Perennial ‘Dream Girl’ Hema Malini was
always enchanted with the beauty and the soul of Kashmir, and it always weighed
in her mind on how the trouble in paradise had engulfed the whole state. She
felt it was duty bound on her to bridge the peace with the Indian mainstream,
and moreover bring the cultural ethos of Kashmir to the fore.
Sources confide “Hema Malini is almost the
unofficial cultural ambassador of India. She has tried her best to keep alive
the traditions and culture of India. But she always felt that Kashmir has such
a composite culture of Kashmiriyat, and that had to be brought out in the fore,
rather than the strife. And with that in mind she decided to take the new role
of a curator and bring about the change with collaborative efforts of creative
minds from Bollywood for a thematic short film and song to reach out to the
people of Kashmir”
The short film and
song "Vaadi-e-Kashmir" paints the spirit of love and togetherness
and resonates with the call of our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji,
from the ramparts of Red Fort on August 15th, speaking about the situation in
Kashmir he said “Neither can the Kashmir issue be solved with abuses, nor with
bullets. It can only be solved through hugs.”
The source adds “Earlier Hema Malini shared
her thoughts with PM Modi and told him that she had the poet and wordsmith of
Bollywood, Gulzar Saab in mind to pen the lyrics, since he too shared a common
love for Kashmir. PM Modi felt that it was a good initiative and if she could
pull it off, would be simply great. Hema Malini then contacted Gulzar Saab and
requested him to be part of this project. Incidentally Hema Malini and Gulzar
Saab had worked in 8 movies earlier namely Lekin, Kinara, Gol Maal, Swami
Vivekananda, Ratnadeep, Palkon ki Chhaon mein etc..So when Gulzar saab came
readily on board, she contacted Shankar Mahadevan to compose and sing the song
of unity & Insaniyat”
The song "Vaadi-e-Kashmir" starts
with the famous Urdu couplet ‘Agar Firdaus Bar ru-e-zamin ast, Hami ast
o-hami ast’ If there is paradise on Earth, It is here, it is here,
it is here- and then Gulzar Saab melancholy brings about the theme of the
landscape of Kashmir, the season of spring, towards a new dawn of happiness and
hope.
Sharing her
thoughts on this initiative Hema Malini says “Ye film mere ek Bhartiye hone ke
naate… hamare pyare Kashmir se judne… aur hamare Kashmiri bhaiyo behonon ke dil
ko chhoone ka ek prayas hai…”
“As an Indian,
this film is my attempt to reach out to Kashmir and touch the hearts of our brothers
and sisters in the Valley.”
Hema Malini also got Director Pradeep
Sarkar on board to direct the short film and song, since she has always been an
admirer of his sensibilities since Parineeta, and he has done an amazing
visual job in bringing the song of peace to the fore.
Finally Hema Malini sprung a huge surprise in getting Superstar
Amitabh Bachchan to collaborate in the project by using his compassionate
voiceover to bridge the peace and the thematic concept. The film starts with an introduction
by him and his powerful presence and message is enough to keep you hooked to
the film. Also shot in the backdrop of beautiful valley of Kashmir with its
stunning mountains, greenery and shikara, the video is uniquely fascinating
while the youth of the country proudly showcase the love and bond.
Hema Malini herself too has done the
voiceover to bridge the social consciousness and cultural values of the
Kashmiri people with the mainstream in India.
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