The Kashmir Files Review

The most heartbreaking film is based on a real-life story that depicts the hardships of Kashmiri Pandits (Hindus), a religious minority who were forced to leave their homes by Islamic militants in the Kashmir valley in the 1990s.

The popularity of the movie The Kashmir Files has grown. The movie performs exceptionally well at the box office, and Anupam plays a crucial part.

Details of The Kashmir Files - Hard Hitting and Emotional

• Released on March 15, 2022
• Director by Vivek Agnihotri
• Cast of the movie includes Darshan Kumaar, Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Pallavi Joshi, Mrinal Kulkarni, Chinmay Mandlekar, Prakash Belawadi, Puneet Issar
• Music director is Swapnil Bandodkar
• Cinematography by Udaysingh Mohite
• Editing by Shankh Rajadhyaksha
• Producers are Abhishek Agarwal, Vivek Agnihotri, Tej Narayan Agarwal, Pallavi Joshi
• Rohit Sharma did BGM

The Kashmir Files was initially scheduled for a global cinema release on January 26, 2022, in connection with Indian Republic Day. Still, it was delayed due to the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron hardship. On March 11, 2022, it was initially shown on more than 630 screens in India before being expanded to 4,000. The movie had an additional showing on January 19, 2023. On May 13, 2022, the movie had its international premiere for streaming on ZEE5. It was available in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Indian Sign Language. With the release of this movie, ZEE5 made history as the first OTT service to offer an interpretation of an official Bollywood film in Indian Sign Language.

The Kashmir Files had a poor start at the box office, competing with Prabhas' Radhe Shyam, released on the same day but quickly received an increase in collections within days. The film grossed 97.3 crore (US$12 million) in its first week at the Indian box office.

Plot of Kashmir Files

Throughout the film, the plot switches between a modern period in 2020 and flashbacks to 1989-1990.

Circa 1989-1990

In 1989-1990, Islamic militants began an attack on Kashmir's valley. They forced Kashmiri Hindu Pandits to evacuate under the banners Raliv Galiv ya Chaliv ("convert (to Islam), leave or die") and Al-Safa Batte Dafa ("with God's grace, all of the Kashmiri Pandit community will leave valley"). Since the terrorists accuse his son Karan of being an Indian spy, Pushkar Nath Pandit, a schoolteacher, worries for his son's safety. Pushkar pleads with his civil servant friend Brahma Dutt to look after Karan. Brahma goes to Kashmir with Pushkar and watches the brutality against Kashmiri Pandits. He bought up the issue with Jammu and Kashmir's (J&K) chief minister, who then suspended Brahma. Farooq Malik Bitta, a former Pushkar student, breaks into Pushkar Nath's house. Bitta discovers Karan hiding in a rice container and shoots him brutally. His daughter-in-law Sharda and Pushkar beg for their life. Bitta coerces Sharda into eating rice stained with Karan's blood in exchange for their lives.

After Bitta and the others leave the house, Pushkar requests that his doctor friend Mahesh Kumar call for an ambulance to save Karan's life. However, Islamists take control of the hospital and restrict the hospital workers from treating non-Muslims. Karan later dies from gunshot wounds. Pushkar and their family are escorted by their journalist friend Vishnu Ram to Kaul, a Hindu poet with close connections to Muslims, to secure their safety. Kaul takes many members of Pandits to his house. Nonetheless, a squad of militants arrives to provide security to pick up Kaul and his son. The surviving Pandits evacuate but are shocked to discover Kaul and his son's bodies hanging from trees. Migrant Pandits from the Kashmir valley settle in Jammu, where they live on insufficient rations and in terrible conditions. Brahma has been chosen as the advisor for the new governor of Jammu and Kashmir. The Home Minister visits Jammu camps in response to Pushkar's request that Article 370 be repealed, and Kashmiri Pandits be relocated. The family relocates after Brahma offers Sharda a job from the government in Nadimarg, Kashmir. Bitta's group of terrorists arrives in Nadimarg masked as Indian Army men one day. They start picking up the Pandits who reside there. She fights back when the militants seize Sharda's oldest son, Shiva. Enraged, Farooq strips her naked and cuts her body in half. Shiva and the surviving Pandits are lined up and shot into a mass grave. Pushkar has been spared from spreading the news about what happened.

2020

In the present day, Pushkar raised Sharda's younger son Krishna. He believes a car accident took the lives of his parents. Krishna, an ANU student, has been influenced by Kashmiri separatism activist Professor Radhika Menon. Pushkar's close friends include Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, and police officer Hari Narain, who served in Kashmir when Karan was killed, and Brahma describes it as "genocide." Krishna is a contestant in the ANU student election. To the chagrin Pushkar, he views the Government of India as responsible for the Kashmir crisis after being influenced by Professor Radhika Menon. When Pushkar passes away, Krishna travels to his native home in Kashmir to scatter his ashes, as Pushkar requested when he was alive. Menon requests Krishna to film footage in Kashmir to show the government's alleged atrocities. Krishna visits Bitta with the assistance of one of Menon's connections, accusing him of being at fault for the Pandits' situation.

