Alia Bhatt, Ranveer Singh-starrer 'Rocky Aur Rani...' should do well in Kashmir, says theatre owner Vikas Dhar

Bigticket Hollywood movies Oppenheimer and Barbie were lapped up by audiences in Srinagar says INOX Cinema theatre owner Vikas Dhar who is confident that the momentum will continue with Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani as the films director Karan Johar enjoys a huge fan following in the regionThe theatre owner said he started getting requests for lsquoOppenheimerrsquo headlined by Cillian Murphy about fourfive weeks before the films release on July 21 Greta Gerwigs lsquoBarbiersquo also opened the same day whereas the Tom Cruisestarrer lsquoMission Impossible 7rsquo hit the screens on July 14They said Please make sure it releases on the same day as the worldwide release and the rest of India For the first time we have three Hollywood films playing at the same timerdquoWe are looking forward to Rocky Aur Rani coming this week Karan Johar has a huge fan following in Kashmir I think that film should also do well I feel the movie will be a longerlasting film than Barbie or Oppenheimer Dhar told PTI in an interviewIn a video message Johar expressed immense gratitude to Dhars educationist father Vijay Dhar and the people of Kashmir for their love and support during the making of Rocky Aur Rani He shot Tum Kya Mile the song from the film which releases Friday in KashmirDhar said it was a lovely surprise when the filmmaker thanked his father in the videoKaran Johar thanked Vijay Dhar which was quite a surprise Kashmiris are house proud We love the beauty of Kashmir We are not somebody who grows up saying We have seen this every day For us to see that a big production house is coming here to shoot the movie makes us extremely proud and happy The reaction of people here is fantastic he further saidThe love for cinema in Kashmir is not just limited to Bollywood he said recalling how the tickets for lsquoOppenheimerrsquo were sold out in twothree hours of opening and the firstday first show of the movie was house full lsquoBarbiersquo starring Margot Robbie had a relatively slow start but picked up laterHe praised the youth of Kashmir for being in tune with the rest of the worldThey are not as you say a frog in the well like we were when we were growing up They are more global citizens and they are the people who are interested in the history of the world They understand who Cillian Murphy is who Christopher Nolan is he addedThe theatre owner who fulfilled his fathers dream by setting up a cinema hall in Srinagar 32 years after terror groups had banned or burnt majority of these theatres in the city dreams that the Valley has more theatres in the coming timeMy hope is that more cinema houses come up Mentally its not a default option for us like in the evening Lets go to the cinema hall see what movie is screening go get tickets eat some dinner and come backRight now whats happening is that people with a special interest in a particular movie are coming and seeing it the 56yearold saidCiting the example of lsquoPathaanrsquo Dhar said people came in droves to watch the Shah Rukh Khanstarrer earlier this year so much so that a viewer asked him if he could bring a chair from his house since they had run out of ticketsPeople had no idea there was a multiplex here before Pathaan and they came in droves The word of mouth helped which I hope will happen for Rocky Aur Rani and Jawan which is also comingWord of mouth spreads so fast that people start walking in demanding tickets We said we cant do it the shows are all fun One said Ill bring a chair from my house Can I sit in Can I watch You can charge me extra money So that is coming in but we know it will take time he addedINOX Cinema is Kashmirs first multiplex opened in the Sonawar area on September 20 screened lsquoLaal Singh Chaddharsquo starring Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan on its opening dayDays ago Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha inaugurated 100seater multipurpose film theatres in Baramulla and Handwara towns of the union territory Last year similar theatres were inaugurated by the LG in Shopian and Pulwama districts of JampKThree new cinemas will open in Bandipora Ganderbal and Kulgam districts in September taking the total number of districts in the Valley to have film theatres to sevenThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever