Bollywood plans to present its mirror to Valley

The last time Bollywood touched down in the Valley was when former J-K chief minister Farooq Abdullah proposed a toast to the stars four years ago to launch Doordarshan’s Kashir channel.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry is now hoping to create the right mood there again, this time with a festival of Indian films in Srinagar, as proposed by secretary Navin Chawla. Come October, the J-K capital will host a bevy of Bollywood stars, who will be flown in for the festival. Though the dates are yet to be finalised, sources said it will mainly showcase popular films shot and produced in Srinagar. Also being planned is a sufiana treat for the listeners.

Modalities are being worked out, and the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) has been asked to conduct a study on organising the festival annually, sources added.

For quite some time now, the Ministry has been toying with the idea of holding such an event in Srinagar, which has offered its locales to some of the finest movies made in India — till militancy raised its head. Officials hope the festival would send a positive signal, and test whether Srinagar is capable of holding such events.