Bollywood movies have always been a huge presenter for Kashmir’s beautiful valleys and serene locations to portray love, romance, thrillers, murder, and sadness. This place has some really amazing hotspots where several movies have been shot. Places such as Gulmarg, Pulwama, Srinagar, Pahalgam, and many such spots are the most commonly used ones for perfect movie camera shots. This place was a really a hot pick for directors in the olden days. And yes, those movies portrayed paradise in its best phase. This scenic hero of a place has been a fantasy for many writers and directors, not just today but even in historic times.
Some Bollywood Movies Shot In Kashmir
Movies like Kashmir Ki Kali, Junglee, Kabhi Kabhi, Silsila, and many more such golden movies. And after all these wonderful movies of the golden era, there was a small lag in going and getting the movies done in that wonderful place. But in the last 10 years, Indian movies have been taking their scenic captures in the valleys of paradise.
Junglee (1961): One of the early movies that was shot in paradise, was Junglee. Shammi Kapoor and Saira Banu played the lead roles among the most amazing landscape of the valley. And who will forget the iconic song, “Chaahe koi mujhe junglee Kahe“.
Kashmir Ki Kali (1964): Who can forget the unforgettable melody of this movie. Sharmila Tagore and Shammi Kapoor played their roles in this wonderful and scenic movie, portraying the beauty of this place.
Kabhi Kabhi (1976): A melodramatic movie shot in the midst of snow and mountains in our lovely paradise. The movie had flashbacks and current generations from all the big stars like Amitabh Bacchan, Rakhi, Sashi Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, and Neetu Singh back in the day.
Roja (1992): This is a Marvel love-drama movie made by Mani Ratnam amidst the time when India and our neighboring country were having quite a tense time. And who can forget the song ‘Ye haseen waadiyan’ with amazing beauty of Kashmir and sould binding music of A.R. Rehman.
Dil Se (1998): Another Mani Ratnam’s directed movie with Shahrukh Khan and Manisha Koirala in the movie. The movie was shot in the streets of Kashmir and the song ‘Satrangi re‘ shot in foregrounds of the snow covered mountains.
Mission Kashmir (2000): Another Hrithik Roshan marvel where the character takes a wrong turn and becomes a deadly extremist, who wants to destroy the man he looked up to as his father.
Lakshya (2004): Hrithik Roshan decides to become an Army Officer after being in dilemma forever. Preity Zinta being his love interest gives him guidance in the most unexpected ways.
Rockstar (2011): Ranbir Kapoor decides to become a rockstar and he ends up becoming one having a very peculiar journey towards it. Nargis Faqri looks astounding in the movie especially when scenes are shot in the paradise on earth!
Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012): Late Director Yash Chopra’s last movie, Jab Tak Hai Jaan, was shot in Kashmir, Srinagar and Ladakh. The famous song, ‘Jiya re’ picturized on Anushka Sharma and Shahrukh khan was shot in the valley of this paradise. Yash Chopra loved this place with all his heart, especially during the Tulip Season.
Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013): Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor’s blockbuster movie was shot in Betab Valley, Chandanwari, Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Aru valley. The characters mention going to Manali in the script, but the Manali movie’s original shots were actually from Kashmir.
Haider (2014): Shahid Kapoor’s critically acclaimed movie Haider was shot in the regions of J & K, Naseem Bagh, Nishat Bagh, Martland Sun Temple and Sonmarg as well.
Highway (2014): Another fabulous movie acted by Alia Bhatt, which was shot in the beautiful Aru valley. The view in the valley was breathtaking and Alia herself couldn’t help but praise the location. The movie also covered the places in Pahalgam where the scenes of Alia and Randeep Hooda were shot perfectly.
Phantom (2015): With Katrina Kaif and Saif Ali Khan in leading roles, this movie was shot in Gulmarg right in the middle of tourist visiting season. Gulmarg is very famous for its skiing activities and it is also a small hill station that fills everyone’s heart with its magnanimous mountain views and food.
Bajrangi Bhaijan (2015): The super hit movie was shot amidst of the mesmerising locations of Kashmir Valley. Dense forest, green valley, snow-capped mountains, and many more places other than Mandawa Shekawati region, Attari Wagah Border, Sonamarg, and Zoji La.
Fitoor (2016): ‘Paradise on Earth’ was the choice of place for the shooting of this movie. Aditya Roy Kapoor and Katrina Kaif looked fabulous among the natural beauty of red chinars, Dal Lake, snow-covered landscapes, and green meadows. You can see some parts of Nishat Bagh and Srinagar in the movie.
Raazi (2018): Everyone knows about Alia’s superhit film Raazi and it was shot right in the middle of the beautiful locations of Kashmir and its surrounding places as well. You can see the places from Srinagar, Jammu, and Srinagar. If you love the ‘paradise’ , this movie will surely make you fall in love again with that place.
Notebook (2019): The movie was entirely shot in the lap of paradise: the beautiful Dal Lake, the boats, and the serene look of the mountains on the horizon of the Dal Lake.
Shershaah (2021): Siddharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani acted in the real life story based movie of Major Vikram Batra who was killed in the line of fight during Kargil war. the movie was shot in many places and some shots were taken in Pahalgam and Kashmir valley as well.
Kashmir files (2023): The movie was shot in the middle of Mussoorie, Dehradun and Valleys of Kashmir. The movie full of drama, chaos and sadness, showed another phase of the beautiful place.
Dunki (2023): Shahrukh Khan’s Dunki was also shot in many places of Kashmir, such as Srinagar, Pampore, Sonamarg, including the Thajiwas glacier and Pulwama. It is one of the latest ones to show this place in its beautiful phase again.
Article 370 (2024): Yami Gautam starring movie was also shot amongst the streets and mountains of Kashmir. The dark genre movie showed the beauty of Kashmir in the most disdainful situation, with a smart looking Yami Gautam as an officer in command.
‘Paradise of Earth’ is not just a destination for good movies or a wonderful picture; it is an experience! The experience will leave a mark not just on your heart but on your brain as well. You will never get tired of looking at those mighty Himalayas, lush green trees, beautiful Chinar and the mesmerising Dal lake. Kashmir has become a hotspot for movies and for tourism too. After the abrogation of Article 370, approximately 200 movies have been shot and people using the scenic beauty tend to pay back to Kashmir’s economic stability as well.
If you are planning to go and see our beloved Kashmir this year, make sure you capture everything because Amir Khusrau once said, “Gar firdaus, bar ruhe zamin ast, hamin asto, hamin asto, hamin ast.” “If there is paradise on this earth, it is here, it is here, it is here,” and he was right!
