Anantnag: The legendary Bollywood actor Yousuf Khan aka Dilip Kumar who passed away in Mumbai on Tuesday loved relishing Kashmiri cuisine Wazwan during his stay at the Pahalgam tourist resort.
Though Khan never shot any of his movies in Pahalgam, visited the place a couple of times in the 1970s.
“I vividly remember Dilip Kumar visiting Pahalgam twice in the 1970s, and on both occasions he stayed at Hotel Natraj for some days. He was a good friend of the owner of that hotel late Abdul Gani,” said R K Vij, who owned R K Studio in Pahalgam and facilitated the shooting of many Bollywood movies in 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
He also worked with Raj Kapoor Films Ltd and shared a close bond with the Kapoor family.
“I was lucky enough to meet Kumar and had an interaction with him. He was quite humble and enjoyed his stay in Pahalgam,” Vij said.
He said Kumar fell in love with Kashmiri Wazwan here and later on would ensure to relish it every time he visited Kashmir.
“Among the Wazwan delicacies, he loved Gushtaba the most,” Vij said.
He said Kumar was quite fascinated by the lush green forests, pine trees, lofty mountains and the gushing waters of Lidder.
“He would not roam around much but would rather sit at one place for hours and enjoy the breeze of pine trees and sound of the roaring Lidder waters,” Vij said. “I also got a chance to have a photoshoot of the legendary actor and I would see he really loved nature.”