Anil Raina
The Jammu and Kashmir State shares a special bond with Indian Cinema especially Bollywood right from the early years of its existence. History of Bollywood will be incomplete if it does not mention the name of the State in its annals. This is largely due to the fact that many movies have been shot in the breathtaking beauty of the State-whether it is Ladakh, Jammu or Kashmir, though Kashmir surfaces at the top slot. The picturesque places of the state captivated not only the hearts of bollywood crew, but also lured poets and painters as well. The cinegoers love to relish this beauty while being ensconsed in the Cinema Hall seats.
The special bond however got temporarily snapped with the rise of militancy in the State. Finding it unsafe to shoot in the State, Bollywood explored foreign destinations like Switzerland, America, Canada, Newzealand, Australia, Thailand etc.
Not only shooting stopped, but cinema halls too put curtains on screens. The cinema halls were either bombed or were occupied by security forces for staying purposes. But when the militancy ebbed, efforts were made to revive the Bollywood bond. The shooting of movies started once again but on a lower level. Mission Kashmir, a film by Vidhu Vinod Chopra was one of them. In 1996, the National Conference government revived cinema culture with the screening of “Kareeb” in presence of the State Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah. Since then big movies have been shot in the three provinces of the State.
Besides providing sets and locales to the Bollywood, the State gave it some stars and singers. Before militancy, there were a handful of stars who were a part of Bollywood. Presently there are nearly 1500 artistes working in Bollywood or are associated with Idiot Box.
The youth from Jammu and Kashmir were not allowed to join cinema but now they are making their future in Indian Cinema. Out of them there are 650 males and 850 females. Some are into acting, direction, editing etc. Now State youth have choosen Bollywood as another career option. With Bollywood revival in Kashmir Valley, it has also signalled that it will open doors for other youngsters to make their career out of this and in turn will strengthen Jammu and Kashmir’s Bollywood connection.
Yashodhara Katju the younger niece of Pandit Nehru became the first Kashmiri heroine of silver screen in 1941. It was a remartable episode at that time becoz working in silver screen especially for a Kashmiri girls was considered a taboo, but the trend has changed now.
“Kashmiris have so much talent and are doing good in the Bollywood. We want that our own people should watch us back home ,” said Tariq from Apple Town of Sopore and presently working in Direction field with big production companies in Mumbai.
Even the people from hospitality and tourism industry of the valley are part of Bollywood. Every person who is directly or indirectly involved with Bollywood is busy discussing his future projects and his Bollywood connection. Though Bollywood is considered the ultimate goal of the upcoming actors, you can kick start your career in acting by getting a break on TV channels. These channels are growing in numbers and exploding with mega serials, reality shows, game shows and various count downs. All this brings in a lot of opportunities for upcoming actors to showcase their acting talent. You can also become a stage artist for which you need to complete an academic stint at the National School of Drama. There are many institutions offering acting courses all over India.
Here are some of the stars who are working day and night and due to these efforts they have carved a space for themselves in the World of Cinema and Television
Vidyut Jammwal actor, model and martial artist. Popularly known as a contemporary action hero, he has worked in Bollywood,Kollywood and Tollywood films. He is also a practitioner of kalaripayattu. Jamwal made his acting debut in the 2011 Hindi film Force, a remake of the Tamil filmKaakha Kaakha, alongside John Abraham. His performance as the antagonist earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. He subsequently played supporting roles in the Telugu films Shakti and Oosaravelli, both starring NTR. In 2012, Jamwal made his debut in Tamil cinema with Billa II, as the antagonist opposite Ajith Kumar. For his role, he received critical appreciation. He recently worked on another Tamil film Thuppakki, opposite actor Vijay which became a blockbuster. He recently was seen in Vipul Shah’s action film Commando opposite Pooja Chopra, where he appeared in his first lead role. Although the film received a mixed critical reception, Jamwal gained appreciation for his portrayal of a commando in the Indian army, with noted critic Taran Adarsh mentioning that “COMMANDO clearly belongs to Vidyut and the liberty of watching him crushing everything and everyone in sight leaves you tongue-tied. By doing the stunts without a body double or cables, he fits into the definition of India’s Next Gen action hero without a hitch. He’s a fine actor too, although it’s the action that takes precedence over histrionics here.” Jammwal is a vegetarian and appeared in an ad for PETA with the caption “Powered by Veggies! Go Vegetarian”.
