MUMBAI: Afghani filmmaker Hashmatullah Khan’s Spring Of Hope will be released in India with English sub-titles in mid-December this year. Plans are to release the film alongside Yash Chopra’s Kabul Express.

Spring of Hope stars Afghani actors except for the female lead played by Zarina, who hails from Tajikistan. Bollywood’s cameraman S. Pappu has provided the photography for the film.

While Kabul Express is reported to be made on a budget of Rs 80 to 100 million (Rs 8 to 10 crore), Spring Of Hope is budgeted at around Rs 20 million (Rs 2 crore), which is the highest as far as Afghanistan film industry is concerned.

Khan said, “Since 2002, the Afghan film industry has not been producing too many films. Since more than two decades, the film industry (like the theatres) are in a mess. There are around 20-21 theatres in Kabul. They all screen Indian movies illegitimately.”

Plans are to screen Spring Of Hope at the IFFI festival in Goa.

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