals with undertaking any pilgrimage with thousands of other people is to be able be reasonably manage needs arounds bathrooms and  lavatories. If you are in the basecamp at Nunwan in Pahalgam, or camp in Panchtarni or Sheshnag, no other problem is more exacerbated than this. The scene at 6:00 has to be seen to be believed. People sit out there in open, and feces are littered all over – without many reservations, people sit anywhere – simply because there is no choice.  Help is on way…

FAHEEM ASLAM / MUDDASIR ALI of GreaterKashmir  

Pahalgam, May 16: The Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has constructed hundreds of lavatories and many huts at Nunwan base camp in this famous hill resort where
illegal constructions already pose a serious threat to its ‘fragile’ environment.

The land on which the lavatories and huts have come up is the state land acquired by the Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA) where construction of
any kind is strictly forbidden.

           “We have constructed 250 lavatories and 22 prefab huts for Yatris. The SASB has asked us to erect 100 more lavatories and 50 bathrooms in the base
camp,” said an SASB employee.

           The huts, and lavatories made of angular iron have been erected on concrete plinths in the green zone with a land area of 226 Kanals.

           Adjacent to the lavatories, small pits have been dug for disposal of human excreta. Many of these pits have been connected to a two feet wide drain
leading to nowhere. The green zone area has another drain which empties into a wide pit, few meters outside the camp. The pit, which has been dug on one side of
the main road leading to Pahalgam, ultimately leads into river Lidder, one of the main attractions of the resort.

           “The drain has been dug last year for flow of residual wastes from Langers which are established every year for yatris. It (drain) will ultimately
carry the wastes to the pit outside for safe decomposition,” said another SASB employee.

           The SASB, according to the employee, has planned to concretize the drain. “The plan was formulated last year, but the board may implement it this
year,” he said. The board is also shifting the prefab huts to other side in the camp due to the high-tension power line passing above them.  Environmentalists and officials in the PDA say environment of Pahalgam is very fragile and any interference with it would be detrimental to its
ecosystem. “Even a minor activity undertaken in this green zone can prove disastrous,” said Dr Mubashir Rufai, a noted environmentalist.

           He said the establishments of lavatories in the zone will affect the environment as well as human health. “The human excreta from these lavatories
will ultimately seep into bottom layers of earth and reach the underground water layer and contaminate it.  It will also pollute the Lidder stream besides
increase the bacterial count of water, which will affect the humans who will consume this water in the lower regions,” Dr Rufai said.

           The PDA authorities, however, claim the excreta would be treated chemically and it will not affect the Nunwan environment. But environmentalists refute the claim. “To what extent can the excreta be treated chemically when you have a massive rush of people?” questioned Dr
Rufai.

           He said the “best solution” would have been to erect environment-friendly lavatories with an attached soakage pit. “The pit could be transported for
proper decomposition at proper locations,” Dr Rufai said.

           The pre-fabricated huts were set up last year by the SASB without seeking permission of the authorities concerned.

           Since then, there has been a strong correspondence between the PDA and SASB about their shifting to some other location. But nothing has been done so
far, even though the construction in this zone is drawing flak from PDA.

Kolahoi - trek to Glacier, Trekking & Camping

Trekking routes around Pahalgam to reopen

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Pahalgam is the starting point of some of the best that trekking can offer in the Himalayas. Trekking to Kolahai Glacier is a dream come true – and their are potential treks to across the ranges to Sonamarg and even Ladakh for the brave. Besides, there are many day treks originating in Pahalgam for the novices, like hiking to Basisaran or to Chunasar and Mansar lakes, or not to forget to Sheshnag or all the way to Amarnath Cave.

These trekking routes have been for all practical purposes closed to tourists and serious trekkers due to the security situation. Basically no one would venture. Well, all that seems to on verge of a massive change, going by this news item covered by Arif Shafi Vani of GreaterKashmir:

