My best three days journey to Pauri, Garhwal in the mid June amid Kandali
My brief journey to Pauri Garhwal in the month of May was indeed very soothing and enjoyable where we were like free birds away from the hassles of Delhi and the peek summer heat of 45% celcius.
The basic purpose of this visit was to join the shooting team of KANDALI under the joint stewardship of the producer Air Vice chief( Veteran) , VSM Rajesh Bhandari , a gem of a human being despite being an upright officer of impeccable integrity , the producer of the movie and the perfectionist, director Shiv Narayan Singh Rawat who dedicated his more than forty years in the Southern film industry contributing in the making of several hundred movies in different contributive capacities as assistant and full director. We met them and were welcomed with open arms. I had accompanied Sadar Singh Negi, director Sara elevators private limited , a dear friend of mine to Pauri in his car and was able to convince the director to also co-opt him in one of the roles which he okayed in no time.
The entire crew of nearly eighty persons including the actors were staying in Hotel Shailesh Shikhar , Pauri owned by Keshar Singh Negi for fifteen days , from where several peaks of the Himalayas were witnessed, the prominent being Chowkhamba . The Sirola village under the jurisdiction of Pauri Garhwal was the centre of shooting for the few initial days with the rest of the shooting taking place in the surrounding areas with magnificent locations like Ghurdauri engineering colleges, Kandoliya, its stadium and and the Pauri Garhwal police headquarters including the ADM court where I played the role of a Judge. The mesmerising songs with melodious voice and magnificent music were shot at the attractive serene locations of Kandolia and Ghurdori with the last scene of journalist Manjit Negi ( AajTak) with hundreds of IPS and police officers shot in Dehradun under the dextrous direction of Shiv Narayan Singh Rawat.
The beautifulness of the movie is that the director himself is playing the role of the father ( in law) of the heroine, the producer Rajesh Bhandari the important role of the IG Police, his wife as Mayor and the Padmashree recipient Kalyan Singh Rawat as one of the guests honouring the heroine SSP Smriti Rawat alias Kandali for her outstanding contribution to bring reformation in the criminals.The main leads of the movie are Prashant G as hero and Smriti Rawat , heroine, both handsome and beautiful and perfect in acting sure to prove to be an invaluable asset for ” Kandali “.
The film is co-directed by Neeraj Mishra and Pankaj Mishra. Prashant and Smriti Rawat star in the lead roles, whose pairing effectively propels the film’s story forward.
The film’s production manager was Rajpal Singh Rawat. Simran Rawat handled the makeup department, while Vijay Sowar was the Director of Photography, assisted by Vicky. The technical equipment used in the shooting was provided by Balaji Productions. Rajneesh Saini handled drone operations for the aerial shots.
The film features a host of experienced and talented actors. Among them are Madhu Rawat, Kusum Chauhan, Dr. Kusum Bhatt, Harish Gairola, Paramendra Rawat, Shiv Narayan Singh Rawat, Meena, Yashoda Joshi, Shivdayal Mamgai, Jaspal Singh Rana, Sunil Negi (journalist), Padma Shri Kalyan Singh Rawat, Advocate Jagmohan Singh Negi, Advocate Shri Uniyal, Rakesh Bhandari, Kiran, and Rajpal. Child actor Jiva Rawat also makes an impressive appearance.
The film was shot in just fourteen days and the director who commenced this shooting schedule everyday at 8.00 AM used to continue it till late evening. The team’s dedication ,commitment, determination and cooperation finally brought fruitful results and the movie ‘s shooting was wrapped up in just 14 days, thanks to the dextrous efforts and experience of director SNS Rawat and the complete and timely support n cooperation of the producer VSM, AVM ( veteran) Rajesh Bhandari. The trip was wonderful and the experience marvellous . Hats off.
