SRINAGAR: There are no movie theatres in Srinagar- the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. But that hasnt stopped the citys residents from being resourceful and finding new ways to watch Haider- filmmaker, scriptwriter and lyricist- Vishal Bhardwajs new film- an adaptation of Shakespeares Hamlet, set in 90s Kashmir, battling rising militancy and army crackdowns amid violence- and the third instalment of his Shakespearean trilogy after Maqbool (2003) and Omkara (2006).
A militant group banned public movie shows 20 years ago in Srinagar, backing up their dictat with grenade attacks, to scare-off any prospect of business from either showing or watching movies publicly. Since then, 13 city theatres have been turned into hospitals, guest houses and flour mills. But defying the ban, and mocking its fear, Kashmiris have been quietly scurrying to download copies of the film, making copies and organising private screenings- making Haider, an underground hit- minus box office ratings or collections.
Writing in the Hindustan Times, Peerzada Ashiq says, Kashmiris have generally received the film well- mostly because they can relate to its story, and events, which strike a chord with the average Kashmiri.
Iliyas Naqeeb, a banker said, We can relate to the movie, having lived through the crackdowns and the encounters. Haider is a departure from Bollywoods usual fetish for the Dal Lake, flowers beds and meadow slopes. For the first time, a Hindi film has taken us close to real Kashmir.
Illiyass family recently hired a projector to screen the movie to a roomful of relatives in the downtown area of Hawal. Such private screenings are fairly rare in a city, the report says.
Movie parlours are also reportedly doing brisk business and say the Tabu-starrer is one of the most-circulated films ever. I have shared the downloaded print with dozens of friends. The film is so popular that after greeting friends nowadays we ask them if theyve watched Haider, said Saleh Peerzada, a lawyer.
While the box office usually provides the index to measure the commercial or critical success of a film, the movies success in Srinagar can be gauged by the enthusiastic response from Kashmiris.
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