Film Shootings in Leh

Bollywood movies showcase superb talents of actors and actresses and at the same time audiences cannot take their eyes off the extraordinary locations where these movies are shot. In the last decade, Leh Ladakh has become one of the most preferred shooting spot for the Bollywood Movie Makers. The picturesque landscapes of Leh, its numerous picture perfect spots and simple and warm people have been attracting Bollywood movie makers to shoot their films in various regions of Leh Ladakh.  Audiences have been found keenly interested about Leh.


Bollywood’s journey in Leh had started when the scenes of movie Haqeeqat were shot. It was in the year 1964.  This patriotic movie was directed by the famous director Chetan Anand and had casts like Balraj Sahni, Dharmendra, Vijay Anand, Sulochana, Chand Usmani and others. The movie had a story where a troop of Indian soldiers fought the Chinese soldiers under extreme climate and rough terrains. This movie was shot in Leh Ladakh region when it was almost inaccessible by people. 

Haqeeqat became famous as one of the most realistic war movies made in Bollywood. Dil Se (1998) Movie starring Shahrukh Khan and Manisha Koirala had its song Satrangi Re.... shot in Leh. Though there has been a gap in shooting of Bollywood movies in Leh region but the journey started with a bang when another Hindi movie got shot in Leh and became a hit in the year 2004. In the same year (2004), another Hindi Movie of a different genre, Paap, starring John Abraham, Udita Goswami, Gulshan Grover and Mohan Agashe, was shot in the beautiful valley of Leh Ladakh. Some of the very popular monasteries of Leh district were used for shooting for this movie and it showcased the lives of the monks in this region to a greater extent....


Lakshya, a romantic movie showing the harsh life of a soldier had its many scenes shot in Leh. The movie had star studded casts like Amitabh Bachchan, Preity Zinta, and Hrittik Roshan. Directed by the young director Farhan Akhtar and dialogues by famous poet and writer Javed Akhtar, the movie was liked for its storyline, exotic scenes and songs. Many scenes of the movie Lakshya got shot at Tanlang La pass which is located at a height of 17,000 ft. This movie came out to be a perfect blending of romance, patriotism and harsh reality of war.


Bhaag Milka Bhag, a move directed by Rakesh Mehra is also having some of the most appreciated scenes of the movie shot in Leh. These scenes were shot in one of the famous places of Leh, the Nubra Valley. This biopic movie about the famous Indian athlete, Milkha Singh, is very inspiring and had Farhan Akhtar as the main cast.  The scenes of Milkha Singh getting trained for his Olympic Medal were shot in Leh Nubra Valley.


People started talking about Leh a lot and the craze for Leh Ladakh went to a different height when the most happening movie of the last decade, 3 Idiots, got released. Starring Aamir Khan, Sharman Joshi, Madhavan, Boman Irani and Kareena Kapoor had forced the audiences to think differently after this movie got released. The Druk Pema School of Leh, which later on got devastated by the flush flood of Leh Ladakh, became the center of attraction of this movie where the main cast Rancho (played by Amir Khan) was found by his friends. The climax scene of this movie was shot in at Pangong Tso, world’s highest saline lake located at a height of about 14,000 feet.

Some of the most memorable songs of Bollywood Movies, Subah Hogee (Waqt) and Tu Hi Tu ( Dil se) were also shot in Leh.


In the recent time, the Yash Chopra Blockbuster Jab Tak Hai Jaan, starring Shahrukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma had many scenes shot at Leh. Sharukh Khan is seen riding a motorcycle in his uniform with the backdrop of beautiful landscapes of Indus Valley.

Fugly, the debut movie of Vijendar Singh, famous Indian boxer with Olympic Bronze medal, has many scenes shot in Leh. The beautiful song Banjarey of Fugly sung by Yo Yo Honey Singh is also shot in Leh.

It is for sure that the strong bondage that Leh and Bollywood already shares would become stronger day by day and many more inspiring movies would be shot in this amazing and heavenly place in India.