In Kashmir for Salman’s song, musician Merchant urges Bollywood to resume shooting in valley

Srinagar: Enamoured by Kashmir’s beauty, famous music director Salim Merchant has called on Bollywood to restart shooting in the valley.

In a video posted on his social media handle, Salim called Kashmir a ‘heaven on earth’. Former Indian Idol winner and popular Bollywood singer Salman Ali is also shooting for the music video.

“I am here to shoot a music video. What an incredible experience! Kashmir is truly heaven on earth. I must say (to) people who are planning to come and shoot here, or even for a vacation….wherever you put the camera, it just looks stunning. It’s so beautiful and so easy to shoot here,” said Merchant of ‘Salim-Sulaiman’ fame.

He said the shooting was being managed entirely by the locals in the Valley. “We have not even taken a single person from Mumbai,” he said.

Salim was also seen posting photographs of snow and winter delicacy ‘harisa’ on Facebook and Twitter.

“We shot some bits around Dal lake that was frozen. The last it was completely frozen was 40 years ago in Srinagar in #Kashmir . Followed by an authentic Kashmiri breakfast – Harisa. #TumheDekhKe featuring @Salmanaliidol releasing on @MerchantRec directed by Tassaduq Hussain,” Salim tweeted.

In another video, he shared information about ‘kangri’ that kept Kashmiris warm in the winter months.

“In Kashmir, people use something called ‘kangri’. It’s a basket of coal that just keeps you warm,” he said while sharing the video on his Facebook page.

Singer Salman Ali, who also became a huge social media sensation after appearing on the Indian Idol in 2018, was seen wearing the traditional Kashmiri cloak ‘pheran’ during the shoot.

Salman said it was his first visit to the Valley and he would like to come to Kashmir once more. He also said Bollywood and tourists should come to the Valley and that he would like to perform in Kashmir.

He had won the Indian Idol competition in 2018. Before that, he had remained the runner up of the ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs 2011’.