Anjali Abrol is an actress. She was born and brought up in Jammu and Kashmir. Anjali’s most famous role is as servant who falls in love with a prince in the series Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat (TV series). She is also featuring in upcoming movie Singh Saab The Great.
Jammu based director and actor, Amarjeet Singh, will make his debut in Bollywood and will be featuring in the movie, “EK Sarkari Joota”, being directed by Rahat Kazmi to be released in the month of April next year.
Besides being the Art Director of the movie, “EK Sarkari Joota” being directed by Rahat Kazmi, he will be seen in a short role in the movie. His journey as Art Director to Bollywood has another upcoming project of Rahat Kazmi, Hindi feature film “Shakar-Masala”, the project will start in the month of November 2013.
“Reet” Dogri Feature Film which found its entry into 60th National Film Award in regional category 2012 and was selected for Ladakh International Film Festival 2013, “Ruh-E-Tasawuf” and Tele serial “Bagh-O-Bahaar”, he has to his credit the field exposure of art directing carnivals like Bhaderwah Festival 2012.
He also did lke Sa Re Ga Ma, Seedhi Baat Meri Koshish Mera Vishwaas , Kunju Chanchalo, Amanat, Bete Ki Chah, Bakhre Bakhre Sach, Star Baal Kalakar, Lambi Duwari, Ae Watan Tere Liye, Dhanak, Dogri K Lok Hasya Vyang, and projects of various Television Channels of India like DD National, DD Urdu, DD Kashir, DD Jammu, Zee Kashmir and Take One T.V Channel Jammu.
Neeraj Sharma has been staying in Mumbai for the last 2 yrs. He has done a couple of shows as a content writer on Television including ‘Chotemiyan Chapter 3’ for Colours. He did Comedy Ka Mahamuqabla for Star Plus. Worked as an Asst. Dir for ‘Mahadev’ on Life OK. He also did ‘Mahima Shani Dev Ki for NDTV Imagine.
He is registered Film Writer from FTA & writing for Films & Television. He has also written short-films for UNICEF & HELPAGE INDIA. Currently writing for TV shows like ‘Yeh hai Ashiqui, ‘Gumrah & Webbed for Bindaas & MTV and a movie for ‘Prakash Jha Production. Neeraj was Jammu Univ Cultural Secretary and has been declared ‘Overall Best Student’ for 3 years by University of Jammu.
Khawar Jamsheed handled the 150 member film crew of Dharma Productions after Karan Johar shot a portion of his upcoming movie ‘Student of the Year’ in Kashmir. Few years ago Khawar, who worked as a contractor, but came across Bollywood incidentally has made his name associated with the Industry.
Danish Bhat is among growing Kashmiri youths turning to Bollywood. For some, film industry gives vent to their creative talent, for others it means more revenue and more tourism for Kashmir.
Mohit Raina Mohit is famous for his role in Devon Ke Dev – Mahadev Brought up in Jammu , he did his schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Jammu. Mohit left Jammu after graduating with a degree in commerce from Jammu University. While getting ready to become a chartered accountant, he moved to Mumbai to pursue his acting dreams. As a teenager in Jammu, Raina weighed 107 kg, but lost 29 kg after he decided to participate in the modeling competition, 2005 Grasim Mr India contest, where he was placed among the top five contestants. Raina currently lives in Mumbai with his mother ever since his father died in 2011. He started his acting career with a TV show called Antariksh and later went on to play a role in the Mithun Chakraborty starrer film Don Muthu Swami .
Umar Wani from Nishat Srinagar who worked as an actor in Television serials like Vivaah, Chuna hai Aasman, Dharam Patni, was the runner up of Gladrags and has recently won the tittle of MTV Crunch Season 2 and is currently working for a Movie.
