Floating Cinema®
The Floating Cinema Experience
Selected photographs from the actual floating cinema installation.
Floating Cinema in Action
See the waterfront cinema experience in motion.
Cinema on water. The destination becomes part of the story.
Born on Dal Lake. Made to bring places to life.
Floating Cinema® is the original concept of Aamir Farooq Rather and AQUAPLEX®’s flagship intellectual property. It brings cinema, a floating screen and stage, the audience and the waterfront together as one shared experience.
First created for Iconic Week Festival
Floating Cinema® first came to life on Dal Lake during Iconic Week Festival, held across Jammu & Kashmir to mark the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations. Guests watched from shikaras as the screen, water and surrounding landscape became part of the occasion.
Returning during IFFJK 2026
The Floating Cinema experience returned during IFFJK 2026, bringing the original idea back to a festival setting and continuing its connection between film, culture and place.
Developed through Aquaplex Entertainment Private Limited, Floating Cinema® is designed around a simple idea: let the destination shape the experience. Its floating stage also serves as a waterfront venue for events, concerts and video shoots.
Floating Cinema®: a Dal Lake experience shaped by water
Floating Cinema® began as an original AQUAPLEX® concept for bringing cinema into a waterfront setting. The first presentation took place on Dal Lake during the Iconic Week Festival, held from 23 to 29 October 2021 as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations across Jammu & Kashmir. Screenings invited audiences to watch from shikaras, with the lake, evening atmosphere and surrounding landscape forming part of the occasion.
The concept returned during the International Film Festival of Jammu & Kashmir (IFFJK) from 7 to 10 September 2026. Across both festival moments, the central idea remained the same: rethink the relationship between screen, audience and place. Water is not simply a backdrop; it changes how people arrive, gather and share the experience.
Floating Cinema® is AQUAPLEX®’s flagship intellectual property, developed by Aquaplex Entertainment Private Limited. Its format connects open-air cinema with a floating screen and stage, waterfront programming and the character of each destination. The creative and technical approach can be shaped to the setting and brief; the concept is not a single fixed installation or a claim about a standard equipment package.
At Bagh-e-Bahu, AQUAPLEX Crown is a distinct destination venue created by AQUAPLEX® with a musical fountain, floating stage, open-air cinema, food court, boating facility and kids’ zone. Its floating stage also hosts events, concerts and video shoots. See the AQUAPLEX Crown project for that venue, and read Deccan Herald’s Floating Cinema feature for more background on the original concept.