Bollywood boon for Chai Walla

Bollywood boon for Chai Walla

 

Surprised at earning hefty amount in a jiffy

Junaid Rather

Srinagar, Jan 28: The film crew shooting for ‘Haider’, a Bollywood film whose plot is woven around Kashmir may mean different to different people but for a 21 year old tea seller it was day full of business.

Earning Rs 4000 for a small role and selling 60 cups of tea was dream come true for Nasir Mughal of Banihal who has been running a tea stall at Srinagar’s Press enclave from last couple of years.

“Since I started the stall I had never earned such a hefty amount in just three hours,” Mughal told Precious Kashmir.

A few local boys had come to Mughal’s stall three days before the shooting and had asked him to remain available on January 27. “Initially I thought that it is a prank but then after a brief conversation I accepted the offer.”

Revisiting the events that unfolded on the morning of 27 January, Mughal said he opened his tea stall at 4:30 AM. “There was no one visible on the road that time and I waited for one hour for the crew and finally they reached here at 6 AM.”

Haider-a Hindi film that is believed to be an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet was filmed by the filmmaker Vishal Bharadwaj last year in Kashmir and remaining shots this year.

Mughal who has never seen a shooting before says, “I have never seen a shooting before and to be a part of a movie was a challenge for me. I was very much excited I even could not sleep that night waiting eagerly for the shooting”

Mughal who has studied up to 5th class had come to valley some four years back and joined a printing press office in Srinagar.  “I had left my village for the good earnings for my poor family. I work for long hours in a printing press during night and in day I work at my tea stall,” he said.

Return of Bollywood to Kashmir is believed to have given boost to the tourism industry but for a 21 year old boy the return of Bollywood can give boost to the business of hundreds of roadside vendors like him.

Mughal has a family of nine members which includes seven siblings and his parents. The return of Bollywood had also opened up a channel for young artists to showcase their acting skills talent at a bigger platform.

Before the armed rebellion started in the valley in 1989, Kashmir was a favorite shooting sight for  Bollywood. During the last few years, several Bollywood movies were filmed in Kashmir which includes Yash Chopra’s Jab Tak Hai  Jaan and Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar.  Recently Sajid Nadiadwala’s upcoming action-thriller ‘Phantom’, was also shot in Gulmarg.