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The Kashmir Files

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The Kashmir Files is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language film,[1] written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri. Produced by Zee Studios,[5] the film is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits during the Kashmir Insurgency.[6] It stars Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi.[7]

The Kashmir Files
The Kashmir Files
Theatrical release poster
Directed byVivek Agnihotri
Written byVivek Agnihotri
Saurabh M. Pandey
Starring
CinematographyUdaysingh Mohite
Edited byShankh Rajadhyaksha
Music byScore:
Rohit Sharma
Songs:
Swapnil Bandodkar
Production
companies
Zee Studios
Abhishek Agarwal Arts
Distributed byZee Studios
Release date
  • 11 March 2022 (2022-03-11)
Running time
170 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budgetest. ₹15 crore[2]
Box officeest. ₹60.20 crore[3]

The film was set to release theatrically worldwide on 26 January 2022, coinciding with India's Republic Day,[8] but was postponed due to the Omicron variant spread,[9] and finally theatrically released on 11 March 2022.[10] It became a box office success,[11][12] though critical reception has been middling.[13] The performances of the cast have been described as compelling, particularly that of Kher's,[16] but the film has faced charges of historical revisionism,[20] and is considered to be propaganda aligned with the ruling party,[23] and aimed at fostering prejudice against Muslims.[24] The film was endorsed, promoted and provided with tax-free status in multiple states by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.[13][25]

Plot

The plot switches between the contemporary period (2021) and flashbacks to 1989–1990.

Circa 1989–1990

In 1989-90 Kashmir, militants storm and banish Kashmiri Hindu Pandits from the valley using the slogan "Raliv Galiv ya Chaliv" ("convert, leave or die"). Kashmiri Pandit Pushkar Nath (Anupam Kher) fears for the safety of his son Karan (Amaan Iqbaal), who has been accused by the militants to be an Indian spy. Pushkar requests his friend Brahma Dutt (Mithun Chakraborty), a civil servant, for the protection of Karan. Brahma travels with Pushkar to Kashmir and notices the plight of Kashmiri Pandits. He takes up the issue with J&K's chief minister (Amit Behl) who suspends Brahma.

Militant commander Farooq Malik Bitta (Chinmay Mandlekar), also a former student of Pushkar, breaches Pushkar Nath's house. Karan hides in a rice container but is found and shot by Bitta. Pushkar and his daughter-in-law Sharda (Bhasha Sumbli) plead for their lives. Bitta compels Sharda to eat rice soaked in Karan's blood in exchange for their lives. After Bitta and his gang leave the house, Pushkar takes Karan to the hospital and requests the doctor Mahesh Kumar (Prakash Belawadi) to save Karan's life. However, the hospital gets taken over by militants, who forbid the hospital staff from treating non-Muslims. Subsequently, Karan succumbs to injuries from gunshots.

Journalist Vishnu Ram (Atul Srivastava) takes Pushkar and his family to Kaul, a Hindu poet who maintains a cordial relationship with Muslims. Kaul takes in many Pandits into his home but a group of militants arrives to pick Kaul and his son up in the guise of offering protection. The rest of the Pandits leave the place but are later shocked to find the dead bodies of Kaul and his son hanging from trees.

The refugee Pandits from the Kashmir valley settle in Jammu and live on meager ration and harmful conditions. Brahma is appointed as an advisor to the new Governor of J&K. On his request, the Home Minister visits the Jammu camps where Pushkar demands the removal of Article 370 and the resettlement of Kashmiri Pandits. Brahma manages to get Sharda a government job in Nandimarg in Kashmir, and the family moves there.

Pushkar's family later settles in Nadimarg.[clarification needed] A group of militants headed by Bitta dress up as Indian Army and round up the remaining Pandits there. Sharda resists when the militants get hold of her elder son Shiva. Angry Farooq strips her and saws her body in half. He lines up Shiva and the remaining Pandits and shoots them into a mass grave. Pushkar is spared to spread the word about what happened.

