With Uttarakhand having received a special mention award as the most film-friendly state at the National Film ... Read More

MUSSOORIE: With Uttarakhand having received a special mention award as the most film-friendly state at the National Film Awards last month , observers and social scientists say that a notable trend among big budget films shot in the Himalayan state lately has been that of prominent local touches -- in the form of dialects and even the profession of lead actors -- being incorporated in the script. “From being a mere backdrop as a scenic location, Uttaraakhand is now becoming a part of the script,” said Ganesh Saili, Mussoorie-based writer and local historian.

In numerous films shot in the state, the lead actors are being depicted as locals of the area. For instance, in ‘Batti Gul, Meter Chalu’, which was shot in Tehri, both Shahid Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor are depicted as Garhwalis. In ‘Student Of The Year 2’ which was shot in Dehradun and Mussoorie recently, Tiger Shroff, too, plays a local ‘pahadi’ boy. Similarly, in the film ‘Kedarnath’ which was shot on location in the shrine town, actor Sushant Siugh Rajput plays a local porter who also speaks the dialect. In fact, in order to get the accent right, Shahid and Sharaddha are also believed to have hired language teachers so as to get their pahadi accent pat.

Incidentally, foreign filmmakers, too, have been gravitating towards the Himalayan state. Serbian director Goran Paskaljevic who made a movie ‘Land of the Gods’ (Dev Bhoomi) which was shot extensively in the state, recently announced his plans to shoot another movie in the hill state, this time around the Valley of Flowers.

Abhay Bijalwan, a location coordinator who has helped in arranging the shoots of a number of movies in the state like the Ajay Devgn starrer ‘Shivaay’ which was shot in Mussoorie says that currently, a number of factors seem to be working in Uttarakhand’s favour. “To begin with, the presence of an airport at Dehradun has made connectivity from places like Mumbai easier. Second, the costs here are much more reasonable than they would be say in a place like Ooty and last but most importantly the freshness of locations is probably what is attracting movie makers to the state.” However, he added that the state needs to adopt a more ‘movie-friendly outlook in terms of opening up more location options and processing permissions faster.”