First time in decades, Kashmiri-produced Bollywood film screened in Srinagar

The local cast and crew of the film 'Welcome to Kashmir' at a press meet in Srinagar. (Photo: Irfan Amin Malik)

On May 26, the first-ever Kashmiri-produced Bollywood film was screened in Srinagar’s multiplex after seven decades.

The people watched the locally made Welcome to Kashmir movie in numbers and hailed crew members for making a local film and screening it in Kashmir after a gap of almost 70-long years.

'Welcome to Kashmir' production started on March 15 last year in Gurez Valley.

“When the movie was screened the people including men, women and children shouted, laughed and enjoyed every moment of the film. The scenes made me emotional because for the first time I saw my work getting screened in front of my own people,” Tariq Bhat, the film director, tells Moneycontrol.

The audience showed enthusiasm for the Welcome to Kashmir movie with a lone theatre in the valley running the initial shows houseful.

“Considering that we have only one percent cinema lovers in Kashmir, the response of Welcome to Kashmir has been rousing. During the first two weeks, the movie has attracted a good crowd in Kashmir, and now it is getting released in other states of India,” says Bhat, who has 11 years of film-industry experience.

Firdous Ahmad, a local youth from Rainawari area of Srinagar says, “The movie is great and watching the local heroes is even more special. For the first time, I saw a movie on Kashmir in Kashmir only. I would urge everyone to come and watch this film.”

The last such movie, Inqalaab (Revolution) was produced in 1989, but could not be released after an insurgency broke out in the region. Due to threats and attacks by militants, the cinema halls and movie-making in Kashmir faced a deadlock for three decades. “When I was a young child, I saw a movie theatre in my home town burning in front of my eyes. On the same day, I decided that one day, I will recreate the cinema in the Valley. Decades ago, the cinema was burned, but, today, I have recreated it. My dream has finally come true,” 42-year-old Bhat recalls.

The last Kashmiri-Bollywood movie, 'Inqalaab' (revolution), was produced in 1989, but could not be released after insurgency broke out in the region.

Talking to Moneycontrol, INOX multiplex owner Vijay Dhar says, for the first two days, the multiplex was completely packed and then the crowd attendance remained 50 per cent. “The public response for the local film made for Bollywood has been tremendous. Being a film lover, it is nice to see our own local actors being watched in cinemas because we have a phenomenal talent for film making in Kashmir.”

INOX staff members says, ever since the multiplex was opened in Kashmir last year, the Welcome to Kashmir movie has become the fourth most-watched movie there so far.

'Welcome to Kashmir' movie has so far become the fourth most-watched movie.

According to Dhar, Welcome to Kashmir is a second locally made film which was also screened in the Valley. “In 1952, Pamposh (Ezra Mir's documentary) was the first film which was produced by the locals and then it was also screened in Kashmir.”

The movie which sheds light on Kashmir’s challenges is directed by Tariq Bhat, who hails from north Kashmir’s Sopore town, and stars debutant local star Ahmad Shahab of Bemina, Srinagar besides actress Mateena Rajput from north Kashmir’s Handwara.

Both Shahab and Rajput say they did not expect a rousing public-response to their movie.

“Since it was my first movie, I was over the moon to see it getting screened in my own city,” 14-year-old Shahab tells Moneycontrol.

Rajput, who has already worked in south Indian movies, says, working on a local movie was completely different.

The story of the film revolves around a girl who visits Kashmir valley and one of her psycho, drug-addicted friends. The film sheds light on pressing issues faced by the people of Kashmir, including drug addiction among the youth, women’s empowerment, and the impact of the conflict on the local people. “Being a Kashmiri and working in Mumbai, I was restless to make movies in Kashmir and involve local artists from the film industry. Unlike other directors who have been showing Kashmir negatively, I wanted to show the positive part of the Valley through this movie,” says Bhat.

Making movies in Kashmir will boost local talent.

Senior broadcaster and writer Satish Vimal says, by making the movies in Kashmir, the local talent will get a huge encouragement to work with the film industry. “The 2020 J&K Film Policy has opened a gateway of opportunities for local youth who can take up their career in filmmaking in Kashmir,” says scriptwriter Vimal.

The film’s title song, skilfully composed by Ishfaq Kawa, a local singer and composer from Baramulla in north Kashmir, adds a colour to the movie, which, according to the crew, showcases a positive side of Kashmir.

“For the first time we have used a full Kashmiri song with English subtitles for a Bollywood movie. Another track in the movie is a Hindi song sung by Javed Ali,” says Bhat.

Kawa who has been hit for his breathtaking Kashmiri songs tells Moneycontrol that for the first time he got a chance to record a song for a Bollywood movie. “I was thrilled to listen to my Kashmiri song in a Bollywood movie on the large screen. It was not just pleasing but also emotional to see my family members listening my song in Srinagar multiplex for the first time ever,” says Kawa.

The movie production started on March 15 last year at the picturesque Gurez Valley in northern Kashmir, and it took six months to complete the shoot.

Last year, INOX set up Kashmir’s first-ever multiplex in Srinagar’s Shivpora area, bringing back cinema halls to the Valley after a gap of three decades.

The trailer of the movie was released on May 6 in a cinema hall in Srinagar’s Shivpora area where INOX, last year, set up Kashmir’s first-ever multiplex, bringing back cinema halls after a gap of three decades.