Kabir Khan: Salman Khan has boosted Kashmir tourism

Salman Khan was recently asked to be Kashmir’s brand Ambassador. But Bajrangi Bhaijaan’s director Kabir Khan feels that Salman doesn’t need to be Kashmir’s brand ambassador as he is already doing a lot for the state’s tourism. Kabir Khan says that in 40 days, Salman has worked wonders for Kashmiri tourism by simply being there in the Valley,

Kabir Khan said, “Salman got an offer to be the brand ambassador for Kashmir. But he doesn’t need to hold an official position to get things moving. In 40 days, he worked wonders for Kashmiri tourism by simply being there in the Valley, mingling with the locals. A lot of his charity work was introduced into the Valley. And yes, the myth of Kashmir being a terror-infested area has already been broken by the fact that Salman Khan could shoot there for 40 days without a single incident. We’re given the impression that people are getting killed all the time. There was not one incident while we shot in the Valley. In fact, the last time there was a terror attack on Pahalgam was eight years ago. By shooting in the Valley without any incident, tourism in Kashmir shot up while Salman shot there.”

He further added that, “Everywhere that we shot — Pahalgam, Sonmarg, Gulmarg — all the hotels were booked before we reached. People in Kashmir already knew Salman was coming. I am told that nothing of this sort has been witnessed before. Many popular Bollywood stars have shot in Kashmir recently. But nothing compares with the crowds that gathered to watch Salman. It was sheer madness. Not once in 40 days was our shooting disrupted. Of course, the locals were very excited. They gathered in thousands to see Salman wherever we shot. But the crowds never got restless or aggressive. If they unknowingly crossed the line, we just had to ask them to step back and they did so immediately. They just wanted to look and meet Salman and Kareena.”

Kabir Khan shared a startling news that, it was not only Salman Khan’s fisrt visit to Kashmir but also Kareena’s first visit as an adult. “She had visited Kashmir with her family as a child. But she had never shot in the state though her whole family had. It was new experience for both Salman and Kareena.”

‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ is all set to release this EID.