Winter hasn’t set in at Sonamarg yet. Though there’s no sign of snow, one cannot do without heavy woollens even at this time of the year. Amidst the biting cold, more than a 100 members of a Telugu film unit are wrapping up a shooting schedule and will be moving to Delhi soon. The team of Rose Garden has been camping in Jammu and Kashmir for the past three weeks and cinematographer Shankar has captured the beautiful flower-filled meadows, gardens in Gulmarg and Srinagar and majestic mountains in Baramullah and other areas in the Valley.
Director General of Police K. Rajendra Kumar, who hails from Andhra Pradesh and has served in the state police in various capacities including two crucial stints as chief of police in the Valley, alleys all fears, “The level of violence has come down.Major shopping centres and schools haven’t opened yet, but we don’t see any problem being faced by film units and tourists. We have made adequate deployments and forces all around to ensure their safety.”
Director Ravi worked in the film industry for 30 years and is handling Hindi projects of Padmalaya Films in Mumbai. He says, “This is a love story set in Kashmir against a terrorist backdrop. When I came here there was curfew and all I could see was army personnel everywhere. The attack on Uri happened just then so the environment was tense. We have Burhan Wani and Masood Azhar’s episodes in the film. “
He adds, “The hero is from Hyderabad and the girl is Muslim, born and raised in Kashmir. How they fall in love, get caught in a web of terrorism and escape is the basic plot. We shot in dangerous locations. I got scared initially and took some shots and left, thought I would go to Kulu Manali instead. Even though I mustered courage, I should have the backing and support of artistes isn’t it? At least 23 of our members, including artistes and fight masters who were issued non-refundable flight tickets, dropped their plan to join us in the last minute. The producers insisted that we shoot in Kashmir and the tourism department and the police department went out of their way to support us. They even gave aerial security in the form of choppers to instil confidence in us.”
The musical love story was shot at Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Sonamarg and Chashme Shahi Gardens. They plan to shoot in Kargil next and then move to New Delhi. The unit shot most of the scenes including the army deployment and security live and did not have to ask for dummy weapons for the film. Spot editing is being done and the film will be releasing in January.
Fifty per cent of the actors consists of local artistes for the film. Nithin Nash plays the hero, while Farnaz Shetty from Mumbai plays the female lead. There is another artiste Reha Khan who plays an interesting role. He adds, “I have introduced more than 30 heroines but I couldn’t find the right girl for this film. One day I saw Farnaz and decided she’s the one. Since love blooms in a rose garden and rose is the symbol of love, We have titled the film as ‘Rose Garden.’ .
