From terror ban to empty seats: Kashmir’s unfinished cinema story

Srinagar: On December 31, 1989, as Kashmir slid into a violent new phase, cinema halls fell silent after a diktat issued by now vanished terror outfit “Allah Tigers.”

Declaring film exhibition “un-Islamic,” the outfit targeted theatres, video parlours and other public spaces. In an atmosphere of fear and collapsing authority, cinema owners complied. Screens went dark—and a thriving urban culture vanished almost overnight.

The outfit faded in the early 1990s, with members widely believed to have been absorbed into outfits such as Hizbul Mujahideen. But its diktat outlived it.

A brief attempt to revive cinema in 1998 saw Regal and Broadway halls in Srinagar reopen under heavy security. The audience did not return. Within months, both shut again.

More than three decades later in 2022, the screens returned. But the audience that has returned is not the one that left.

At Srinagar’s new multiplexes, including Inox Multiplex and Cinepolis, rows designed for over 150 viewers often run at 20–30% occupancy on weekdays, rising to 50–60% on weekends or during major releases. The numbers point to a cautious revival—visible, but uneven.

The audience is younger, urban and relatively better-off. Ticket prices ranging from ₹180 to ₹400, combined with food and transport costs, make cinema a premium outing in a region with high unemployment. For many, especially outside Srinagar, it remains occasional rather than routine.

“There’s interest, but not habit,” said Daniyal, a university student. “People come for the experience.”

Women’s presence has increased in multiplex spaces, though evening shows still skew male. Programming, too, reflects changing tastes: Bollywood dominates, but South Indian blockbusters often draw stronger crowds. Local films struggle to convert sentiment into ticket sales.

Streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have further altered behaviour, offering convenience that theatres must compete with.

Outside Srinagar, the revival is beginning to spread, though unevenly. In recent years, smaller cinema halls and mini-theatres have reopened in districts such as Pulwama and Shopian, drawing encouraging crowds during popular releases.

But the ecosystem remains fragile—limited screens, inconsistent programming and dependence on big-ticket films mean cinema-going has yet to become a sustained, everyday practice

For a generation that grew up without theatres, cinema-going is still new. What was once a habit is now an experience—planned, occasional and shaped as much by curiosity as by cost.

Cinemas in Kashmir are no longer empty. They fill up for big releases, on weekends, when the moment demands it. But in the quieter hours—in the ordinary rhythm of a weekday—the gaps remain.

The ban is long gone. The outfit that enforced it has faded into history. Yet decades later, Kashmir’s cinema halls still struggle to shake off that shadow.