Why is Kashmir getting its first multiplex now? A look at the Valley’s troubled history with cinema halls

“First day, first shows” are back in Kashmir. The Valley gets its first multiplex, which will have three movie theatres with a total capacity of 520 seats.

The cinema hall constructed by INOX was inaugurated by Jammu and Kashmir Governor Manoj Sinha in Srinagar’s Shivpora near Badami Bagh cantonment. And the first film to be screened here will be the newly realised Aamir Khan-Kareena Kapoor-starrer Lal Singh Chaddha.

J&K LG Manoj Sinha inaugurates Kashmir’s first multiplex in Srinagar.

With this inauguration, Kashmiris will get a chance to see movies on the big screen after more than three decades. pic.twitter.com/iShdUAdoPB

— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2022

“For us, this is a big dream which has come true,” Vikas Dhar, the Kashmiri Pandit who owns the multiplex, told Hindustan Times, adding that regular shows will start from 30 September.

With this, a new story begins in the history of Kashmir’s troubled tryst with the movies.

Why did Kashmir have no multiplexes until now?

India got its first multiplex in 1997 in New Delhi; Kashmir is getting one 25 years later. Leave alone a multiplex, there have been no cinema halls in Jammu and Kashmir in the past three decades.

In the late 80s and 90s, when the Valley was gripped by militancy, theatres were forced to down shutters.

But why were theatres shut?

Cinema halls were among the first casualties of rising militancy in the Valley. In August 1989, a lesser-known and now defunct militant group Allah Tigers led by Air Marshal Noor Khan announced a ban on theatres and bars in the region through local newspapers. Films were branded “unIslamic” by extremists who called for an Islamic uprising, adopting the slogan from the 1979 Iranian revolution, “La Sharakeya Wala Garabeya, Islamia, Islamia (Nor West nor East only Islam is the best).”

At first, the locals took the diktat lightly but threats by militants continued; they set some of the theatres on fire. By 31 December 1989, all cinema halls in Kashmir were shut down.

Have there been attempts to reopen theatres?

In 1999, the Farooq Abdullah-led government attempted to reopen the movie theatres by allowing three cinema halls – Regal, Neelam and Broadway – to screen films. However, a militant attack occurred during the first show at Regal, leaving one person dead and 12 others injured. So the establishments were closed again.

Decades later in 2017, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) collation government called for the reopening of theatres in Kashmir after Saudi Arabia lifted a decade-old ban on cinema halls. “The youngsters living in Srinagar today do not know about the joys of watching films in cinema halls because of bans by militants on cinema halls. I feel Jammu and Kashmir students are deprived of something so joyful,” then chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said. However, the move was opposed by separatists in the region.

A year on, in 2018, the government allowed the construction of a multiplex in Srinagar’s cantonment areas. But the permission expired as the builder failed to construct the complex within a stipulated time, according to a report in The Statesman.

What happened to the existing theatres?

Kashmir’s first film theatre was built by Bhai Anant Singh Gauri at Lal Chowk (named after Moscow’s Red Square) in 1932. Originally named Kashmir Talkies, it was later changed to Palladium, perhaps after the famous theatre at St. Petersberg, reports Outlook quoting historian Khalid Bashir. The theatre, which has a rich history, now houses a Central Reserve Police Force post.

In the 1980s, there were around 15 cinema halls in Kashmir of which nine functioned in Srinagar. Broadway, Regal, Neelam, Naaz, Khayam, and Sheraz were among some of the popular theatres in the city.

Over the years, some of these structures have been razed to the ground and many of them lie in ruin.  Firdaus, a popular theatre in Srinagar which once hosted premiers of movies like Sholay, have been fortified with a razor fence and surrounded by bunkers, wrote reporter Faisul Yaseen in a 2016 essay titled “Silent Cinemas of Kashmir” in the publication Arré.

How do Kashmiris watch movies?

There is a whole generation that has grown up in the Valley without visiting a cinema hall. The closest cinema hall for the longest time was in Jammu, which is 300 kilometres away.

Of course, with DVDs, pen drives and the internet, the people of the region could enjoy movies on the small screen. But in recent years, there has been a change.

In 2015, the Kashmir World Film Festival was started and it continues to host filmmakers and lovers from around the world. In October 2021, Kashmir’s Dal Lake got an open-air floating theatre, which was started with the aim to attract more tourists. And this year, Jammu and Kashmir administration organised the first-ever national film festival in Srinagar from 15 June to 20 June. With the opening of the new multiplex, things are likely to change.

Are more multiplexes coming up?

Yes. On Sunday, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha inaugurated a multipurpose cinema hall each in the twin south Kashmir districts of Pulwama and Shopian, reports NDTV.

Cinema Halls in Anantnag, Srinagar, Bandipora, Ganderbal, Doda, Rajouri, Poonch, Kishtwar and Reasi will be inaugurated soon, said a government press release.

“Today is a historic day for J&K UT. Multipurpose Cinema Halls at Pulwama and Shopian will offer facilities ranging from movie-screening, infotainment and skilling of youth,” said the Lieutenant Governor on Sunday.

Fridays then will never be the same again in the Valley.

With inputs from agencies

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