Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali addressing a press conference
By Tehelka Web Desk
Renowned filmmaker Imtiaz Ali has called for greater support for local storytelling and film education in Kashmir, saying the region has stories rooted in its culture and experiences that deserve to be told by its own filmmakers.
Speaking at a press conference in Srinagar, Ali said cinema could help audiences understand cultures and places they had never personally experienced.
“We never went to Iran, but seeing Iranian cinema, gave us an idea of their culture. America also, when we were growing up, we had not gone there, but through Hollywood we saw it. The same goes for European cinema also,” he said.
“Cinema is a window into another world,” Ali added.
He said aspiring filmmakers in Kashmir needed opportunities to learn the craft and tell their own stories, particularly as digital platforms had made filmmaking more accessible.
Ali also advocated workshops and a film school in Kashmir, saying young people needed both technical training and guidance on storytelling.
“We get a lot of messages from the youth. At the previous conclave, the entire Q&A was about where to send stories and how to make them,” he said.
“So here, workshops — and if a film school opens, it will be very good. So that they get film education as well as a perspective on telling their own stories,” he added.
Ali recalled Kashmir’s changing cinema culture, noting that theatres had reopened after decades of disruption. “Today, after nearly 36 years, the theatre has opened,” he said.
He recalled the attempted reopening of Regal cinema in 1999, when “in the first show there was a grenade blast. One person died and 12 were injured.”
Ali said decades of experience would inevitably influence local filmmakers. “When you have seen an atmosphere for 30 years or 25 years, the stories of filmmakers are also somewhat like that,” he said.
He introduced actor Sanjay Suri as a “local boy” from Srinagar and actor Vedang Raina as “another local boy” returning to his hometown. Raina said, “Kashmir will always be home. Srinagar will always be home.”
Actor Sharvari said regional cinema offered young actors opportunities to discover different stories, while singer Sunidhi Chauhan expressed hope of returning to Kashmir for a concert, saying, “The love and the respect that you people have, you rarely get to see it.”