2021

In the present day, Sharda's younger son Krishna (Darshan Kumar) is brought up by Pushkar. He believes that his parents had died in an accident. A student of ANU, Krishna is under the influence of professor Radhika Menon (Pallavi Joshi) who believes in the "Kashmir cause". Pushkar's friends Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, and police officer Hari Narain (Puneet Issar), who had served in Kashmir when Karan was killed, recall the events of Kashmir from their memory that Brahma calls a "genocide."

Krishna contests the ANU's student election. Following the advice of professor Radhika Menon, he holds the Government of India responsible for the issue of Kashmir, much to the anger of Pushkar. Pushkar dies, and Krishna travels to his ancestral home in Kashmir to scatter the ashes per Pushkar's last wish. Menon asks Krishna to shoot some footage in Kashmir in order to expose the government. With the help of a contact of Menon's, Krishna meets Bitta and accuses him of being responsible for the situation of Pandits but Bitta declares himself to be a new-age Gandhi who is leading a non-violent democratic movement. Bitta claims that it was the Indian Army, who killed Krishna's mother and brother. When Krishna questions Brahma about this claim, Brahma hands him newspaper cuttings (collected by Pushkar), which say that militants disguised as Indian Army soldiers killed them.

Krishna returns to Delhi and gives a scheduled speech for university presidential elections, among the roaring crowd of the ANU campus. He elaborates on the history of Kashmir and the plight of his family and other Kashmiri Hindu victims that he perceived from his trip. This is a bolt from blue to his mentor Professor Menon and her students. Krishna is then met with resistance and ridicule from students and an eventual embrace by a few.

Cast

Production

On 14 August 2019, Agnihotri announced the film with its first look poster. The subject of the film was the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits that took place between the late 80s and early 90s.[26][27] As a part of production, Vivek Agnihotri claimed to have interviewed more than 700 emigrants from the exodus and recorded their stories over a period of two years [28] Actor Anupam Kher joined the cast as the lead actor of the film in May 2020. The first schedule of the film was called off due the coronavirus outbreak.[29] Yograj Singh was removed for his speeches at the 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest,[30] and Puneet Issar was brought in as replacement.[31] A line producer, Sarahna died during the production by committing suicide.[32]

Critical reception

 
Kher's performance in The Kashmir Files was generally praised by the film critics.[33][15]

Stutee Ghosh of The Quint rated the film 3.5 out of 5 and found the film to have made a compelling case for Kashmiri pandits and their "hitherto unaddressed wounds" but wished for more nuance; the cinematography esp. color palette, Anupam Kher's acting, and realist depictions were praised in particular.[14] Likewise, Jagadish Angadi of Deccan Herald was effusive in his praise — Agnihotri's use of non-linear narratives and strong dialogues, enviable background research, and strong individual performances produced an "intense watch".[34] Avinash Lohana of Pinkvilla scored the film at 3 out of 5 stars, praising the cast performances—particularly that of Kher's—and behind-the-scenes research but criticized the lack of balance.[35]

Shubhra Gupta, reviewing for The Indian Express gave the film a 1.5 out of 5 stars; uninterested in nuance, the film was held to be a work of propaganda aligned with the ruling party's discourse that only aimed to stoke the "deep-seated anger" of pandits but it did tap into the grief of a displaced community and Kher's performance was commendable.[21] Anuj Kumar reviewing for The Hindu described the film as disturbing; a work of historical revisionism, created with "some facts, some half-truths, and plenty of distortions" and coupled with compelling performances and brutally intense visualisations, aimed at inciting hatred against Muslims.[17]

Rahul Desai, reviewing for Film Companion, found the work to be a "fantasy-revisionist" rant lacking in clarity, craft, and sense where every Muslim was a Nazi and every Hindu, a Jew; with an unconvincing screenplay and weak characters, it was propaganda that strove only to tune in with the Hindu nationalist mood of the nation rather than offer genuine empathy to the displaced victims.[19] Rohit Bhatnagar of The Free Press Journal found the screenplay as well as individual performances to be sloppy, thus failing to "translate the grief on the big canvas" and make any mark; however, he admired the effort that went behind the film and rated 2.5 out of 5 stars.[36] Shilajit Mitra of The New Indian Express panned the film with a rating of 1 out of 5 stars and castigated Agnihotri for exploiting the suffering of Kashmiri pandits by doing away with all nuance in service of a "communal agenda".[18]