Srinagar, May 13: The breathtaking snow-clad mountains of Kashmir that were closed for the past 18 years for ‘security reasons’ would soon be thronged by foreign mountaineers and trekkers, if all goes well.   
 To attract tourists and promote adventure sports, the government has given green signal to the Tourism department to market the traditional trekking and mountaineering routes, including troops-dominated peaks of Sonamarg and Pahalgam.
 The routes were unofficially closed with the onset of militancy in early 90s. The mountaineers, mostly foreigners, could not freely undertake trekking on routes like Kolahai, Tattakuti and Gangabal due to heavy presence of troops.  
 “The traditional mountaineering and trekking routes of the Valley will be opened for promoting the adventure sports, which is gaining popularity among the tourists. We have to keep on experimenting and offer something new to the tourists to attract them to Kashmir. Some famous peaks have the potential to make the Valley one of the best mountaineering destinations,” joint director Tourism, Sarmad Hafeez told Greater Kashmir.
 Hafeez said a team from International Mountaineering Federation (IMF) recently made on the spot assessment of the Valley’s trekking and mountaineering destinations. Another team, Access and Conservation Commission visited trekking spots in famous tourist resort of Aru in Pahalgam.
 “The team was highly impressed and promised to go for massive promotion of the routes. As a first step, the IMF has decided to celebrate its golden jubilee year in the Valley and 90 mountaineers from various countries are scheduled to participate in the event,” Hafeez said.
 Officials said high-profile mountaineers and trekkers are scheduled to participate in the IMF celebrations, which includes trekking, here from May 15.
 The Tourism department has set up tourist trekking hire shops on various peaks. “We are receiving inquiries from various countries about out preparedness to host their mountaineers. We are geared up to host any mountaineering event. The mountaineers, trekkers or tourists intending to trek the peaks will get all facilities, including the gear and equipments at nominal charges,” Hafeez said.
 Rauf Tramboo, general secretary of the JK Ski and Mountaineering Association, said, “Heavy domination of peaks by troops scares trekkers and mountaineers. We have to seek permission from the Army to undertake trekking. Ironically, in most of the cases the request is rejected on trivial grounds and it discourages the trekkers. Government needs to look at this aspect.”
 Tramboo said the travel advisories from different countries during past decade had also forced the trekkers to remain away from the Valley. “As Jammu and Ladakh were exempted from the advisories, it remained a hub for global trekkers. I hope that the magnificent mountains of the Valley would soon get its share of trekkers,” Tramboo said. 
 Carin Fisher, a consultant on tourism to the state government said the restoration of trekking routes would boost inflow of tourists to the Valley.
 “Kashmir has been projected as a trekking paradise. The initiative of the state Tourism department to restore trekking is timely in view of the similar facilities in neighboring states. But there is dire need to market it,” Fisher said.

Amarnath Yatra, Lodging

Amarnath Yatris may be allowed to stay in Pahalgam Hotels

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Amarnath Yatris normally stay in Nunwan camp just outside of Pahalgam, and they have to hike all the way up to Pahalgam to just visit the beautiful Place (which is enroute to Amarnath yatra anyways). Because they don’t stay in Pahalgam proper, its a loss for the locals as well so they cannot reap much economic benefits. And of course its Yatris’ loss as they so close to Pahalgam, yet not in Pahalgam. The situation might change this year…..IT SHOULD.

Read what came out in News today: merinews.com – TRADERS IN Pahalgam, the traditional base for the annual Amranath Yatra, have decided to offer huge discounts to pilgrims making the yatra this year through the traditional route. They also sought the support of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) in carving out a bigger role for the local business community.

In a meeting with the chief executive officer, SASB, Dr Arun Kumar, the Pahalgam Hotel Association said that it was ready to slash down tariff drastically, bringing it at par with the rates of tent accommodation. It also appealed that no one should be stopped from staying in their hotels during the yatra period.
The chairman of the association, Javed Burzza said that the hoteliers have all along extended hospitality to the pilgrims as this pilgrimage has been the only silver lining during the peak of militancy when tourist influx to the valley was almost zero. “It will not be an exaggeration to say that our sustenance during that period was due to Amarnathji pilgrimage,” he added.
The association said that it was not averse to having Nunwan as base camp but it should not be at the cost of hoteliers, whose business has suffered immensely during the past few years. They complained that the security exercise had created various obstacles in carrying out their vocation and called for its streamlining.
On his part, Kumar reiterated that the board wants massive local participation in the yatra and it will continue to remove obstacles in its way. He said that the law and order and security did not come under the ambit of the shrine board. However, it said that it will take up issues projected by the association at appropriate levels to enable maximum utilisation of the already available hotel accommodation in Pahalgam during the yatra period.
He appreciated the gesture of various trading association that have been meeting him for the past few days and gave an overview of measures being taken to elicit the local participation in yatra management like house keeping, distribution of prasad made of local ingredients, watch and ward, road and track maintenance and provision of various utility services.
Kumar suggested setting up of a tourist reception centre in Nunwan base camp with representatives of hoteliers and other associations for taking care of their interests during the yatra.

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