It's lights camera, action in hills

Far away from the heat and the hustle bustle of the metros, filmmakers and web content creators are increasingly exploring the country's hilly regions to either capture the essence of stories or nature's bounty. It's only May and multiple web shows and films have already been shot in the hills in 2019 so far.

From Dia Mirza's upcoming web show "Kaafir" to Shahid Kapoor's much awaited film "Kabir Singh" and Karan Wahi's latest released dating show "Love Ok Please", such projects have been shot in Kinnaur, Mussoorie and Dharamsala respectively. Rajeev Khandelwal's upcoming show "Marzi" and Netflix's recently released film "Music Teacher" were both shot in Shimla.

Being a nature lover, Dia finds filming in hills a "constant rejuvenation of the senses". "Himachal Pradesh is one of the most beautiful States of India and one of the most beautiful mountain regions of the world. Wherever I looked, I only saw nature's perfection," Dia said about her experience of shooting "Kaafir". She also urged filmmakers to explore "more of India and tell stories set in and shot in our land".

Actor Karan Singh Grover, who is coming up with the web show "Boss", considers shooting in mountains a "heavenly experience". He shot in Shimla and Narkanda last month. "It was one of the best shooting schedules I've had. Shimla and Narkanda were just perfect. Every frame looked heavenly... just the way God made it," said Karan.

Mahesh Bhatt's "Sadak 2" will reportedly be extensively shot in remote areas of Uttarakhand, apart from Mumbai.

But what's making hills a favourite shooting location among filmmakers?

Siddharth Anand Kumar, producer of the film "Hamid", said shooting in Indian hill stations is economical and feasible. His film "Hamid" was shot in the valleys of Kashmir as the State lent itself to the story. Despite dearth of film studio and acting facilities, the people in hills are happy when film and TV show shootings happen as they generate work opportunities.