User reviews

I have read Rahul's superb book. And I have watched this movie with same expectation. But both are contrasting. Either Rahul has lied in this story or in his book. You can't justify a genocide through a love story. Shame!

Total unfair with Kashmiri Pandits. When you say based on true events, why hide the truth? This movie is simply trying earn money based on the current topic and nothing else

Cinematography is good, but you can watch Kashmir documentaries for that instead of going for this movie.

Dr. Shiv Kumar Dhar and his wife Shanti have spent 28 long years in a refugee camp having been a part of the Kashmiri Pandits' exodus from the valley in 1990. They had to abandon their beautiful dream home "Shikara" when friends turned foes and Hindus were mercilessly persecuted claiming that they belong to India, and Kashmir must be left to the Muslims. Shiv has patiently written to the consecutive US Presidents with the hope that one day, one of them will pay heed to his pleas and help restore his homeland to the thousands of displaced Pandits who still live in abject poverty and hardships.

Being a Vidhu Vinod Chopra film, I had my expectations from Shikara quite high. After intense films like Parinda, 1942...., Eklavya and Mission Kashmir that he directed, Shikara comes across as nothing more than a tender love story with the backdrop of the Kashmir problem and the associated Hindu exodus, completely lacking the intensity and sensitivity to the issue. Although there are a few poignant moments like when the Dhars have to leave behind their beloved home or when the entire refugee camp clamouring for a tomato to eat, the film steers clear of showcasing the hardships of living in the sad conditions or efforts needed to rebuild lives. Instead, it focuses on the soft personalities of Shiv and Shanti and to what extent the former shall go to fulfil the promise he made to his wife to take her to Taj Mahal. Shikara soft pedals the political and communal problems and in the process, loses an opportunity to rise above the ordinary. The histrionics aren't anything great to talk about, as the roles have been played by common people impacted by the exodus and not commercial actors. Shikara isn't in the same league as Vidhu Vinod Chopra's classics, in terms of overall filmmaking as well as storytelling.

I was waiting for this movie as the story of Kashmiri Pandits have been untold forever. It was expected that vidhu vinod chopra would bring some ground reality to table in a convincing way. But i was not only disappointed but heartbroken, movie is just another stupid love story with kashmir crisis as background. It tells nothing of the harsh reality and about the religious ideology and cross border terrorism which caused lakhs of kashmiri pandits to flee their home and still unable to return. This was not expected from Vidhu Vinod Chopra.

Watching this movie makes your blood boil, especially when you see this from a KPs perspective. This movie doesn't portray the actual trauma and sufferings and how it unfolded.. Director and screenplay is very biased and a sensuous theme used for commercial gains only.

Shame on u Vidhu utter nonsense....not even a look like a real story of kashmiri pandits exodus.....

Totally out of plot. Did not show real plight of kashmiri pandits

This is more of a propaganda move in the name of Kashmiri Hindus, showing total opposite twisted narrative, as Bollywood often does to prove its loyalty towards Dawood.

Movie totally focus on husband and wife who survive attacks on them and even after all the injustice happen to them they stay calm and happy about having each other. Movie highly shows that you can live your life without rage and revenge happily even after all the injustice happen to you and die in peace without any regret. Down to earth and beautiful concept.

This movie is funded by d gang for sure to hide barabic Islamic genocide of Kashmiri Pandit. Just like Mission Kashmir this movie has hide the real cause behind genocide. Kashimiri padits sue the makers and writers of this movie.

I see a lot of angry reviews here. The ire might be justified but what I would request the critics to consider this. That somebody has finally had the guts to pick a such a critical never-told story and presented it to masses. Finally. How many people of India were aware of this brutal event. On international circuit, it has never been even acknowledged.

The presentation is sugar-coated and flowery but why should this be the first time that anybody tells the story. Why do not some of you bunch up and hire a director to tell your story the way you think would convey the whole truth?

I believe that the story will now be re-told as a comment or critique to the narration of this film. So this film needs to given its due for at least scratching the surface.

My biggest disappointment with the movie is that the filmmaker could not find a Kashmiri pandit actors to essay the roles. I love the actors and they did a really good job in their roles, I think, but when the whole world is rife with conversation on cultural mis/appropriation, the point needs to be made.

Everything was good about the film except that the filmmaker should have placed much more emphasis on why the Kashmiri Pundits were thrown out from Kashmir and why did the Government of the day not do anything about remedying the situation at that time and beyond.Why was one community allowed to suffer so much of continuous pain,misery and frustration at this very inhumane treatment from everyone including the Government at that time and future Governments?With a topic like this the movie needed to be be very hard hitting which was not the case with this motion picture!

So they put a love story in such a movie where they were supposed to show the atrocities happened to kashmiri pandits. They belittle the massacre of kashmiri pandits this joke of a love story. Very shameful, I do not suggest anyone to watch this movie.

This movie is just to whitewash islamic extremism in kashmir and hide genocide of laksh of people. Far away from reality. Bollywood is still under islamic forces...!!!!

Absolute garbage propaganda movie. Has 0 factual things nothing I repeat nothing really happened that is shown in the movie.

Director completely avoid the ground reality of genocide of kashmiri pandit. And before that the radicalisation of the youth.. Many innocent pandits were burnt..... Such a hypocritic director shame dhame

I am so disappointed with this movie. Vidhu Vinod chopra has so tried to white wash everything and make it a politically correct movie. It looks like his fear of controversy and being tagged as a Hindu Fanatic has made him completely bypassed what actually happened to Kashmiri Pandits. As a filmmaker and a Kashmiri Pandit himself, it was his responsibility to show the truth to the world, convey the pain of Kashmiri Pandits. But what he did was taking advantage of countries current scenario and earn bucks. If James Cameron came to know that he has completely hidden the trauma they went through, he would review it differently. If I am so disappointed, I can't imagine how the grief stricken Kashmiri Pandits would be.

Anti Hindu , anti army and not even one word on ethnic cleansing and what reason ...... complete waste of time . Actors are also third rate with stone faces

Amazing direction and story telling. I couldn't see any fact hiding or prejudice against any community. Its a love story made with love. 💓

A masterpiece, beautifully crafted, heart touching songs " mar jae him" , Kashmiri Muslims did a big offence to out Kashmiri pandits.I never support this .Now I admits that Kashmiri Muslim deserve whatever doing there by Indian army.I stands with Kashmiri pandits.

The movie does try to portray few events and has few emotional scenes and subtle dialogs but I felt that the movie needed to be 15 -20 mins longer.

5 more mins on the realities of exodus events in Kashmir 5 more mins on events about what happened with kashmiri pandits in refugee camps 5 more mins on events around politics and administrative actions or inactions and above all 5 more mins to hit the nail on real pain of being thrown out of one's home and homeland and eternally delayed balm on the wound.

These 20 mins perhaps would have made this movie much more realistic or impactful.

Rating it poorly due to Vidhu Vinod Chopra's victim shaming and appalling treatment of an audience member who is also a massacre survivor.

Misleading and demolishes the tragedy and ethnocide of Kashmiri Pandits

Not even 1 percent of the harassment and Kashmir massacre has been depicted in the film..only a typical Bollywood love story without any depth... The torment Kashmiri women have been through and the mass killings of Kashmiri pandits hasn't been shown in the film...Completely a misleading film...