Oppenheimer Creates Waves In Kashmir, Brings Back Locals To Cinema Halls

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New Delhi: Cinema is getting popular in Kashmir, as after Shah Rukh Khan's 'Pathaan', it's Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer', a Hollywood film, which has been running housefull since the day of its release in Srinagar's only multiplex. 

According to the Inox Multiplex theatre of Srinagar, 'Oppenheimer' is running back-to-back housefull shows making it the first Hollywood film to show such response in the valley. Earlier it was Shahrukh Khan starrer 'Pathaan', that saw a massive response from the public in the valley.

"It's the first Hollywood movie that has got so much response from the public. We had not thought that there would be such a rush for a Hollywood film in the valley. It has definitely surpassed our expectations. It is still going strong even after the houseful weekends," said Vikas Dhar, Owner, Inox Srinagar. 

Hundreds of people have seen the movie since the release of the film. Srinagar's lone multiplex is running four shows of the movie every single day and most of them are running houseful. According to the theatre, the tickets for 'Oppenheimer' were sold even before the release of the film. 

The filmgoers not only from Srinagar but other far-flung districts of the Kashmir region are coming to the cinema to watch his film on the bigger screen. And for the young generation of the Valley, they have never seen a theatre in their lives. Kashmir had dozens of Cinema Halls till early 1990, but with the start of the insurgency, All the cinema halls in the Valley were shut down. 

"We all friends had pre-booked tickets when we heard about this movie. Our friends came to see it. And it's great that we are watching Hollywood movies in a multiplex that too in Srinagar," said one.

The Multiplex located in Srinagar's Shivpora area has three screens and a total seating capacity of around 520 people. And it's the second time after the reopening of the cinema in Valley, that Housefull boards have propped up outside the Multiplex. 

The owners at the multiplex are expecting a huge response for the upcoming Karan Johar movie, 'Rani Aur Rocky ki Prem Kahani'. "We are getting huge advance bookings for Rani Aur Rocky ki Prem Kahani. We are hoping to break all the previous records of collections with this movie," said Vikas Dhar, Owner, Inox Srinagar. 

Kashmir Valley saw the revival of cinema after three long decades. Earlier in the 80s, Kashmir was having half a dozen cinema halls, but they all got shut after terrorists threatened and attacked them, leading to them shutting down their business.