J&K: With no cinema halls in Valley, govt to come up with film policy 

NEW DELHI: Amid continued closure of cinemas and theatres in Kashmir since 1990 after the outbreak of militancy, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday said his administration would unveil J&K’s new film policy within 10 days to bring Kashmir’s golden era back on the silver screen.

“The J&K administration will come up with a new film policy in the next 10 days to bring Kashmir’s golden era back on the silver screen,” Sinha said while virtually addressing a two-day conference on ‘Tapping the tourism potential of Kashmir – another day in paradise’ organized by the Union Ministry of Tourism.

He said people have been reading and hearing that Kashmir was once a favorite Bollywood destination in the 1960s, 70s and 80s and “we as a team will work to restore that culture”.The film policy, he said, has been framed after consultations with various stakeholders within J&K and outside.On April 7, Sinha had chaired a meeting to review the proposed J&K film policy-2021. 

He said the film policy will be among the best in the country and all the stakeholders would be taken onboard while finalizing it. Sinha has directed officials to streamline the single window clearance & facilitation system and bring renowned filmmakers for exploring the scenic locales available in abundance in J&K.

All the halls functioning in the Valley were closed after militancy erupted in 1990. An effort by the J&K government in 1999 to open some cinema halls in Srinagar failed after a grenade attack at Regal Cinema in Lal Chowk and elsewhere.However, many hit Bollywood movies have been shot in picturesque Kashmir in the last decade and filmmakers have shown willingness to return to the valley.