Citara Plex to resume daily film screenings in Kashmir’s 4 town halls from Aug 15

Srinagar, Aug 02: Daily film screenings will resume in Citara Plex across four district cinema halls in Jammu and Kashmir from August 15, in a move aimed at reviving local theatre culture in non-urban areas of the valley.The Citara cinemas located in Baramulla (Sherwani Hall), Handwara, Shopian, and Pulwama will begin by offering free entry to children, along with a selection of classic and contemporary films suitable for general audiences.The initiative is co-founded by filmmaker Tutu Sharma and Industrialist Rahul Nehra and is supported by Indian film and media professionals, including veteran producer Tutu Sharma, Rahul Nehra, and actors Padmini Kohlapure, Shobana Chandrakumar, and Rannvijay Singh Singha.The participating cinema halls had remained largely non-operational or irregular for over 30 years. While multiplexes such as INOX have reintroduced commercial screenings in Srinagar, the reopening of single-screen theatres in smaller towns is being viewed as a significant development, not only in terms of infrastructure but also in the gradual return of community-level cultural engagement.Each venue will screen a set of curated titles, with a focus on child-friendly content during the initial phase. To encourage attendance among young audiences, the organisers have also announced free popcorn distribution for children during the opening week.The initiative is supported by industry professionals with backgrounds in film production, exhibition, and cultural programming. Tutu Sharma is best known for his work in Hindi cinema during the 1980s and 1990s. Rahul Nehra has been involved in founding Broadcast Technology @ Mini Malls anchored by Mini Cinema Halls across India. Actresses Padmini Kohlapure and Shobana, both respected names in Indian film, have lent support to the project, along with actor and media figure Rannvijay Singh Singha.Project coordinators said that the objective is to reintroduce local communities to the cinema-going experience, particularly in areas where such infrastructure has been absent or underutilised for decades.The reopening of these halls has drawn strong interest from residents, particularly older citizens who associate cinema-going with an era before the Valley’s theatres were shuttered in the 1990s. Several individuals have described the return of local screenings as a reactivation of civic memory.“These were not just cinema halls, they were social reference points,” said Mohammad Ayub, 64, a former employee. “To have them operational again is to acknowledge a cultural space we lost a long time ago.”Many parents have also expressed enthusiasm about taking their children to a theatre for the first time.For many observers, the effort reflects a growing recognition that restoring civic life in Kashmir also requires investment in cultural infrastructure, not only as a soft power strategy but as a way of enabling communities to reconnect with shared social space.“Cinema in Kashmir has always been more than entertainment,” said one Srinagar-based academic. “It’s about continuity, public life, and the ability to gather without fear. Restoring that matters,” he added.