Call of the Valley

Yeh haseen vaadiya yeh khula aasmaanhellip the AR Rahman song from Roja 1992 playing on our earphones served as the perfect background score as we landed in Srinagar Within minutes we were mesmerised by its beauty and understood why producer Siddharth P Malhotra chose the location as the setting for his next PashminnamdashDhaage Mohobbat KeNishant and IshaItrsquos not new for Bollywood films to be set in the land The late filmmaker Yash Chopra had shot several of his movies there However it was a first for an Indian television show to abandon the comforts of Mumbai sets and relocate to Kashmir for six months for the Sony Sab show Siddharth says it was his dream to film in the locationmdashafter all his father Prem Krishen had begun his television career with the show Gul Gulshan Gulfaam 1987 thereldquoI was adamant that if the story is set in Kashmir then we have to shoot here throughout My wife Sapna Malhotra made my dream a reality although she was also astounded at first I wanted it to be different from the saasbahu sagas we see and left the onus on her to make it happen because I donrsquot understand numbersrdquo says the filmmaker who has previously produced Sanjivani and directed Hichki 2018Kashmir on a budgetPashminna starring Isha Sharma and Nishant Malkani tells the story of Pashminna and Raghav who come from diverse walks of life and ideologies Siddharth shares that the channel offered him unyielding support as he proposed the idea of shooting the finite series in the Valley often touted to be lsquoHeaven on Earthrsquo It also came with a caveat that the showrsquos plot would not be swayed by TRP ratings ldquoThe story was set in my mind from the start to finish We could of course insert a scene as per televisionrsquos melodramatic language but nothing morerdquo asserts SiddharthInside view of the houseboatHowever the hurdles were one too many Producer Sapna Malhotra says conducting a sixmonth shoot on Sab TVrsquos budget and no rebates from the government was an uphill task Their first step was to educate local stakeholders about TV budgets and requirements since the region had little exposure to television shoots This required not only negotiation skills but also building relationships with the local community location owners and government authorities ldquoAt first we made a budget not fully knowing the pricing of the locations We then locked on the number of hours that people have to work People in Kashmir have done bigbudget films but theyrsquove not shot on a budget We sought the state governmentrsquos help while they couldnrsquot provide financial subsidies they offered support in the form of permissions and guidance Everyone associated was extremely sweet because Pashminna was showing Kashmir in the best light possiblerdquo explains SapnaBlow hot blow coldAfter two months of preproduction the cast and crew kicked off the shoot in August Over the next two months the unit travelled to Gulmarg Pahalgam and Baramulla as they filmed the love story Right from the beginning Sapna knew that a chunk of the show had to be canned before winter set in ldquoIn August it was hot However from September the weather started becoming cooler Once we go into December it will become difficult to shoot Before that we will can all the outdoor shots and then concentrate on the interior shotsrdquo she says Siddharth adds that filming in the famous Dal Lake turned out to be a tricky affair ldquoWe couldnrsquot shoot for more than four minutes at a time because the cameras have to be in the water and the actors have to row the shikaras We are technically shooting at web pace for TVrdquoSiddharth and Sapna MalhotraLeading man Malkani found it challenging to brave the unpredictable weather ldquoSometimes it is hot sometimes too cold As we are going further it will get much colderrdquo says the actor adding that shooting in Kashmir is a different ballgame as compared to the convenience that Mumbai studios afford ldquoWe donrsquot have vanity vans and makeup rooms because there is no place to park them in the mountains So we have hotels near our locations where we have lunch and then get ready But between our shots we canrsquot go to the hotel as it involves a lot of travel We sit in the sun on the road while people watch us as if we are animals in the zoordquo he laughsTaste of homeTo ensure that her crew of 80 did not feel utterly homesick during the sixmonth shoot Sapna took along a Mumbai caterer thus giving her team a taste of home ldquoAlthough Kashmiri food is yummy I donrsquot think our systems can sustain it for long We initially tried all their masalas and flavours but then relented to stick to food from homerdquo Special food was made by the cooks keeping in mind Malkani and Sharmarsquos dietary needsMoving baseAs captivating as Kashmir is living away from home is never easy While the crew was put up in two hotels near the shoot locations the leads were moved into spacious AirBnB properties This decision allowed the actors to have their families over offering them comfort and support during their demanding shooting schedule Malkani shares ldquoKashmir is a beautiful place with a laidback vibe While I was a little bored initially this place gradually grew on me Now I really love itrdquo The actor who was initially worried about his fitness found a local gym ldquoI also made some friends who often take me out totry different restaurantsrdquo he addsSince Sharma who plays the titular role hails from Himachal Pradesh the languid pace was not new to her However making her debut in television was definitely new ldquoI felt homesick I missed my family and friendsrdquo admits Sharma who was sharing her flat with a costar Hiten Tejwani and Gauri Pradhan who play pivotal characters in the show travelled periodically to the north to shoot their portions Despite the challenges and sacrifices the teamrsquos zeal to tell a story they believe in and the support from locals made this a successful endeavourEffort behind showgtgt The crew consisted of almost 80 membersgtgt Siddharth and Sapna Malhotra scouted close to a 100 houseboats before locking on the one that provided them a view of Shankaracharya templegtgt The team auditioned at least 250 girls until they found Isha Sharma to play the titular role Pashminna