Government support

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has endorsed and promoted the film.[13][25] It was declared tax-free in multiple BJP controlled states such as Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand,[37][38] with an urge by several chief ministers and members of Parliament for "everyone to watch the movie".[25][39] Union Minister Smriti Irani was one of the most vocal in promoting the film.[13] Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also attacked critics in response to negative reviews, claiming that there is a conspiracy to discredit the film, which according to him "reveals the truth".[40]

Political messaging and historical accuracy

The film's producer Vivek Agnihotri claims the film to be a depiction of the "truth of Kashmir".[41] Its key message is that what is known as the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits is actually a "genocide".[18]

The film is seen depicting the Jawaharlal Nehru University as an anti-national, terror-friendly institution.[41] The Article 370 of the Constitution that granted nominally autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir, is named as one of the reasons for the displacement of the Kashmiri Pandits.[41] Blame is also attached to the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, and the Kashmiri-origin central home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed (while the serving prime minister V. P. Singh and the Bharatiya Janata Party that supported his government are absolved of responsibility).[41][17] The central character Krishna Pandit is shown as turning against the present-day prime minister Narendra Modi due to the influence of terrorists.[41] The former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is also subtly derided for attempting to win the hearts of Kashmiris.[17]

The film focuses exclusively on the killings of Kashmiri Hindus in 1990 and afterwards, whereas Kashmiri Muslims were also killed during the insurgency (in greater numbers in fact).[42][a] Film faced charges of historical revisionism and unnuanced storytelling, in what many deem a ploy to foster prejudice against Muslims.[47][13]The exclusive focus on violence of Muslims on Hindus is seen to be promoting Islamophobia.[41][48][46]

A Kashmiri terrorist named Farooq Malik Bitta is depicted in the movie, fashioned after Farooq Ahmed Dar ("Bitta Karate") and Yasin Malik rolled into one. But he is also shown as being involved in the 2003 Nadimarg massacre, which was not Dar's doing. Krishna's mother, fashioned after Mrs. Ganjoo, is shown to have been killed in this massacre, which was not the case in real life.[41][49] Neither are the facts of Bitta Karate's conviction and long years of incarceration mentioned.[17]

Release and box office

The Kashmir Files was released in over 630 screens in India on 11 March 2022.[50] The film earned ₹3.55 crore, ₹8.50 crore[3] and ₹15.10 crore at the domestic box office respectively on its first three days, taking its opening weekend collection to ₹27.15 crore.[3] After the response from the first two days, the shows were increased to 2,000 on 13 March 2022.[51]

The Kashmir Files emerged as a box-office hit within its first two days of release.[52] As of 15 March 2022, the film has collected ₹60.20 crore at the domestic box office.[3] Additionally, the film earned an estimated amount of ₹5 crore at the overseas markets in its opening weekend.[53]

Impediments

Threats

The makers of the film has stated that mutliple Fatwas were issued against Agnihotri and his family.[54] Death threats and calls to stop the release were also reported.[55]

Litigations

A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by an Uttar Pradesh resident which sought a stay on the film's release on grounds that the film may portray the Muslims as killers of the Kashmiri pandits, presenting what it described as a one-sided view that would hurt the sentiments of Muslims and could trigger violence against Muslims. The PIL was dismissed by the Bombay High Court on grounds that the filer should have challenged the certificate issued to the film by the Central Board of Film Certification.[56]

Another lawsuit was filed by the widow of an Indian Armed Forces squadron leader who died during the Kashmir Insurgency. The widow's lawsuit said that the film portrayed a false depiction of events related to her husband and sought a stay on its release. Accordingly, the court restrained the makers from showing relevant scenes.[57]

Notes

  1. ^ According to the Indian Home Ministry's internal data, 1,583 Hindu civilians were killed in the conflict between 1988 and 2005, while the Muslim civilians killed in the same period numbered 12,245.[43]

