Egypt to celebrate Bayram with Shah Rukh's 'Chennai Express'

Over the last couple of years Egypt has winessed tremendous amount of political drama.

But now Egyptians will be treated to a different drama altogether - of over-the-top action, dazzling costumes, catchy music numbers and sumptuous scenery.

After 25 years of hiatus, Indian cinema is returning to Egypt.

The Indian Embassy in Cairo has announced the return of Indian movies to Egyptian theatres from October this year.

'Chennai Express', starring Shah Rukh and Deepika Padukone is all set for a trip to Egyptian theatres in Cairo and Alexandria starting October 2.

In the initial run, the movie will run in 8 theatres in Cairo and two theatres in Alexandria, including at all major theatres and multiplexes.

Chennai Express will be followed by other equally big releases such as 'Krissh 3', starring Hrithik Roshan and 'Dhoom 3', starring Aamir Khan, this December. All films will carry Arabic subtitles.

The prohibitive restrictions effectively ended Indian films in Egypt, but they weren’t enough to save Egypt’s once-robust movie industry.

The Egyptian film business was slowly strangled by cinema from Lebanon, Turkey and global Hollywood mega-pictures. This year has seen the fewest Egyptian cinema productions in the past 20 years.

Many in the Egyptian film industry had simply forgotten about the ban, and it was a happy coincidence that the restrictions were lifted in 2013, the centennial anniversary of the first Indian silent film.

The timing of the movie to be released is quite appropriate for Egyptians who will be celebrating Bayram mid-October.

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