Srinagar: Veteran film actress Zarina Wahab has urged Bollywood not to ‘ignore’ Kashmir.
Zarina, who returned to Kashmir after 45 years, is currently shooting the Urdu web series ‘Armaan’ by Flock Entertainment. Actors from Jammu and Kashmir too are playing leading roles in the web series .,
“Armaan has a very good subject with an Urdu base. After many years somebody has paid attention to Urdu. Unfortunately, there is no sign of Urdu nowadays (in films). It is a very good thing that this series is being shot here. We have such a beautiful place and my message (to Bollywood) is to come here and not neglect Kashmir,” the Chitchor actress told reporters.
She said she had first come to Kashmir to shoot for a song with actor Amol Palekar for the 1977 film – ‘Agar’.
“I had come to Kashmir and shot for a song with Amol Palekar in Gulmarg. It was a brief visit as we had just shot and left and there was no time for sightseeing. This time I am here for a few days and I do not feel like going anywhere else. This is the first time that I am staying here like this….the food is so good and the people are so friendly. If I get another chance to visit Kashmir, I won’t miss it,” she said.
Praising the Kashmir actors, who are acting in the web series, she said: “We have Kashmiri artists in the series. The actors are talented and good-looking.”
Irfan Marazi, chief operating officer of the Flock Entertainment OTT, said popular actors from J&K were acting in the web series.
“We do not just want to showcase the beauty of Kashmir but provide opportunities for the local talent. There is no dearth of talent in Kashmir. We want to give talented people a chance. We want to provide opportunities in Kashmir that pitch them against Bollywood A-listers. We have one actress Rehmat Rattan from Srinagar and then we have senior artists like Ayash Arif, Zameer Ashai, Hassan Javed, etc acting in the series,” he said.