Laal Singh Chaddha to be the first film to be released at Kashmir's first multiplex

Movie buffs in Kashmir are eagerly waiting for September 20 when the multiplex will be thrown open at the high-security Sonwar area a few minutes drive from city centre Lal Chowk. Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha will inaugurate the INOX-designed multiplex on Tuesday at 11 am.

Srinagar (J&K): Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan's latest flick 'Laal Singh Chaddha' must have disheartened the actor and his fans after the film's debacle at the box office amid boycott calls from certain quarters. However, the fans in Kashmir where the movie is set to be the first to be released at the Valley's first multiplex come September 20, will have something to cheer about.

Movie buffs in Kashmir are eagerly waiting for the date when the multiplex will be thrown open in the high-security Sonwar area a few minutes drive from city centre Lal Chowk. Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha will inaugurate the INOX-designed multiplex on Tuesday at 11 am. Vijay Dhar, a prominent Kashmiri Pandit businessman and the brain behind the project, started construction of the multiplex at Shivpora near Badami Bagh cantonment about two years ago.

Dhar also runs the Srinagar branch of the Delhi Public School chain. His sons Vikas and Vishal have worked diligently on the first-of-its-kind project in the Valley. The Dhars also planned a special screening of Aamir Khan's Lal Singh Chadha to coincide with the inauguration of the multiplex. The inauguration of the multiplex marks the return of cinema in Kashmir after three decades. Kashmir used to be the haven of Bollywood film shoots. Until the 90s, there was hardly any Bollywood film that did not feature the beauty of Kashmir. But this came to a halt soon after militancy began rearing its head in Kashmir.