I am born and brought up in kashmir,did my schooling and college from kashmir, came to Mumbai 5 yrs back to play snooker nationals and was supposed to stay here for just six days but luck played its game and i got a call from Gladrags for which I had filled the form in Go air flight for timepass while coming to Mumbai… that’s where it all started,” said Umar Wani
Praneet Bhatt who hails from Srinagar has won accolades for his acting and strong dialogue delivery. He will now be seen playing one of the most challenging characters in the epic, Shakuni. The actor who has been preparing for the show since past two years opens up to us on playing one of the most iconic characters from Mahabharat.
Sanjay Suri was born in Srinagar and spent 19 years in the Valley before shifting to New Delhi with his family in 1990 after his father was killed by militants. Sanjeev Koul Born in Srinagar Kashmir, Sanjeev Koul has directed mega hit serials like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (star plus) Kasturi (star plus) Hum Saath Aath Hain (star plus) Producer Nirja Guleri banner Gharwali Uparwali Aur Sunny (star plus) Producer Nirja Guleri Kasam Se (zee tv) Producer Ekta kapoor banner Balaji Telefilms Pvt Ltd. Currently writing a film for Director Abbas Mustan and has begun pre production for his directorial debut in Bollywood.
Hina Khan, She is known for her role of female lead in the television series Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai She is ranking in 4th most popular television actress after Sakshi Tanwar, Shweta Tiwari and Sara Khan. Hina Khan was born in a Muslim family in Srinagar, but later moved to New Delhi for education. She currently resides in Mumbai with her family.
Priya Raina She was working as Radio Jockey in Jammu, now shifted to Mumbai. Priya is famous in Bollywood for doing ” mimicry” of film stars.
Iqbal Khan Started his career as a lead actor in Bullet. After the movie Iqbal did many Music Videos and one of movies is called Funtoosh. Iqbal’s career as an actor in films was going good but he turned to television industry and did many serials and Iqbal was a Super hit actor in no time. Kaisa Ye Pyaar Hai was a big hit in which Iqbal played the lead role. He got many awards for his acting skills. Basically from Sanat Nagar Srinagar Kashmir Iqbal is also endorsing few brands.
Muzamil Ibrahim He started his career from Gladrags and got very famous after appearing in Music videos. Started his acting career with Mahesh Bhatt in his debut film Dhokha, Muzamil did various fashion shows and has acted in many movies as a lead actor. Muzamil is currently working with J P Dutta in Border 2 as one of the lead actors. Basically from Rajbagh Srinagar Kashmir, Muzamil is also among the top leading models of world. Muzamil is also one of the Kashmiri youngsters who has a bright future in bollywood.
Khalida, a Kashmiri girl was launched by YRF in their first television soap Kismat. Khalida, saw herself driven by destiny from Paradise on Earth to the city of dreams. The economics Major graduate never planned for a stint in television when she landed a good post in the J&K Bank. Later, her job brought her to Mumbai. For a girl from Shopian – a conservative town troubled by militancy – the step of giving up a secure job and jumping into the uncertainty of the glamour world was a very brave one.
Nasir Ali Khan from Batamaloo Srinagar is an actor, anchor & Line Producer. He has recently done Teri Meri Love Stories for Star Plus and is working on a couple of projects which includes movies and serials.and is also working to promote the Music and Art of Kashmir in Bollywood.
Saim Bhatt from Hyderpora a very talented singer from Kashmir who has sung the super hit songs like Phir Mohabbat and Aye Khuda from the movie Murder 2 and soon will be delivering more songs in Bollywood movies.
Danish Kak from Safa Kadal did a character role in Karan Johar’s Student of the year and is a very well known Model.
Faheem Bawan from Hyderpora A very well known face in Television Commercials and has also acted in Madhur Bandarkars movie Herione as a character role.
Danish Bhat is from Anantnag and a very well known face in Print Ads and has recently done a Tv Serial for Star One Amrit Manthan and is doing few more projects for movies.
Wasim Bhatt from Jawahar Nagar is a very good known Model and is working in few new movies of Bollywood.
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