The Hindu Business Line : Kashmir’s last-standing moviehouse

They tried old films, new films, art films, action films, B-grade films, skin flicks, English movies and even Pakistani films, still the lone cinema in Kashmir couldn’t attract any crowd. But Neelam Cinema in Srinagar has survived all odds for over two decades in the insurgency-hit Valley.

Cinemas and wine shops were shut down by insurgents who deemed them un-Islamic. Down the years a whole new generation has grown up without the magic of the big screen and, surprisingly, nobody is complaining.

The cinema culture has totally disappeared here and Kashmiris seem to prefer to stay in the secure environs of their homes than venture out to enjoy a new Bollywood spectacle.

“The new generation of Kashmiris don’t know about cinema as they have grown up in an isolated environment,” says Shahnawaz Khan, who has worked on a research project on the cinemas of Kashmir. “Real action (violence), changed mindset, security concerns, increased conservatism have pushed cinema out of this society.”

After staying closed for eight years, Neelam restarted operations in 1997 as did two more theatres in the city.

While the others quickly closed down again, following a grenade attack on the moviegoers, Neelam continued to operate without pause.

But today it seems to be crumbling under its own weight. The building is in dire need of repairs, and one can find more pigeons in it than people!

Security concerns are taking their toll. Owing to the threat perception, this 400-seater cinema is one of the most secured in India. CRPF troops guard the building 24/7 from their fortified bunkers encircled by coils of razor wire.

As the area also houses the Civil Secretariat, troops are present in even larger numbers in the vicinity.

The heavy security arrangement acts as a dampener for moviegoers.

“Nobody wants to become a cinema shaheed (martyr),” says Khan, referring to local feelings about the danger of visiting cinema. “Cinema is the last place where a Kashmiri will want to be present during a gunbattle or a grenade attack,” he adds.

But the employees of Neelam Cinema soldier on. “We don’t have any work and we are too old to do anything else,” says Mohammed Shafi, an elderly worker. “We cling to this job so that we and our families can survive.”

The worker assigned to paste the cinema posters ventures to do so only at night so that nobody can see him.

The theatre screens three shows a day to an average audience of eight people. “We have sometimes shown the movie to just five persons,” says Shafi.

The theatre is currently on lease with a Punjab-based businessman who, sources say, is desperate to move out of it.

Cinema and Kashmir politics have a long association.

It was the screening of an English movie, Lion of the Desert, that triggered one of the earliest anti-establishment protests in Srinagar; some of those protestors are today senior separatist leaders.

The Dukhtaran i Milat (daughters of faith), an organisation of female separatists, first shot into the limelight when its members led by their firebrand chief, Aasiya Andrabi, blackened “indecent” movie posters.

Several Kashmiri militants were once associated with these cinemas in one way or another, and they took up the gun after their closure in 1989.

Cinemas have also served as important security outposts for military troops. After their closure, many of the cinemas were turned into makeshift security camps that usually doubled as interrogation centres and temporary prisons.

Troops occupy many of the cinemas even today. Some that were vacated have been turned into other businesses.

One former theatre, for instance, today functions as a large private hospital and another as a hotel.

Theatre owners also blame the growing popularity of cable TV for the decline of cinema in Kashmir. Nearly all cable operators here are able to air brand new movies, including some that have just been released or are yet-to-be released.

“When a person gets to see a just-released movie at home why will he bother to come here,” says Younis Sheikh, a youth in Srinagar. “It is not advisable to spend Rs 50 on a ticket when it is disapproved by your parents and society alike.”

Meanwhile, the employees of Neelam Cinema are even more worried as they learn that the owners have nearly made up their mind to close down the cinema.

It may just be a matter of time before the last silver screen in Kashmir fades out, with no farewell, and surely no obituary.