MUMBAI: The big banners of Bollywood are on a four-day visit to Kashmir to explore the scenic backdrops of the Valley for their future film projects.

The top names which have arrived include Ajay Devgun Films, Sanjay Dutt Productions, Reliance Entertainment, Rohit Shetty Films, Zee Studios, Adhikari Brothers & SAB (Marathi), Endemol, Rajkumar Hirani, Excel Entertainment etc., besides representatives from the Producers Guild from Mumbai.

The 24-member delegation of top-notch banners and other artistes visited Gulmarg on Thursday, a day after their arrival in Kashmir. The team will stay in Srinagar on January 29 and also have interactive sessions with the media, travel and trade associations and the Valley's film and line producers. They will also explore the favourite backdrop locations at Pahalgam on January 30 before returning to Mumbai.

The Director of Tourism, G.N. Itoo, said that Kashmir has been receiving good response from Bollywood filmmakers and regional entertainment houses for shooting song sequences and commercial ads.

He said Kashmir is a natural backdrop for the filmmakers and the tourism department has been making it easy for them to get permissions for shooting.

Kashmir has witnessed a steady increase in tourist footfalls due to the continuous snowfall since the onset of winter.

Celebrities who recently visited Kashmir include singers Jubin Nautiyal, Guru Randhawa and Salman Ali, former actress and model Sana Khan, music composer Salim Merchant, TV host and anchor Aditya Narayan, business tycoon Anil Ambani, most of whom visited Gulmarg.

The ski resort also received 100 per cent booking as most of the hotels are booked till February-end owing to the huge tourist rush.

The Producers Guild praised the pristine beauty of Gulmarg and expressed its keen desire to shoot for their upcoming film projects at various locations in Kashmir.