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Srinagar, Sept 7 (PTI): Union minister Jitendra Singh on Monday expressed hope that the International Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir (IFFJK) will not only add to the vibrant cultural landscape of the Union territory but also open new opportunities for the youth.

Singh, addressing the inauguration ceremony of the maiden IFFJK here, said the event sends a strong message to the world that cinema is just as popular in Jammu and Kashmir as it is across the country.

The minister lauded the organisers of the film festival, asserting that the prevailing normalcy in the Union territory has enabled cultural ventures of this scale.

"We are grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the situation here is becoming favourable, and returning to normal to an extent that we are able to successfully organise this programme here," he said, also expressing his gratitude towards the state government and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Singh said this event is heartwarming as he had witnessed the era when cinema halls here started closing down one after the other. "A long period of about 20-25 years passed when we were deprived of cinema.

"Yet, this region has had an inseparable relationship with Indian cinema. We have seen the days when film shootings took place in every street-corner, garden and scenic vistas of Kashmir. Hotels and houseboats used to be bustling with guests from the film industry," he said.

Taking a trip down memory lane, the Union minister recalled the filming of a song from the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer "Kabhi Kabhie" in the Valley.

"I still remember the filming of 'Kabhi Kabhie' here. It featured a song -- this beautiful lyric by Sahir Ludhianvi, 'Main pal do pal ka shayar hoon'. The scene shows Amitabh Bachchan singing the song on a stage at a college programme. The audience in the sequence featured actual students from the Government College for Women, Srinagar," he said.

Singh said he considers the film festival a great platform for the local artists.

"Older generations will recall that during the 1950s and 1960s, many of our finest artists hailed from Kashmir. Among top actors, Raaj Kumar, Jeevan, Sapru, and Om Prakash were all from Kashmir.

"Rajendra Singh Bedi didn't belong to Kashmir, but he served as the station director for Jammu Radio Station and later wrote dialogues for films like Devdas. Balraj Sahni was from Punjab, but he visited Kashmir extensively. Vidhu Vinod Chopra is our friend and college senior -- he also belongs here," he said.

The Union minister asserted that while Kashmir has enriched Bollywood, the film industry has, in turn, enriched the Valley. PTI MIJ ARB ARB

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