Stories of the valley: When Kashmir became Bollywood’s muse

‘Dil Se..’

This Shah Rukh Khan, Manisha Koirala, Preity Zinta-starrer flick dealt with a complex love story based in terror-stricken Kashmir and yet portrayed the magnificent beauty of the state. From the Pangong Lake to the vivid locations in Ladakh, 'Dil Se' captured the flavours of the place.

‘Mission Kashmir’

Set against the backdrop of Kashmir, the movie which stars Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta, depicted terrorism, insurgency and religious bigotry effectively. But one thing that it managed to get across,

‘Yahaan’

A beautiful Kashmiri girl, an Indian army officer along with the tense situation in Kashmir formed the crux of the story. The picturesque movie had Kashmir as its soul.

‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’

The movie is about a bomb-squad officer played by Shah Rukh Khan who is posted in Kashmir. The movie was a love triangle, starring Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma, alongside SRK, but more than the soothing songs, the picturesque locations of Dal Lake, Pahalgam and Gulmarg provided for an eye retreat.

‘Highway’

Director Imtiaz Ali finely used the locations of Kashmir, including the beautiful Aru valley, to tell the story of a rich young girl getting kidnapped and traveling with her kidnappers, eventually falling for one of them. Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda won hearts and so did the locations!

‘Haider’

This critically acclaimed movie was shot in Kashmir and was based on the insurgency-hit Kashmir conflicts of 1995 and disappearance of civilians. The song 'Bismil' from the movie was shot at the Martand Sun Temple of Kashmir and the best part about the temple is that one can view the entire Kashmir valley from the temple. The language and landscape boasts of a typical Kashmiri flavour.

‘Fitoor’

Though the movie was panned by the critics and audiences, the scenic locales of Kashmir still made this Aditya Roy Kapur and Katrina Kaif-starrer flick watchable. The movie depicted locations like Nishat Bagh, which is the second largest Mughal garden of Kashmir.