Salman Khan bats for Kashmir tourism, wants Bollywood presence

Sonamarg: Terming Kashmir as the most beautiful place on the earth, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan said filmmakers were fools to shoot in Switzerland when they can get everything in the Valley.

"Kashmir is a beautiful place. I am in love with this place. We are fools that we go to Switzerland for shooting our films when we have everything here. There are so many places to explore here on films," Salman told reporters here last evening.

The actor, 49, who is currently shooting Kabir Khan's "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" here, said more people should come to Kashmir be it for films shoot or for vacations.

"Be it for films, family vacations or honeymoon, people should visit this place. It is the most beautiful place on planet earth. The people are very gentle, well mannered, beautiful and simple. I enjoyed my stay here and Insha Allah (God willing) will again visit very soon.

"I request all that the way I came here, they should visit too. If you have not seen Kashmir, then you have not seen anything," he said. The actor said he wanted the tourism to grow in the Valley and that was the prime reason for shooting the film in Kashmir.

"I wanted to come here for 'Dabangg' also, but it did not materialize. Our prime reason for shooting here was to promote tourism in the Valley. We are here to invite the whole country, foreign countries to Kashmir, to come and see this beautiful place," he said. 

Salman avoided directly commenting on being a brand ambassador of Kashmir tourism. "See, the thing is that if I have got to be the brand ambassador, I have got to be the brand ambassador of India. State by state we will do this. We shot 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' here. We will come back and shoot another film. That is actually being the brand ambassador," he said.

The superstar batted for re-opening of cinemas in the Valley, which were shut down after the eruption of militancy in the state. "I would love to (have them re-opened). They should be opened definitely because many people here watch movies and they watch them either on television or pirated DVDs. From grandfather to grandchildren, they all watch movies. Theaters should definitely be here because I think all of you love movies and love entertainment and they will also be a revenue model," he said.

When asked about spending family time in the Valley, Salman said "My whole life is a holiday. I am one of those fortunate ones. I am on a holiday here even now. I work for three to five hours only." The actor said "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" is a very beautiful and peaceful film. "It is a very beautiful film, very peaceful. It gives out a subtle message in a humorous and lighthearted manner," he said.