Mufti promises hassle-free business environment for filmmakers in Valley

Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on Thursday interacted with a group of 12 postgraduate students from the Media Education Research Centre (MERC) of the University of Kashmir, who have been invited to Mumbai for the 17th MAMI Film Festival.
The Chief Minister met the students before addressing the glitterati of the Mumbai film industry during the concluding function of 17th MAMI (Mumbai Academy of Moving Images) Film Festival in Mumbai last evening.
In his address, Mufti promised a hassle-free business environment to woo filmmakers for shooting their films in the picturesque locales of the Kashmir valley.
He termed negative perception about travelling to Kashmir as one of the most difficult challenges confronting the government, but promised to overturn it with little help from the film fraternity.
Urging the Kashmir University students to give wings to their dreams by mastering the art of filmmaking, the Chief Minister said he was determined to promote art and culture in a big way in the state.
Responding to a series of questions, Mufti Sayeed said he was striving to build right atmosphere in Kashmir by focusing on its core strengths.
He said his trip to Mumbai was successful in garnering support for promoting investment in industry, power, telecommunications and the tourism sectors.
The Chief Minister was, meanwhile, informed that the 12 Kashmir University students were selected from a group of 60 on the basis of an aptitude test on creative filmmaking.
Though students from University of Kashmir had made exposure visits to the Film & Television Institute of India, Pune, in the past, it was for the first time that they had been invited to an international film festival.
Calling the visiting students ambassadors of Kashmir, maker of several blockbusters, like 3 Idiots, Munna Bhai MBBS and PK, Vidhu Vinod Chopra said: “I sees a young Vidhu Vinod Chopra in all of them.”
The filmmaker said he would request the executive committee of the MAMI Festival to include a slot for short films from Kashmir in its next edition so that the youngsters from the Valley get a platform to showcase their talent.
“Even a 3-4 minute digital film shot on a mobile can create magic,” he said, while urging students to “show the best of Kashmir through the wonderful art of filmmaking”.