- Bollywood has often stepped out of studios to film in real Indian mountain landscapes. On International Mountain Day 2025, here’s a look at iconic films shot across Kashmir, Spiti, Kargil and Kedarnath.
- Haider 2014 – Srinagar, Dal Lake, Sonamarg
- Kedarnath (2018)- Kedarnath Valley and Rudraprayag
- Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) – Kashmir and Uttarakhand
- Shershaah (2021) – Kargil, Dras, Palampur
- Laal Singh Chaddha (2022) – Spiti Valley and Himachal’s High Passes
- Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani (2023) – Gulmarg, Sonamarg
- 120 Bahadur (2025) and Highway (2014) – Real-Mountain Shoots
Bollywood has often stepped out of studios to film in real Indian mountain landscapes. On International Mountain Day 2025, here’s a look at iconic films shot across Kashmir, Spiti, Kargil and Kedarnath.
From 1985’s Ram Teri Ganga Maili to 2013’s Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, several Bollywood films have reopened gates for several real locations in India. From wanting to visit movie locations to clicking pictures in the same pose, audiences, who breathe movies from frame to frame, are often motivated by Bollywood films.
On International Mountain Day 2025, it would be apt to revisit some of those Bollywood films that broke free from studio sets and bathed in the beauty of India’s high-altitude, visually resplendent landscapes.
Haider 2014 – Srinagar, Dal Lake, Sonamarg
Haider by Vishal Bhardwaj constitutes one of the most atmospheric films shot in Kashmir. The team filmed extensively in Srinagar, Dal Lake, and Sonamarg, utilizing the stark winter of the region to mirror the political tension and the emotional weight of the film. Real locations gave the Shakespearean adaptation a raw, lived-in feel.
Kedarnath (2018)- Kedarnath Valley and Rudraprayag
Abhishek Kapoor’s Kedarnath recreated the 2013 floods in the real Kedarnath valley and parts of Rudraprayag. Stone structures, the rugged mountain paths, and the pilgrimage route imparted a feel of realism to the moments of disaster and devotion in the movie.
Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) – Kashmir and Uttarakhand
Aditya Dhar’s war drama relied heavily on real mountainous terrain. Shooting took place in parts of Kashmir and Uttarakhand, using dense forests, cliffs, and cold-weather zones to heighten the intensity of military operation sequences.
Shershaah (2021) – Kargil, Dras, Palampur
This biopic on Capt. Vikram Batra has shot the crucial sequences in Kargil, Dras, and Palampur in order to embed the story directly into the terrain where the real conflict unfolded. The rocky ridges and icy winds shaped the visual truth of the film.
Laal Singh Chaddha (2022) – Spiti Valley and Himachal’s High Passes
The Aamir Khan–starrer was shot across India, but its sequences in Spiti Valley, Key Monastery, and the Himachal high-altitude passes stand out. These locations added stillness and visual scale to the film’s long-running travel narrative.
Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani (2023) – Gulmarg, Sonamarg
This film, though predominantly a family drama, had frames of Gulmarg and Sonamarg that looked postcard-perfect and was thus relentlessly romantic in its character arcs.
120 Bahadur (2025) and Highway (2014) – Real-Mountain Shoots
War drama 120 Bahadur and Imtiaz Ali’s Highway (2014) were filmed in Aru Valley, Pahalgam, and Spiti as they also featured India’s mountainous geography with minimal cinematic alteration.
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