Srinagar: Filmmaker Ramesh Sippy, singer Usha Uthup, and their camaraderie were the highlight of the closing ceremony of Jammu & Kashmir’s first international film festival. Uthup’s performance spellbound the audience and simply did not want her to leave. But Sippy’s ‘Trump-meets-Govinda’ dance came out of the syllabus.
Organised by the Department of Information and Public Relations, Jammu & Kashmir, the four-day festival, Rang-e-Cinema, was held from 7 September to 10 September across Srinagar, Jammu and Gulmarg. A total of three of the 10 awards were won by J&K films at the closing ceremony. It was attended by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah and other dignitaries.
Gulzar Ganie added a Kashmiri touch to the evening with his songs. In the opening act, he performed the Sufi kalam ‘Yaar Doad Naar Khoth’. It was followed by a dance performance by Choreographer Sunny Mujoo and her team. Uthup brought an infectious energy, turning the closing ceremony into a concert. The singer performed several of her cult classics, including ‘Ramba Ho’, recently revived by Dhurandhar (2025), and ‘Darling’, along with Asha Bhosle’s iconic ‘Dum Maro Dum’.
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Ending on a high
Uthup also used the stage to flaunt her knowledge of the region’s music. She performed ‘Hokus Bokus’, a Kashmiri folk song, as well as ‘O Kali Bhaga Wala’, a song in Dogri, drawing an enthusiastic response from the local audience.
The performance reached its peak when Uthup began singing ‘Doston Se Pyaar Kiya’ from Sippy’s 1980 action thriller Shaan.
“Thank you, Ramesh ji, for giving me this song,” Uthup said before inviting him on stage.
What followed was perhaps the most unexpected moment of the evening. For the first time, the filmmaker showed off his dance moves. It was a mix of signature steps of US President Donald Trump and Bollywood powerhouse Govinda.
Sippy’s impromptu performance injected an entirely new burst of energy into the audience, while Uthup herself seemed to feed off it. The two turned the closing ceremony into a celebration of music, ending J&K’s first international film festival on a high.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)