References

  1. ^ a b "The Kashmir Files". British Board of Film Classification. 9 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  2. ^ https://www.indiatoday.in/india-today-insight/story/why-the-kashmir-files-is-a-blockbuster-nobody-saw-coming-1925582-2022-03-15
  3. ^ a b c d "The Kashmir Files Box Office". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Kashmir Files Vivek Agnihotri's film exposes India's new fault lines". BBC. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files to CLASH with Prabhas-starrer Radhe Shyam on March 11 : Bollywood News". Bollywood Hungama. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files to go on floors next month". Cinema Express. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  7. ^ Negi, Shrishti (9 March 2022). "The Kashmir Files Producer Pallavi Joshi: Am I Making the Film for Hindu Rashtra? I'm Just Telling a Story". News18. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty's 'The Kashmir Files' to release on Republic Day 2022". The New Indian Express. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  9. ^ "Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri's 'The Kashmir Files' release postponed amid rising COVID-19 cases". Bollywood Hungama. 10 January 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files to CLASH with Prabhas-starrer Radhe Shyam on March 11". Bollywood Hungama. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  11. ^ The Kashmir Files Is Another Gadar - On Its Way To Create HISTORY, Box Office India, 14 March 2022, retrieved 14 March 2022
  12. ^ "The Kashmir Records Fantastic Weekend - Set For Extraordinary Run". Box Office India. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g "Kashmir Files: Vivek Agnihotri's film exposes India's new fault lines". BBC News. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Review: 'The Kashmir Files' Makes a Compelling Case For Kashmiri Pandits". The Quint. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ^ a b "The Kashmir Files Review: Anupam Kher shines in the film that creates an impact but lacks balance". Pinkvilla. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ [14][15]
  17. ^ a b c d e f g Kumar, Anuj (14 March 2022), "'The Kashmir Files' movie review: A disturbing take which grips and gripes in turns", The Hindu
  18. ^ a b c Mitra, Shilajit (12 March 2022). "Movie Review| Kashmir Files, A limp attempt at provocation". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  19. ^ a b c d e Desai, Rahul (11 March 2022). "The Kashmir Files Is A Defensive And Dishonest Dive Into The Past". Film Companion. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  20. ^ [13][17][18][19]
  21. ^ a b c d Gupta, Shubhra (12 March 2022). "The Kashmir Files movie review: Anupam Kher is the emotional core of this overwrought film". The Indian Express. Retrieved 12 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ^ a b "'The Kashmir Files' is Hindutva's latest anti-Muslim weapon". The Siasat Daily. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  23. ^ [21][17][19][22]
  24. ^ [13][17][19][21][22]
  25. ^ a b c "The Kashmir Files declared tax-free in six BJP-run states". The Indian Express. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  26. ^ "Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files to go on floors next month". Cinema Express. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  27. ^ "The Kashmir Files: Vivek Agnihotri announces new film through poster, announces its release on 15 August, 2020". Firstpost. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  28. ^ "Vivek Agnihotri on The Kashmir Files: 'I wanted to make a film about people who did not pick up guns'-Entertainment News , Firstpost". Firstpost. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  29. ^ "COVID 19 effect: Shooting of 'The Kashmir Files' called off". The Times of India. 17 May 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  30. ^ "Yograj Singh out of Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files". The Tribune (Chandigarh). 12 December 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  31. ^ "Puneet Issar Replaces Yograj Singh In 'The Kashmir Files' Post Singh's Derogatory Remark". Mid-Day. 15 December 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  32. ^ "The Kashmir Files line producer dies by suicide; heartbroken Anupam Kher writes that the news 'shook' him". Times Now. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  33. ^ "'The Kashmir Files' movie review: Anupam Kher is brilliant in this heart-wrenching story". Deccan Herald. 12 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  34. ^ "'The Kashmir Files' movie review: Anupam Kher is brilliant in this heart-wrenching story". Deccan Herald. 12 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  35. ^ "The Kashmir Files Review: Anupam Kher shines in the film that creates an impact but lacks balance". Pinkvilla. