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Kashmir was once the favourite location for films, but militancy and instability
THE mesmerising beauty of Kashmir has bewitched not only the tourists visiting the state but Bollywood, too. This romance of camera and Kashmir continued for more than three decades, as the picturesque locales of the Valley presented prime shooting locations for Bollywood. But militancy and rising intolerance ended this honeymoon 18 years ago. Cinema houses, along with liquor shops and beauty parlours, became the chief hate targets of the fundamentalists as fear psychosis gripped the state. Tourism as well as the depiction of Kashmir’s scenic beauty through Hindi cinema had contributed to the vale’s fame and name not only across the country but also across the globe. But the roaring guns of militants also plugged the flow of filmstars as well as tourists to the Valley. Though the political situation has improved in the state over the past few years, the tourism sector is still struggling to find its feet and the ‘heaven on earth’ is also yet to win the full confidence of Bollywood bigwigs. There are many in Kashmir who are eager to see the glory of the lush Valley sparkle on the silver screen. But all of this depends upon the twin factors of peace and political stability. Kashmir was a hot spot for movie moguls as a large number of Hindi movies, apart from some others like Richard Attenborough’s A Passage to India, based on E.M. Forster’s book, were shot in the Valley between 1960s and late 1980s. Not only this, various TV programmes, too, were shot here. But, the fear of the gun and threats from militant organisations made Bollywood turn to other Himalayan states and also to similar locales in Europe and Canada. Thus, Kashmir lost out on two significant major fronts economically: the flow of tourist, which was the backbone of its economy; and its catalytic agent, depiction in Hindi movies. Slow revival The first phase of large-scale violence in the state between 1989 and 1996, spread over a period of seven years, saw a change with the installation of an elected government headed by Dr Farooq Abdullah.
As part of its first task to re-fabricate the battered infrastructure, the National Conference Government also laid thrust on the restoration of the flow of tourists and return of Bollywood to the Valley. First attempt in this direction was made when the Chief Minister facilitated the re-opening of the once-popular cinema house, the Broadway, on August 6, 1998, with the screening of Kareeb in the presence of its Kashmir-born Director, Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The government also provided a sum of Rs 32.5 lakh for the renovation of cinema houses. But this did little to bring more people to cinema houses. Of the 13 cinema houses in Kashmir then, including nine in Srinagar, it was Regal, in the heart of the city, that was re-opened on September 4, 1999, much to the displeasure of fundamentalists. And the worst fears of people came true as at the end of the very first show in the newly opened Regal there was a grenade attack on the viewers coming out of the hall. One person was killed and several others were injured in the attack. In spite of the opposition, cinema houses were reopened and camera crews gradually returned to the Valley with shooting of Rattan Irani’s Mere Apne in 1999, V.V Chopra’s Mission Kashmir in 2000 and Inder Kumar’s Mann in 1999. While this return of cinema to Kashmir has not gone down well with the separatists, there has been a steady and positive progress over the past couple of years. Santosh Sivan shot Tahaan in Pahalgam in late 2007 and early 2008. The filming of Rahul Dholakia’s Lamhaa was completed recently in Kashmir after a controversy over its treatment of the situation in Kashmir had led to the termination of shooting in October 2008, amid the trouble over the Amarnath land row. Dholakia returned earlier this year with his star cast comprising Bipasha Basu, Kunal Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt and Anupam Kher after the state administration and locals gave him assurance and completed the shooting for his film. Another movie, Sadiyan, directed by Raj Kanwar and starring Luv Sinha and Fareena Wazir, was also shot in the Tulip Garden in Srinagar last spring. Deserted cinemas Watching a movie in a cinema house, however, is an almost abandoned practice in Kashmir due to the threats made by the militants. The traditional cinema culture is missing here, so much so that most of those in the 20 to 25 years age group have never seen a movie on the big screen in Kashmir. In a move to revive cine-culture in the state, one of the old cinema houses, Neelam, was re-opened on April 4, 1999. This is the only functional cinema house (with three shows daily) in the Valley at present. Two other cinema halls — Broadway and Regal —were closed down after re-opening. Other cinema houses in the capital city are Palladium, Naaz, Shah, Firdous, Sheeraz and Khayam. While Broadway has been dismantled and Palladium in the city centre of Lal Chowk is completely damaged with only its outer walls surviving. Regal and Naaz have been closed. Security forces occupy three others —Shah, Firdous and Sheeraz. A refurbished Khayam has now been converted into a nursing home. Neelam, the only operational cinema house, too, is not doing much business as security concerns keep the audience out. Instead of long queues of cinegoers, one gets to see a huge posse of security personnel outside the cinema with barbed wires laid all around. A 20-ft tin wall blocks the view of the cinema from the main road, which has the banners of running movies pasted inside and outside the premises. CRPF men guard the cinema house from outside, while a couple of J&K Police personnel have been deployed for frisking those entering the hall. Noor Mohammad, who sells tickets and another old man who checks the entry tickets, are not satisfied with the business. "It is not so satisfactory and the hall is running in a loss" they lament. On any given day not more than 10 per cent of the total 600 seats are filled, they maintain while divulging that a majority of these seats are now damaged. But they do get their salaries regularly. "There is fear among the people, and that is why many hesitate to watch the movies here", says Noor Mohammad. Remembering the good old days he says that in the early 1980s even women used to come to watch movies but since 1999 hardly any women dare to watch a movie in a cinema house. The youngest of the four employees at Neelam, Mohammad Ayub, who had joined as an operator in 1984, is also pessimistic about the turnover and his livelihood. "There is no fun in running a cinema house under such conditions, especially when the cable TV is there. I watched Ghajini on TV much before its release in theatres here `85. then what’s the fun in running such things in Kashmir", he opines. He adds that the government will have to do something for the business as the cinemas outside the Valley are running successfully despite the cable network. Cable capers Thus, as far as entertainment needs are concerned, it is TV, with its umpteen entertainment, cinema and news channels aired through the cable network, which has filled the gap.The cable network, which has spread in the state since 1996, has been the only source of entertainment in strife-torn Kashmir. But here, too, it has not been a smooth ride as there has been resentment against the cable operators for airing socially unacceptable and immoral shows through certain channels like MTV or HBO. Militants also attacked many of the cable operators and their installations on several occasions. But, the Islamic channels, including QTV and Peace TV, have filled the gap, says Irfan Ahmad, vice-president of the Take 1 Television and Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which are the distributors of satellite channels in the state. The renewed interest of Bollywood will again present and showcase Kashmir to the rest of the world, it would also provide employment opportunities to the locals.
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