Kashmir's Betaab Valley remains a top choice for film shooting

A still from the Amrita Singh and Sunny Deol-starrer blockbuster 'Betaab' (1983), the success of which led to the naming of Hagan Valley or Hagoon into Betaab Valley in Pahalgam, Anantnag, Kashmir.

In the year 1983, the spot where actors Amrita Singh and Sunny Deol shot for their debut film Betaab in the picturesque valley of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam came to be named after the superhit film.

The romantic film Betaab's box-office success gave a fresh recognition to Kashmir and rekindled the unending affair between Kashmir and Bollywood that dates back to 1949, when Raj Kapoor shot sequences of his film Barsaat in the Valley, showing its breathtaking beauty to the film lovers.

Betaab Valley was previously known as Hagan Valley or Hagoon, but after the blockbuster movie Betaab, the older name was near forgotten. Located in the Anantnag district of south Kashmir, blessed with breathtaking scenery, verdant meadows, snow-clad mountains and gushing streams, the valley's pristine beauty and tranquil ambience made it one of the most famous tourist spots around Pahalgam.

Betaab valley is en route to Amarnath Yatra temple and has been the favourite retreat of Bollywood actors of yesteryear — Dilip Kumar, Rajendra Kumar and Ajit.

Sunny Deol in Betaab (1983).

Last year in October, when Betaab’s film director Rahul Rawail came to Kashmir after 40 years, he vividly remembered how he shot Betaab in Kashmir. “There’s a sense of déjà vu for being in Srinagar after four decades. I have had great days while shooting Betaab in Kashmir’s Pahalgam. I am so proud that a Valley is named after the Betaab movie,” says Rawail, at the Kumaon Literary Festival held in Srinagar.

In honour of the 40th anniversary of Betaab, Chennai-based entertainment start-up Jadooz is also establishing mini-theatre in different places of Kashmir, including one in Betaab Valley.

Kashmir was home to film industry mainly between 1960 and 1980s and many super hit films, including Kashmir Ki Kali (1964), Arzoo (1965), Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965), Kabhi Kabhie (1976), Silsila (1981), Satte Pe Satta (1982) and Roti (1974) were shot in the valley.

Kashmir Ki Kali (1964)

After the success of the iconic Betaab, Kashmir again became a top choice of filmmakers for shooting movies, but due to threat of militant attacks in 1989, when an insurgency broke out, cinema halls downed their shutters and film shooting completely stopped in the Valley for almost three decades.

However, after a long wait of almost 28 years, film director Imtiaz Ali came to Betaab Valley in 2011 and shot for Rockstar, starring Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri. Before Kapoor, his father Rishi Kapoor (Bobby, 1972) and granduncle Shammi Kapoor (Kashmir Ki Kali) were among those whose films were shot in the Valley.  In October 2012, Bollywood’s Badshah Shah Rukh Khan also came to Kashmir to shot for Yash Chopra's Jab Tak Hai Jaan in Pahalgam’s picturesque Betaab Valley, around the gushing Lidder river, Aru valley and Baisaran. The song Jiya re from the film was shot around Betaab Valley, putting the Valley back on filmmakers’ map. Ranbir Kapoor revisited snow-clad Pahalgam, in minus 6.7 degrees Celsius, along with Deepika Padukone to shoot Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013). In 2014, the Rekha-starrer Fitoor, an adaptation of Charles Dickens Great Expectations, became the first Bollywood movie to be shot in Kashmir, around Srinagar’s Dal Lake and Pahalgam, after the devastating floods, which left more than 300 people dead and property worth crores of rupees damaged. In 2014, the Alia Bhatt-starrer Highway was also shot in Pahalgam’s Aru Valley followed by Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider, the Shakespearean Hamlet reimagined amid militancy in Kashmir, starring Shahid Kapoor.

Shahid Kapoor and Tabu in Haider (2014),

Last month, while inaugurating a digital movie theatre in Jammu’s Kishtwar, J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said, “Last year, more than 300 movies were filmed in Jammu and Kashmir. More filmmakers are coming to J&K to strengthen the economy, provide employment and livelihood opportunities to locals and bring prosperity.”

In September last year, actor Emraan Hashmi (Ground Zero) and Bollywood star Vicky Kaushal (in Meghna Gulzar’s Sam Bahadur) shot for their movies in Pahalgam. In March this year, Tamil superstars Vijay Chandrasekhar and Trisha Krishnan shot for Lokesh Kanagaraj-directed gangster action film Leo in Pahalgam and Betaab Valley.

Bilal Ahmad Mir, assistant director tourism Pahalgam, says, Pahalgam is emerging as a top film-shooting destination for south Indian films. “The films are being shot not just around Betaab Valley but in Aru, inside Pahalgam golf course, Pahalgam Club and Ashmuqam,” he says.

Taapsee Pannu wrapping up shoot for 'Dunki' in Sonamarg, Kashmir. (Photo: Greater Kashmir) " width="696" height="435" /> Shah Rukh Khan and Taapsee Pannu wrapping up shoot for 'Dunki' in Sonamarg, Kashmir. (Photo: Greater Kashmir)

After a gap of 11 years in April this year, SRK came to Sonamarg resort in Kashmir to shot for the Rajkumar Hirani-directed Dunki. Film shootings are expected to give a huge fillip to J&K’s economy and also boost film tourism in the region.

If a tourist, Siddharth Bakaria, from Himachal Pradesh’s Dalhousie visited Betaab Valley after watching the film, to see the "dense, fine trees, the gorgeous place, famous for trekking, hiking and picnicking" and suggests others to do the same, 43-year-old Riyaz Ahmad Lone, a local from Pahalgam rues that the rising pollution and urbanisation has spoiled the beauty of Betaab Valley. The authorities allowing plastic bottles and wrappers, chips packets and polythene bags inside the Valley has spoiled not just the park but also the Sheshnag lake running through the Valley. Higher ticket tariff, Rs 100 per person, to enter parks like Betaab Valley is also a dampener, says Lone.