Film posters fill up streets in Kashmir’s capital Srinagar.
Posters of Bollywood films appeared on the streets of Kashmir after a gap of 30 years.
After getting its first multiplex last year, Bollywood film posters have now taken over the streets of Srinagar. This is after 30 years that movie posters are seen in Kashmir where cinemas were shut since the armed militancy broke out in the 1990s.
These posters have been pasted on different locations like Radio Kashmir Road, Dal Lake, and other locations in uptown. Last year a multiplex was reopened, which brought a big cheer for movie lovers in Kashmir which was seen as a filmmakers paradise before the militancy broke out. The posters have highlighted a Ajay Devgn starrer ‘Bholaa.’
Kashmir hasn’t witnessed any movie activity but with the situation becoming better, not only are the filmmakers visiting Kashmir but also the government is making attempts to revive the cinema culture.
“I have been to Kashmir at least 25 times but never seen movie posters anywhere. I come from Mumbai where such scenes are common. This is for the first time I have seen posters around Dal Lake,” said Vinay, a tourist.
Once upon a time, big banners and posters would be posted on the streets of Kashmir, and newspapers will be swarming with movie advertisements. There used to be multiple cinema halls in Kashmir Valley. One glance at the old photographs of cinema halls in Srinagar and one would see hand-painted movie banners and posters but these scenes had completely disappeared.
Mushtaq Ahmad, a movie lover from Srinagar says movies in Valley are welcome. “We have seen posters for the first time after years, though I haven’t seen any movie here the cinema was much needed here,” he said.
The government has recently introduced a film policy that will have made shooting movies in Kashmir smooth and many top directors are now shooting in Kashmir with support from the J&K administration.
