Shahid Kapoor begins shooting for `Haider` in Kashmir

Srinagar: Actor Shahid Kapoor began shooting for Vishal Bhardwaj`s `Haider` in the scenic Dal Lake here today.

The 32-year-old actor, who is teaming up with Bhardwaj again after `Kaminey`, is starring opposite newbie actress Shraddha Kapoor in the film adaption of Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet. A fairly large crowd had gathered near the shooting location as Shahid and Shraddha shot a few sequences for the movie inside the lake. Over the past few years, Bollywood has returned to Kashmir as the situation started improving in the valley. Late filmmaker Yash Chopra shot large parts of his last movie `Jab Tak Hai Jaan`, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif, here. However, the portrayal of Kashmir and its people in some of the movies has left the locals including Chief Minister Omar Abdullah angry. Omar expressed his resentment over Ranbir Kapoor-Deepika Padukone starrer `Yeh Jawani Hai Dewani`, which was partly shot in Kashmir, for presenting the locales of the valley as that of neighbouring Himachal Pradesh. But Bhardwaj has assured Omar that `Haider` is about the people of Kashmir. The director, referring to meeting with Omar, said he told the Chief Minister that "every character is Kashmiri in my film. It is the story of the people of Kashmir--both in period and present".