Bollywood movie Laila Majnu runs houseful on Srinagar re-release

Bollywood movie Laila Majnu re-released in Srinagar, portraying Kashmiri culture, wins hearts and fills theaters.

Bollywood movie Laila Majnu, a tragic romance that portrayed Kashmiri characters in the backdrop of the peaceful valley in 2018, has run houseful on day one of its re-release at the INOX Theatre in Srinagar on Friday.

“We had all the tickets sold for the first show. It was houseful,” Vikas Dhar, Managing Director of the Taksal Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. that owns the multiplex, told The Hindu.

The tragic love story with all the trappings of local culture and family settings failed to make a mark on box office in 2018. The movie consciously stayed away from showing any aspect of conflict, whether masked militants or gun-toting security personnel, and managed to win hearts locally for bringing real cultural and emotional aspects of Kashmir to the silver screen.

“This film always addressed my nostalgia by portraying Kashmir as it is when I studied in Bangalore. I was waiting for its re-release in Srinagar. It’s a dream come true to watch the movie in Srinagar today,” Majid Altaf, an engineering student, said.

The movie starred actors Avinash Tiwary and Tripti Dimri. Directed by director Sajid Ali, who is a brother of film-maker Imtiaz Ali, the movie was conceived and the shoot began in a year when Kashmir erupted with street violence after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen ‘commander’ Burhan Wani. It was released in 2018 and tanked at the box office. It never got released in Kashmir because no cinema halls existed then.

“When I visited a cinema hall after the movie’s release outside J&K, it had just 25 people, including my family. There was just one poster promoting it. Cut to 2024, it’s houseful in Srinagar and there are big posters outside. The re-release has become a reality because of the love shown by Kashmiris. When the movie was made there were no cinema halls in Kashmir. Today, I sat with the audience to watch it,” actor Tiwary said. 

Director Ali said the movie means a lot to locals, “as they see their own characters coming alive on the bigger screen and relatable”.