Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has stressed the importance of using south Indian cinema to promote the natural beauty of Jammu and Kashmir as part of a broader strategy to boost tourism in the region.
The chief minister also expressed a desire to engage more with filmmakers from the south Indian industry, which he believes has been overlooked so far.
"The places we should be focusing on where the money is there, the budgets are big are actually the south Indian film industry. That, for reasons of arrogance or ignorance, we have consciously ignored up until now. So they are the ones with movie budgets of Rs 300-400 crore," Abdullah told PTI during a recent interview.
The chief minister observed the tourism sector would benefit greatly if films depicted the scenic beauty of Jammu and Kashmir, as he highlighted the historical connection with Bollywood that, he said, had played an important role in establishing the valley as a favourite honeymoon destination for generations of Indians.
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