New Delhi: Bollywood has had a long history of popularising places by showcasing picturesque locations in its films and now northeast India seems to have become this industry’s new favourite.
The reason behind this might be due to the fact that the states in northeast India have diverse natural beauty and exquisite cuisine which offers a golden opportunity for the people filming there.
Currently, Kangana Ranaut is shooting for her upcoming political thriller ‘Emergency’ in Assam. Varun Dhawan’s recently-released ‘Bhediya’ was shot extensively across locations in Arunachal Pradesh.
Ayushmann Khurrana‘s failed foray into north-eastern terrorism and its ramification across the seven states was shot across the Northeast, reported EastMojo, a news portal of Northeast India. The list of movies shot in this location is long.
As the report stated ‘Jewel Thief’, released in 1967 was one of India’s best spy thrillers, and it starred the nation’s heartthrob at that time, Dev Anand. It was shot extensively in Sikkim, which back then, was not considered a part of the Northeast.
However, it is a part of the Northeast now and for that reason, this film has made it to this list. ‘Kurbaan’, directed by Deepak Bahry was a family drama film starring Salman Khan and Ayesha Jhulka filmed in Shillong. A few scenes were shot at Eastern Air Command Campus, Upper Shillong.
Rakesh Roshan’s 1997 ‘Koyla’, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit, was shot in Arunachal Pradesh. One of the film’s songs, ‘TanhaiTanhai’, was filmed in the Shungetser Lake and Nuranang Falls in the Tawang district of the state. After the shoot, Shungetser Lake came to be referred to as the Madhuri Lake.
More recently, films like John Abraham-starrer ‘Saya’, Farhan Akhtar starer ‘Rock On 2’, and Shahid Kapoor- KanganaRanaut- Saif Ali Khan starer ‘Rangoon’ was also shot in the northeast.
Further, northeastern states are the repository of one of Asia’s last great natural and anthropological sanctuaries, which people have explored. From valleys and hills to cascading waterways and unending plains, the region is any filmmaker’s dream destination.
The recent building of road infrastructure in the state has further facilitated the movement of goods and people in the state. This has made movement easier and cheaper for film crews as well.
The northeastern states with their enigmatic beauty have their own attraction for tourists. Now with the end of all terrorism problems in the states, the place has got a new lease on life.
One of the northeastern states, Meghalaya is creating avenues and tourism products for tourists who can spend more and stay for longer durations.
“Theoretically, a higher number of tourists may not necessarily translate into increased spending in the state. However, a focus on high-value tourists can lead to more consumption in the state without a proportional adverse impact on the environment,” says the Meghalaya draft tourism policy 2022, which is now being discussed.
The policy says increasing footfall will no longer be the only metric for evaluating the growth of tourism in the state. It will also comprise the average amount spent by the tourists and the number of nights spent by them in the state.
In 2019, the tourist footfall in Meghalaya stood at about 12.7 lakh (including 25,000 foreigners). Among the northeastern states, this is highest after Assam and Sikkim. The footfalls have grown steadily over the last decade and are once again witnessing a resurgence post the COVID-19 pandemic. It is expected that the annual tourist footfall will cross 15 lakh by 2024.
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