House-full signs are being posted at cinemas in occupied Kashmir for the first time in more than 15 years as a film festival featuring Bollywood and Iranian movies draws audiences long scared off by militant violence. Before the anti-India Intifada flared in 1989, cinemas in occupied Srinagar used to be crowded, even overcrowded -- especially on Fridays when fresh prints of the latest Indian films would arrive, cinema buffs recall.
But the rebels soon forced the closure of all cinema houses in the Muslim-dominated valley, including 10 in occupied Srinagar. They also closed down bars and beauty parlours.
After eight movie-free years, two cinemas -- Broadway and Neelam -- reopened in occupied Srinagar in 1998 after the state government assured the owners it would provide full security.
When the third hall opened three years ago, however, it stayed open for precisely one show before militants attacked it with grenades, killing two cinema-goers and injuring dozens of others.
But with violence levels dropping and tourism rising in valley -- the fruits of a slow-moving peace process between India and Pakistan -- India's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting joined forces with occupied Kashmir's Information department to launch the rare film festival.
"The two cinemas are running full houses," said Farooq Renzu, head of the information department.
The main drawcard has been the rerun of the classic "Mughal-e-Azam" (The Great Mughal), a film that was screened to full houses for six continuous months in the late 70s, and which has now been coloured chemically.
"It is proving to be a big success. The idea behind the festival is to provide award winning films to the people," Renzu said, adding that in all, 23 films have been screened.
The films, shown three times a day, have been watched by some 10,000 people since the week-long festival began last Friday, he said.
Although crowded, the enthusiasm at the film festival has not reached pre-1989 levels when crowds queuing for tickets for big shows would become unruly and police would wade in with batons.
During the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, when movie-watching reached its zenith, a 10-rupee ticket was going for 150 rupees on the black market. "All that is a thing of the past," said one such former black market trader Bashir Ahmed.
"Those were peaceful days," he reminisced. "The last cinema show used to end around midnight."
The end of the cinema-going culture forced Ahmed to change jobs, and he has no regrets.
"Now I am happy selling these," he said pointing to readymade garments in his roadside kiosk. "At least I am not doing anything my children will be ashamed of."
"All that is gone. But today I enjoyed watching a film again on the big screen," said Gaisudin Babar, 45, after a showing of "Mughal-e-Azam".
Babar, who owns a grocery shop, said he had last watched a film in a cinema hall 10 years ago.
The predominantly-Hindu city of occupied Jammu has been less affected by the insurgency and cinema halls have escaped unscathed.
Also popular at the current festival is "Kashmir Ki Kali" (Flower of Kashmir) shot exclusively in the Valley, once the most popular location for Bollywood producers who loved to project their dance and song sequences against a backdrop of Himalayan mountains, fast-flowing streams and clear-water lakes.
"It took me back to the golden old days," said Zahid Maqbool, 55, after watching the movie.
But not all residents welcome the change: Idrees Ahmed, 24, voiced support for the militants' crackdown on cinema halls.
"Bollywood films are packed with obscenity. It is good the cinemas have been closed," he said, terming the film festival a "government-sponsored event aimed at projecting an image that "everything is normal" in occupied Kashmir.
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