Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Manali attracts Bollywood with onset of snow

Manali attracts Bollywood with onset of snow



White winters in the picturesque tourist township of Manali have always attracted tourists, including Bollywood, which has just completed shooting scenes of Amitabh Bachchan 's latest offering 'Shoe Bite' with Dia Mirza .

The mega superstar gave shots at different locations in and around Manali for the movie for a week before leaving for Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.


Other stars were also not behind with Bobby Deol and his cousin Abhay Deol following Bachchan for shooting of the movie 'Lucky We Lucky', Anil Purkayastha, a film coordinator said on Sunday.

He said Rajnikant , Abhishek Bachchan , "item girl" Rakhi Sawant and other actors were also expected.

According to Bani Singh, a shooting coordinator, who was associated with the movie Krrish , the lovely locations and good infrastructure attracts film-makers, particularly in winter when there is frequent snowfall.

Purkayastha, who has been in the profession for 18 years, said, "The place has driven Bollywood since the days of 'Geet' in late 60s, which featured Silver Jubilee hero Rajendra Kumar."

'Himalay Ki Goad Mein', 'Paraya Dhan', 'Saudagar', 'Heena', 'Macchis', 'Krrish' and the recent Jab We Met are among the films shot in and around Manali.

The coordinators said film tourism could really take off in Manali if the government could give more facilities.

"Himachal Pradesh holds a lot of promises for Bollywood. If the state government provides little more concession, film tourism could increase manifold in the hill state," said another film coordinator Vikas Behl, who added he would meet Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal on the issue.

He said like neighbouring Uttarakhand, Himachal should also provide single window facility for film shooting.

The coordinators said film makes and stars were all praise for the scenic beauty of the state and many promised to come back.

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