Kashmir makes SRK relax, unwind after years

Shooting for Yash Chopra's yet untitled movie in this picturesque south Kashmir hill station seems to have helped Shah Rukh Khan unwind himself from an otherwise boring routine of lights and camera.

"Slept for 10 hours after a long time. God I feel rested... even my beard seems fresh," Shah Rukh posted on his widely followed Twitter account Friday.

The superstar has over 2,700,000 people following his account on the micro-blogging site.

The otherwise sleep-starved King Khan appears to be thoroughly enjoying his first ever shooting schedule in the Valley.

In another post on Twitter, he wrote: "Phone back on silent... beard dyed... teeth brushed... feel like a million bucks, but if I don't rush for shoot won't get my 100 bucks per dium."

Incidentally, Shah Rukh also put a ring to his phone in Pahalgam after keeping it on silent mode for years.

"After years of keeping it silent... yesterday I put a ring on my phone. Does it mean now we have a serious relationship?" he tweeted.

Pahalgam has been the favourite retreat of Bollywood giants of yesteryears like Dilip Kumar, Rajendra Kumar and Ajit.

Versatile Bollywood villain Ajit would spend months here away from the rough and tumble of Mumbai during 1980s.

Shah Rukh, who is said to be playing an army officer named Samar in the film, has been shooting here for the last six days as a tight ring of security keeps scores of his fans away from having a glimpse of their favourite hero.

"Unlike other film stars who have been coming here since years for shooting, Shah Rukh Khan appears to be avoiding meeting the locals. We are told that this is part of the elaborate security arrangements, but what is a superstar without fans around him?" said an angry Zahoor Wani, 42, an SRK fan, who had come to see his hero in action from north Kashmir Ganderbal district, after covering a distance of 120 kms.

The Yash Raj Films unit is lodged here at the Pine and Peak hotel, set in the midst of majestic pine, fir and cedrus trees.

The film unit was busy constructing a makeshift army camp in the thick forests Friday. They laid sandbag bunkers, covering these with nets which the security forces use to ward off separatist grenade attacks, flagged the entire area to declare it out of bounds for civilians and posted extras in army fatigues.

Sources close to the film unit said Shah Rukh would be shooting here for another three days after which the unit will move to summer capital Srinagar and north Kashmir Gulmarg hill station for a two-day shoot.

"If all goes well, we should be able to organise a press meet for Shah Rukh around Sep 6 in Srinagar," Nazir Bakshi, owner of Shiraz Travels, told IANS.

Bakshi is organising the film unit's schedule in the Valley.

The movie also features Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma in key roles.

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