The opening of a multiplex in Srinagar marks the return of cinemas to the valley after over three decades, and also the return of a degree of normalcy. However, many dismiss these developments as a callous effort to negate the tragedy of the past three decades, writes Riyaz Wani
Last week, a multiplex was opened in Srinagar, bringing cinemas back to Kashmir Valley after over three decades. Located in Srinagar’s high security Sonawar area, the theatre’s inaugural film was Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha, a big-budget remake of the 1994 American classic “Forrest Gump” which was, in part, shot in Ladakh and Srinagar.
In 1989, as militancy gripped the Kashmir Valley, theatre owners downed their shutters. Though there was an attempt to reopen a cinema hall along the posh Residency Road in 1999, a grenade attack on the moviegoers killed one and injured several others, forcing the authorities to close down the theatre again.
Ever since, no other cinema hall has dared to screen any movie. Some of them like Palladium in Lal Chowk have been burnt and the others like Shah Cinema near Qamarwari have been used to accommodate the security personnel.
So, opening of the multiplex is a big development as it testifies to the return of a degree of normalcy to the union territory.
“A major socio-economic revolution has been sweeping through Jammu and Kashmir during the last three years,” said Manoj Sinha, the region’s lieutenant governor during the inauguration of the multiplex. “It is a reflection of a new dawn of hope, dreams, confidence and aspirations of people.”
Despite the turmoil, many movies have been shot in Kashmir over the last three decades. This has included the films of Bollywood megastars such as Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan, with the last one shooting sequences of Lal Singh Chaddha last year.
About 20 movies have been shot in the Valley during the troubled period, a number of them reflecting Kashmir either as an abode of unyielding terror, or an unremitting battleground between India and Pakistan. Shah Rukh Khan, who shot Jab Tak Hai Jaan a decade ago, used Kashmir’s breathtaking geography as a backdrop for a love story rather than as a subject for a story about terrorism. Two years before before Jab Tak Hai Jaan, Ranbir Kapoor starrer Rockstar was also shot in the Valley. It restored the Valley to its original image as a romantic abode after the intervening dose of conflict cinema.
