Mirwaiz welcomes Bollywood to Kashmir, calls stars to lunch

Mumbai, Nov 1 (IANS) Senior Kashmiri separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq invited producer Bunty Walia, whose film 'Lamhaa' is being shot in Kashmir, for tea to his residence and has now asked film stars Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu and Kunal Kapoor to dine with him.

The Mirwaiz assured Walia that the troubled Valley would make Bollywood feel welcome to work in the picturesque locales it has to offer.

'My tea invitation with the Mirwaiz went off really well. He turned out to be an intelligent and articulate man with a great knowledge of our cinema,' Walia told IANS.

The 'Lamhaa' star cast are expected to lunch with the Mirwaiz as soon as a date is fixed when the unit takes a break from shooting.

'We hope to take up his invitation in the next two weeks,' Walia said.

The Mirwaiz, chairman of the moderate Hurriyat faction, spoke to Walia of the great love that the people in the Valley have for Bollywood.

'Though the Mirwaiz doesn't have any favourites, he said people in the Valley love Bollywood stars and movies. He was happy to know 'Lamhaa' would bring such a large Mumbai crew to Kashmir,' the producer said.