Mirzya shot at untapped locations, 17km from Indo-Pak border

From the vibrant colours of Rajasthan to the bleak and desolate terrain of Ladakh, filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has explored new locations in an effort to bring a fresh essence to Mirzya - the film that marks Bollywood debut of Anil Kapoor’s son Harshvardhan and Anupam Kher’s niece Saiyyami.

From the vibrant colours of Rajasthan to the bleak and desolate terrain of Ladakh, filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has explored new locations in an effort to bring a fresh essence to Mirzya - the film that marks Bollywood debut of Anil Kapoor’s son Harshvardhan and Anupam Kher’s niece Saiyyami.

Harshvardhan Kapoor with co-star, Saiyami Kher in their debut film, Mirzya.

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Mehra shot just 17 kilometers away from to India-Pakistan border in Thulia, for which, they not only had to seek permission from BSF and IB, but also had to travel 90 kilometers every day to reach the shoot locations.

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Keen on exploring ‘virgin locations’ where no Bollywood film has been shot till date, the director and his team did an extensive recce before short-listing the following locations in Ladakh and Rajasthan; mentionable are Nubara valley and Pahelgaum lake in Ladhak, Shiv Niwas Palace and Fatehgarh Palace in Udaipur, Thulia and Ranau in Jaiselmer.

On a related note, this the first time Mehra, who has a hawk’s eye when it comes to locking locations for his films, has gone out and done this.

Sharing his experience, the 53-year-old filmmaker said, “Right from the story of the legend of Mirza Sahiban, the folklore, I wanted to picturize this in my imaginative world for which we travelled to Ladakh and went to the remote corners, which is beyond Pangong Tso lake and Nyoma. There I found these absolute virgin locations which were on the border of China, so the army helped us a lot.”

“Similarly, when we were filming the climax of the present day story in Rajasthan, it took us to the remote desert areas which are beyond Jaisalmer, Phulia and on the border areas of Barmer. Once again, the local tourism board and the army were very helpful because these are restricted areas for any normal person to go,” he added.

Mirzya, directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, will release on October 7.

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