Srinagar, Oct 16: Bollywood actress Zarina Wahab, who is shooting in the summer capital, said that Urdu language needs to be preserved by one and all.
“The language has not died yet. It is still being read and written by many. But it needs to be taken care of,” Zarina told Greater Kashmir. Zarina who is shooting for an Urdu web series- ‘Armaan’ in Kashmir these days said that it is completely based on the Urdu language.
“We have made an attempt to revive the language as at present no films or web series are being made in the industry in Urdu language,” she said. The 63-year-old actress said that she is visiting Kashmir almost after a gap of 45-years.
“I had come to Kashmir and shot a song with Amol Palekar in Gulmarg in 1977. We stayed for two days here. But today I am in Kashmir for the last 15 days and I am enjoying it,” she said.
Zarina said that she is in love with the valley. “The beauty of Kashmir and the hospitality of the locals is irreplaceable,” she said. Pertinently this is for first time that the local actors of the valley have got the roles of main leads in this web series.
“It is totally amazing to work with the local cast. They are very talented. I would love to do more projects with them in future,” she said. She said that Bollywood should do a comeback to the valley. “Everything is peaceful here. It should rekindle its relations with the majestic Kashmir that it shared back in the 70s and 80s,” she added.
The local actors who are working in this web series include Ayash Arif, Zameer Ashai, Hassaan Javed, Rehmat Rattan and many others.
“It is a proud moment for the Kashmiri artists as they got to do the leading roles in the web series,” said Arif. The web series is made by Flock Entertainment, an OTT platform. This is the first Urdu web series of India that is currently being shot in the valley.
The 30-minute web series which is being shot at different locations of Srinagar is likely to be released in December end.
This is said to be the story of two Kashmiri families which involves romance, murder and mystery. Irfan Marazi, Chief Operating Officer (COO) Flock Entertainment said that they are promoting the local artists in this web series.
“We have over seven Kashmiri artists as main leads and over 150 junior artists,” he said. “We have been shooting in Srinagar for the last fourteen days and shoot is likely to wrap up on October 22,” he added.