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  36. ^ Bhatnagar, Rohit (11 March 2022). "The Kashmir Files review: A preachy tale of facts that lacks attention". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  37. ^ "More BJP-ruled states make 'The Kashmir Files' movie tax-free". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  38. ^ "Film database IMDb changes rating method for 'The Kashmir Files' citing unusual voting activity". Scroll.in. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  39. ^ "Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Tripura and Goa declare 'The Kashmir Files' tax-free". The Economic Times. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  40. ^ "PM Says "Conspiracy", "Campaign To Discredit" Film 'The Kashmir Files'". NDTV.com. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  41. ^ a b c d e f g Rohmetra, Amogh (13 March 2022). "The Kashmir Files tries showing 1990 exodus 'truth' but Vivek Agnihotri gives it death blow". The Print.
  42. ^ "'The Kashmir Files' is Hindutva's latest anti-Muslim weapon", The Siasat Daily, 14 March 2022, It is to be noted that in response to a Right to Information (RTI) filed over the number of deaths of Kashmiri pandits killed by terrorists since the inception of militancy in 1990, the district police headquarters in Srinagar revealed official figures that state 89 casualties as compared to 1635 deaths of people of other faiths, during the same time.
  43. ^ Swami, Praveen (2007), India, Pakistan and the Secret Jihad: The covert war in Kashmir, 1947-2004, Asian Security Studies, Routledge, p. 175, ISBN 0-415-40459-2
  44. ^ Kumar, Anuj (14 March 2022), "'The Kashmir Files' movie review: A disturbing take which grips and gripes in turns", The Hindu, The Kashmiri Pandits' pain is real and should be expressed in popular culture, but it deserved a more nuanced, more objective take rather than the 'us vs them' worldview that Agnithotri has propagated over 170 minutes.... There is no middle ground for him, as he picks and chooses instances from the past to suit his narrative.
  45. ^ Mitra, Shilajit (12 March 2022). "Kashmir Files, A limp attempt at provocation". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 12 March 2022. ... there is not a single moderate [Muslim] in The Kashmir Files.... The fact that no conflict is unidimensional, that there can be multiple oppressed groups in a region, simply doesn't dawn on this film.
  46. ^ a b "'The Kashmir Files' is Hindutva's latest anti-Muslim weapon", The Siasat Daily, 14 March 2022, A film that is based on the tragedy and exodus of Kashmiri Pandits has instead managed to become a propaganda tool that is being used to rouse anti-Muslim and anti-Kashmiri passions in the country, adding to the current atmosphere of anti-minority hate that has permeated deep in society over the last eight years or so.
  47. ^ [21][19][44][45][46]
  48. ^ Kumar, Anuj (14 March 2022), "'The Kashmir Files' movie review: A disturbing take which grips and gripes in turns", The Hindu, Employing some facts, some half-truths, and plenty of distortions, [the film] propels an alternative view about the Kashmir issue, with the intent to not just provoke... but incite.... In Agnihotri's documentation, terror has a religion and it appears every Muslim in Kashmir has been a separatist and keen to convert Hindus to Islam.... One fears, in the name of street justice, the clippings of the film will soon end up in social media to fuel further hate against one community.
  49. ^ Pandita, Rahul (20 January 2014). "There are no goodbyes". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  50. ^ "The Kashmir Files box office collection Day 1: Vivek Agnihotri film mints Rs 3.55 crore". The Indian Express. 13 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  51. ^ "The Kashmir Files Box Office: Film's shows increased from 600 to 2000 after stupendous response". Bollywood Hungama. 13 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  52. ^ "The Kashmir Files Emerges A HIT". Box Office India. 12 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  53. ^ "The Kashmir Files collects approx. 653k USD [Rs. 5 cr.] in overseas". Bollywood Hungama. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  54. ^ "Vivek Agnihotri Deactivates Twitter Account; Says, "All This Fatwa, Threats, Abuses..For What?"". Koimoi. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  55. ^ "'The Kashmir Files' director Vivek Agnihotri deactivates Twitter account after receiving threats; claims children and family were also targeted". The Times of India. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  56. ^ Vidya (8 March 2022). "Plea against The Kashmir Files dismissed by Bombay High Court". India Today. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  57. ^ Dipali, Patel (10 March 2022). "Court stays release of Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files". India Today. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
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