Senior BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Kavinder Gupta has met several Bollywood actors and directors to invite them to shoot their films in the state and make it filmmakers’ favourite destination again, a party spokesperson said on Thursday. Gupta met many film directors and actors including Vivek Oberoi as part of the party’s campaign to reach out to important personalities in the country to seek their support to the Centre’s step to abrogate the special status of Jammu and Kashmir early last month, the spokesperson said here. During the meeting with Bollywood personalities, Gupta said once a favourite Bollywood destination, Kashmir skidded from the preference list of the Hindi film industry after militancy started in 1989. “But after the nullification of Article 370, the situation continues to improve in the valley. There is a lot of hope that Bollywood, Telugu and Tamil film industries will soon fall in love with the valley again,” Gupta said. He said the return of Bollywood will not only be good news for cinema lovers in the valley but, the government also hopes it would help revive the tourism sector and create employment for local youths, who have been hit hard by the militancy. The former deputy chief minister also requested Bollywood personalties to invest in cinema halls and other infrastructure needed to promote cinema in the state. He also requested them to visit areas falling in Jammu like Bhaderwah, Patnitop and other hill stations having connectivity with Himachal Pardesh via Bhaderwah Chamba road. “These areas also have a potential for shooting being laden with green forests, meadows and valley,” he said.
