Srinagar, May 3 -- On a clear Friday morning, Seerat Bashir was walking along Boulevard Road in Srinagar when she noticed the cameras. Some tourists and locals had their phones up, some on gimbals, others tucked close to their chests, filming the lake, the shikaras, and the people passing by. Among those people was Seerat.

She didn't stop. She looked down, pulled her dupatta closer to her face, and kept walking with her friend Maryam. The two of them didn't say anything, just shared a glance and quickened their steps.

Later, Seerat would say it felt like she had walked through a stage set, unknowingly part of someone else's reel. "We didn't ask them why they filmed us," she said. "It's a public place. But still, it didn't feel right." ...