Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, on Tuesday inaugurated Kashmir’s first multiplex cinema in Srinagar. He also stated that each district in the Union Territory will have 100-seater cinema halls soon.
Addressing the gathering after the inauguration of the first multiplex cinema in the Shivpora area of the city, LG Sinha said that cinema lovers are everywhere in Kashmir and cinemas have a great history in the Valley.
“There used to be a time when people in large numbers would come to watch movies with their friends and families. Cinemas would provide them opportunities to think big and dream big, besides entertaining them,” the LG said.
He said in 1965, a Bollywood blockbuster of yesteryears, Janwar, starring famous Bollywood actor Shammi Kapoor, was screened at Broadway cinema. “Such was the love of Kapoor for Kashmir that he had asked his family members to perform his last rites in Dal Lake, Srinagar,” the LG said.
He stated that the Kashmiri people have been entertainment-deprived for the past three decades, and that the Valley’s first multiplex will give them a chance to relax and entertain themselves.
“In Pulwama and Shopian districts, two multi-purpose cinema halls are coming up shortly. We are planning to set up 100-seater cinema halls in every district of J&K,” the LG said.
He said Srinagar was a hub of entertainment once as the district had almost eight big cinema halls – Palladium, Regal, Sheeraz, Neelam, Khayam, Broadway, Naaz and Firdous. “Today, we are trying to bring back the lost era again. Today, the opening of the cinema reflects the changing picture of J&K,” he said.
About the new film policy, the J&K LG said that a lot of movies have been shot in Kashmir recently and more are in the pipeline. “Film city will also be set up soon as we are at it,” he said. “We will give a lot of incentives to young filmmakers under the new film policy so that local employment is generated.”
The LG said that those who ruled J&K for years used to fly outside J&K and even to foreign countries for their own entertainment while all means of entertainment remained choked here.