Srinagar, Sep 7: Bollywood actor Fatima Sana Shaikh, best remembered for her role as wrestler Geeta Phogat in "Dangal," told reporters on Monday that festivals like the ongoing International Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir (IFFJK) 2026 serve as valuable spaces for community and cultural exchange, particularly for young people.
Interacting with the media on the sidelines of the festival in Srinagar, Shaikh said it had been a while since she attended an event of this nature, adding that she was struck by the scale of activity around this year's edition.
According to news agency KNO, Shaikh said festivals such as IFFJK matter most for the youth, offering them a stage to take part in cultural life and showcase their abilities. She added that visitors travelling from outside deserve such opportunities, and that watching young people move forward through cultural participation was a source of pride.
Turning to the role of regional cinema, Shaikh said film remains one of the strongest ways to carry forward a region's poetry, culture and artistic traditions, forms of heritage she described as centuries old and still deserving of a larger stage.
She further noted that hosting an international festival could draw filmmakers from abroad and open up fresh opportunities for shoots in Jammu and Kashmir, observing that the region has hosted film production before and continues to do so, with an international audience likely to gain a clearer picture of the place and its people.
Asked about her former co-star Zaira Wasim, Shaikh said the two had lost touch over the years but that she looked back fondly on their time working together, adding that it was good to see people choose their own paths in life.
She also touched briefly on Kashmir's natural surroundings, remarking on the striking presence of water across the region.
The IFFJK 2026, currently underway in Srinagar, has brought together actors, directors and delegates from across India and beyond for its opening edition.
(With inputs from Kashmir News Observer)
