Srinagar: Cinema and Kashmir have shared an uneasy relationship for several decades. But now there’s change in the air— and on the ground.

Hollywood writer-director Christopher Nolan’s latest opus, ‘Oppenheimer’, is drawing youngsters in droves and running to packed shows at Srinagar’s INOX facility. All shows on Sunday are already booked. And the collections here could surpass Shah Rukh Khan’s blockbuster, ‘Pathaan’!

INOX owner Vikas Dhar said that many youngsters from across the Valley started enquiring about the movie on social media as long as a month before its release. “We had promised them that the film will be out (in Srinagar) on the day of its worldwide release,” Dhar said.

Cinema returned to the strife-torn Valley barely a year ago after decades of shutdown due to terrorism. Srinagar’s INOX was the first to get off the blocks last September, followed by two cinemas in south Kashmir’s Shopian and Pulwama districts. Last week, two more came up in north Kashmir’s Baramulla and Handwara. Ganderbal, Bandipora and Kulgam will join the list by September.

Kashmiris were forced out of cinema halls following diktats from terrorists in 1990. Three cinemas—Broadway, Neelam and Regal—reopened in 1999. But on the first day of Regal’s reopening, grenades were hurled at viewers coming out of the theatre. One person died. Soon, the theatres morphed into paramilitary barracks, malls, hospitals and ruins.

LG Manoj Sinha has promised to open theatres in every district. The return of cinema is part of the engagement initiatives of the J&K administration. Article 370, which gave Jammu and Kashmir special status, was revoked by the Centre in August 2019.

The rush at INOX, which seats 220, underlines a craving for the movies. IT engineer Saaqib Iqbal and doctor Falak tried to buy a ticket but the shows were full. Civil engineer Khalid Mir was enthusiastic about watching the movie but, like many others, wasn’t lucky to get a first-day ticket. “I had not expected such a rush for this movie in Srinagar,” he said.

‘Oppenheimer’s’ success demonstrates the Kashmiris’ evolving taste in cinema. Movie lovers from across the Valley are making advance bookings, Dhar said.