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Dhar plans to open cinema in Srinagar

KT NEWS SERVICE. Dated: 1/21/2019 12:58:47 PM

SRINAGAR, Jan 20: Businessman,Vijay Dhar, who runs Delhi Public School here is planning to open a cinema this year, according to a report by Guardian.
The cinemas were closed down here after the eruption of militancy in early 1990s here. However, three cinemas were reopened some time after the installation of government headed by Dr Farooq Abdullah in1996.
Regal cinema was closed again three days after it was attacked by a grenade killing three cine goers and injuring several others. The other two cinemas, Broadway and Neelam too were closed again by owners after some time citing financial loses.
Since then no cinema is operational in Srinagar. Now, according to Guardian report, Dhar is planning to open multiplex cinema here this year.
“I want young people here to enjoy the same entertainment as people in the rest of India. If some object and don’t want to come, that’s fine, but for those who want to visit a cinema we need to provide that basic amenity,” said Dhar to Guradian.
Prior to militancy, Kashmir used to have about two dozen cinemas with names such as the Palladium and the Regal; Dhar used to own one – the Broadway. By 1990 all had closed. At the time many Kashmiris thought this was a temporary situation, but it turned out to be permanent. Most were turned into garrisons for security forces or converted into hospitals or shopping complexes.
Kashmir’s snow-capped mountains and rolling meadows used to be the favourite location for Bollywood directors. For Indians used to tropical heat, a landscape of mountains and snow is a perfect fantasy. “Kashmir was the perfect backdrop for showing a romantic couple cavorting on the mountains and rolling around in the snow,” said film fan Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jn.
Despite the unrest, which has left 40,000 dead according to Indian government estimates, some directors continued to film in Kashmir. But while Indians enjoyed the scenery, Kashmiris were unable to see their own surroundings on the big screen.
Not everyone has reacted well to the new cinema. Some said it hardly mattered with so many films available on the internet. Others were hesitant. “I would love to see a film, but I would be nervous. It is not a good idea because the situation is not good at the moment,” said houseboat owner Nawaz Butt to Guradian. A hotel owner, who did not want to be named, was hostile. “With all this bloodshed, going to the cinema is a trivial issue,” he said.
Dhar is not deterred. He loves the cinema so much that he flies to Delhi once a month to gorge on films. His aim in opening a multiplex, he says, is to recover some aspects of “normalcy” that have been lost in three decades of bloodshed.
Young people needed sports, the arts and entertainment, he said. Going to the cinema was just part of a normal social life.