Magic of big screen returns to Kashmir after Islamist ban.

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Local businessman defies separatist threats to bring cinema back to Srinagar.

Cinemas in Srinagar were forced to close by militants who threatened moviegoers with death. Photograph: Fayaz Kabli/Reuters
▼ Ageneration of men and women in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmirwho have never been inside a cinema may finally be able to watch a film on the big screen later this year if a local Indian businessman, Vijay Dhar, has his way.
Dhar plans to open a cinema in the capital, Srinagar, so movies can be experienced again almost 30 years after the first cinemas were shut by Islamic separatists.
“I want young people here to enjoy the same entertainment as people in the rest of India. If some object and don’t want to come, that’s fine, but for those who want to visit a cinema we need to provide that basic amenity,” said Dhar, who runs a school and a hospitality company.
The campaign against cinemas in the region began in 1989 when the Allah Tigers organised an armed rebellion against Indian rule and in favour ofazaadi(freedom) or merger with Pakistan. The militants denounced cinemas, bars and beauty parlours as “un-Islamic” and threatened that anyone who disobeyed would be punished with death.
Kashmir used to have about two dozen cinemas with names such as the Palladium and the Regal; Dhar used to own one – the Broadway. By 1990 all had closed. At the time many Kashmiris thought this was a temporary situation, but it turned out to be permanent. Most were turned into garrisons for security forces or converted into hospitals or shopping complexes. In 1996 three cinemas reopened after their owners received government assurances. The security was formidable, but three years later two closed when militants attacked the Regal, killing one moviegoer. The Neelam limped on with few visitors.
Kashmir’s snow-topped mountains and rolling meadows used to be the favourite location for Bollywooddirectors. For Indians used to tropical heat, (▪ ▪ ▪)

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