SRINAGAR: For a change, Kashmir is the flavor of the season in Bollywood.
`Country of Blind’ starring Kashmir-born actress Hina Khan aka Akshara of `Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai’ fame is all set to make a splash.
Based on H.G. Wells’ short story `The Country of Blind’, the movie has been extensively shot in Kashmir. It is one of the few movies that have been shot in English and Hindi languages.
“It is a historic film set in the backdrop of the mighty Himalayas. The film was shot in Doodhpathri, Sonamarg, and Gulmarg. A small portion of the movie was also shot in Sanasar in Jammu,” Rahat Kazmi, who has written, produced, and directed the movie, told The Kashmir Monitor.
Besides Hina Khan, the movie features Anushika Sen, Inam-ul-Haq, Praduman Singh, and some actors from Singapore and London. “It has a huge star cast. It is a big ticket movie and shot in both English and Hindi languages,” said Rahat.
Last year, Hina Khan unveiled the first look at the Cannes Film Festival. It was received well by film critics at the festival. “It was a very successful event. Post-production of the film will be completed in March. We will decide about its release date later. Our distributors will decide whether there should be theatrical or OTT release,” he said.
Rahat said there is a lot of expectation from the audience regarding this movie. “H.G. Wells is known as the father of science fiction. People have a lot of expectations. They want justice to be done to the masterpiece of literature. We have tried our best to live up to the expectation,” he said.
Earlier Rahat Kazmi’s `The Last Coffee’ opened to rave reviews. Starring Ankita Lokhande aka Archana of `Pavitra Rishta’ fame and young J&K-born actor Shoaib Nikash Shah, `The Last Coffee’ has been released on Zee5. Shot exclusively in Patnitop, the movie was showcased in different international film festivals before making the OTT debut.
Hailing from Surankote in the Poonch district, Rahat Kazmi, 44, comes from a family of noted Sufi poet Vilayat Ali Shah Bukhari who had a tremendous influence in the area. For Kazmi, Bukhari was the first inspiration and he started writing prose and poetry when he was in eighth standard.
Films were his first love and such was his passion that he shot a movie on a small camera and screened it in the video halls of the area to test his skills. When he was in class 12th, he left for Mumbai to try his luck, but to no avail. Life changed for him when he shifted to Delhi to make a series on Bollywood personalities for ETV.
