Bollywood movies made a return to Manipur, after a hiatus of 23 years CineEye, August 19, 2023August 19, 2023 Bollywood movies have made a triumphant return to strife-torn Manipur, after a hiatus of 23 years prompted by militant organizations’ ban, The resurgence took place on Tuesday, coinciding with the 77th Independence Day celebrations. The Hmar Students’ Association (HSA), a Kuki-Zo tribal students’ organization, orchestrated the screening of the Bollywood film “Uri: The Surgical Strike” in the hill district of Churachandpur’s Rengkai, reports Sentinel Assam. The event, a watershed moment, saw a projector set up for a handpicked audience, commencing at 7:30 pm. An impressive turnout of over 100 attendees marked this historic occasion. The 1990s classic “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” was also slated for screening. Intriguingly, “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” was the last Hindi film shown in a Manipur theater in the late 1990s. He elucidated that the militants’ primary rationale for the ban was their perception of Hindi films as foreign entities that adversely influenced Meitei/Manipuri culture. “The state government still upholds this ban, but we do not align with it,” Lalremsang emphasized. Churachandpur once boasted a few theaters, all of which were shuttered following the prohibition on Hindi film screenings. The ban’s repercussions extended to several other theaters in the Meitei-majority Imphal valley. The rationale cited was that Bollywood’s influence ran counter to Manipuri culture, language, and the local film industry. The group believed that Bollywood contradicted Manipuri values. This prohibition proved detrimental to the state’s movie theater business. Notably, this ban also prevented the screening of the biopic on Manipur’s boxing champion, MC Mary Kom, in her home state. Priyanka Chopra, the Bollywood actress, portrayed the lead role of the boxer in the film. BREAKING News
The resurgence took place on Tuesday, coinciding with the 77th Independence Day celebrations. The Hmar Students’ Association (HSA), a Kuki-Zo tribal students’ organization, orchestrated the screening of the Bollywood film “Uri: The Surgical Strike” in the hill district of Churachandpur’s Rengkai, reports Sentinel Assam. The event, a watershed moment, saw a projector set up for a handpicked audience, commencing at 7:30 pm. An impressive turnout of over 100 attendees marked this historic occasion. The 1990s classic “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” was also slated for screening. Intriguingly, “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” was the last Hindi film shown in a Manipur theater in the late 1990s. He elucidated that the militants’ primary rationale for the ban was their perception of Hindi films as foreign entities that adversely influenced Meitei/Manipuri culture. “The state government still upholds this ban, but we do not align with it,” Lalremsang emphasized. Churachandpur once boasted a few theaters, all of which were shuttered following the prohibition on Hindi film screenings. The ban’s repercussions extended to several other theaters in the Meitei-majority Imphal valley. The rationale cited was that Bollywood’s influence ran counter to Manipuri culture, language, and the local film industry. The group believed that Bollywood contradicted Manipuri values. This prohibition proved detrimental to the state’s movie theater business. Notably, this ban also prevented the screening of the biopic on Manipur’s boxing champion, MC Mary Kom, in her home state. Priyanka Chopra, the Bollywood actress, portrayed the lead role of the boxer in the film.