However, Bitta describes himself as a modern-day Gandhi by leading a nonviolent democracy movement. Bitta reports that the Indian Army murdered Krishna's mother and brother. When Krishna asks Brahma about this statement, Brahma hands him folders containing newspaper clippings saying that militants dressed as Indian Army soldiers had murdered them. Krishna travels to Delhi, where he makes his prepared speech for the university presidency elections before a roaring audience on the ANU campus. He describes Kashmir's history, his family's suffering, and other Kashmiri Hindu pandits he met on his journey. This shocks his guide, Professor Menon, and her other students, and Krishna is faced with opposition and contempt during the meeting. Krishna's statement is eventually welcomed and applauded by some students.

Review of Kashmir Files

The film makes a compelling case that was not just a departure but a brutal genocide now being swept under the carpet for political reasons. The Kashmiri Pandits (KP) have been living in exile for nearly 30 years, with residents encroaching on their houses and businesses, and they continue to demand justice, precisely recognition. Surprisingly, few films have addressed this subject despite the horrific impact on evacuated families. Silencing voices is a common nightmare, regardless of ideology, faith, or suffering. Kashmir has been dealing with humanitarian devastation, cross-border terrorism, separatist movements, and the struggle for self-determination. Once prosperous and multi-cultural, Kashmir is today a disputed territory struggling to stabilize itself amid continual tension, its scars are deep, and The Kashmir Files rips the band-aid off. The movie aims to uncover the truth in less than three hours. However, each truth has two sides, as the saying goes.

Vivek Agnihotri's relatively graphic and dramatic film return to the departure and its aftermath. Based on recorded reports, it demonstrates the brutalities suffered by KPs just because of their religions. Be it the murder of telecommunications engineer BK Ganjoo in a rice barrel, the massacre of 24 Hindu Kashmiri Pandits in Nadimarg by militants clothed in the military of India, or defamatory slogans. The film is told from the perspective of an old patriot, Pushkar Nath Pandit (Anupam Kher), his four best friends, and his grandson, Krishna (Darshan Kumaar). Oblivious to his past, Krishna's quest for truth forms the whole story. Reopening old scars may not give you a solution, but recovery can only occur when the trauma has been accepted. Agnihotri all goes out without watering the events, making his movie an intense view. He prefers shock to subtlety. You find it hard to empathize with the characters or comprehend their mentality due to a complicated storytelling style and he-said-she-said narrative. Digs at JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University), media comparisons to terrorists, selective international media reporting, the Indian Army, political conflict, the repeal of Article 370, and the mythology and early history of Kashmir are all topics that the movie touches briefly on. The movie feels a little more extensive story of Pushkar Nath Pandit's heart-breaking story being lost in a rush: more ambiguity and less context. Protesting and opposing opinions have a place. Nonetheless, those one-dimensional characters hardly scratch the surface, so striking a balance and presenting opposing ideas feels like a formality.

Performance

You can't help but cry after watching Anupam Kher's touching performance. Kher is excellent as a man yearning after his lost home. Pallavi Joshi performs admirably in the film as well. Her acting skills make us wish her role was more involved. Both Chinmay Mandlekar and Mithun Chakraborty are excellent in their roles. However, the film brought you closer to their culture, pain, and pessimism. Vivek Agnihotri does not get off lightly. He brings politics and militancy to the forefront. The trauma of being separated from your family lingers in the background...

Merits

• Kashmir has traditionally been known as a Muslim-dominated state. However, several Hindu Pandits were assassinated during the significant conflicts between India and Pakistan. The film deals with these stories, which are told engagingly. Most people are unaware of this side of Kashmir, and Vivek Agnihotri has done an excellent job of bringing it to light.
• Anupam Kher, one of the best actors, perfectly plays the part of a Kashmiri Pandit.
• The way he does the Kashmiri accent and portrays his heavy-hearted passages is superb. The scenes of Kashmiri Pandits being slaughtered and tormented were graphically depicted.
• Darshan Kumar, who represents the JNU student, is exceptional and performs exceptionally. Pallavi Joshi, a TV actress, makes a long-awaited reappearance and is fantastic.

Demerits

• The film depicts some terrible realities and challenges confronting Kashmiri Pandits. The way the government runs appears to be a little artificial. Furthermore, how the film continues on a serious note, with many issues being discussed, appears dull.
• Many scenes are dragged out for dramatic effect when they could have been avoided. Because many public viewers are unfamiliar with the story, the director should have included more sequences to clarify the subject matter.

Technical Aspects

The technical aspects of The Kashmir Files are among the best. The harrowing idea is supported by solid camerawork. The Kashmiri images, settings, and costumes are all quite authentic. The music is haunting, as is the BGM, which elevates numerous moments to another level. The dialogues are so effective. Abhishek Agarwal Arts' production values are outstanding. Vivek Agnihotri, the film's director, has done an excellent job. He bravely narrated the film while dealing with a tricky subject. Though his beliefs in the film may mix with diverse reactions, Vivek has done an excellent job crafting a drama that interests the audience.

Conclusion

The film is based on the tragic Nadimarg event, in which 24 Kashmiri Pandits were killed at point-blank range. The migration of Kashmiri Hindus from Indian-administered Kashmir in 1990 is the subject of the movie's fictional narrative. It presents the evacuation and the circumstances leading up to it as an act of genocide, a story that scholars believe to be inaccurate. According to the movie, there was a silent conspiracy to bury these facts. Overall, terrific acting, intense drama, and previously unknown facts about life in Kashmir Valley during the 1990s are presented horrifically, making this film fascinating.