Kashmir Files is another attempt by Bollywood to present the unrest of the 90’s in Kashmir as a communal genocide of one community while portraying the majority as villainous, barbaric and pure evil.
The aim of the film maker is clear, Kashmir Files depicts 90s was not an exodus but a genocide, in which Pandits in the valley were killed, women raped and atrocities committed left, right and centre.
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The narrative is completely one-sided even that is exaggerated, instead of covering and showcasing the situation of Pandits after their migration from Kashmir the film is unapologetically brash in its portrayal of Muslims.
Neighbours are seen pointing towards hiding places and helping the militants putting them in the same light.
Gory scenes of massacre have been shamelessly put in to incite emotions among the viewers without it adding anything of substance. It is violence for violence’s sake.
The Story: The Kashmir Files
The movie features Pushkar Nath Pandit played by Anumpan Kher, a teacher ousted from his home in Srinagar after his son his brutally killed.
Thirty years later his grandson Krishna (Darshan Kumar) comes back to Srinagar, carrying Pushkar Nath’s ashes and with the aid of his grandfather’s friends learns lessons which pain him.
The movie goes beyond Kashmir in its quest to propagate a loop sided narrative. Militant groups are shown having links to certain universities in Delhi.
One such university has a professor (Pallavi Joshi) who brainwashes into raising slogans of Azaadi. Stone pelters, protestors are projected as craving only media attention.
While you may feel this movie leans a bit towards layered story telling that is clearly not the case as the flick moves along with only one thing in mind- to portray Kashmiri Pandits as victims of Muslim attrocities.
There is no other point of view in this movie. No showcasing of how killings of civilians continued in Kashmir unabated even after Pandits fled.
The movie makes no attempt whatsoever to bring to light the atrocities suffered by both Muslims and Pandits in the valley due to feeble administration at that time.
It makes no attempt to point out Jagmohan’s role or the predicament of Pandits after they went to Jammu and beyond and how the administration failed this lot of people.
A Mere Propaganda:
The Kashmir Files tries to play to the emotions of Kashmiri Pandits but fails to address the issue at hand. Stoking fires of hatred and communalism is one thing, but fails to show the way forward. It takes Kashmir back to a time of tension, anguish and pain which the government is trying hard to forego.
With all the attempts the government is making to promote communal harmony, this movie spews hatred unfiltered against one section of the society, the one which is in majority in the region.
It vilifies the Muslims of Kashmir, including the common man, enticing hate against Muslims on a broader scale.
The director Vivek Agnihotri conveniently turns a blind eye to the various reports across the world and in India that 219 Kashmiri Pandits were killed in 90’s that according GoI statistics. While independent reports suggest over 80,000 Kashmiri Muslims killed, with a large number of Muslim women raped.
There is no attempt at any time in this movie to sensitize and understand the plight of a Kashmiri Muslim in all of this. The same Kashmiri Muslim who continues to suffer decades after the Pandit exodus.
The story tellers want to present Kashmiri Muslims as a blood thirsty sub human lot who massacred Pandits, making them run away, essentially putting forward a narrative of religious fanaticism.
All of this essentially demeans the political aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Giving this a communal spin does nothing but endanger the fabric of the society.
Hate Mongering
While the movie will do good numbers at the box office, the impact of such a assertion can be damaging to the attempts of the government to showcase normalcy in the valley and the unity of the country as a whole.
A brazen, hate mongering campaign against Muslims may well be the most politically correct way to describe this Bollywood flick.
It is true that Kashmiri Pandits suffered and there were killings in the 90s but putting a blanket blame on the entire populace is poor and dangerous story telling.
This paves way to justify the crimes and atrocities committed against Kashmiri Muslims that continue to this day, the director completely forgets that while going all in his story.
No Sympathy For The Pandits.
As much as the movie tries it hardly offers any solution to the predicament of Pandits then and now.
It doesn’t show the problems Kashmiri Pandits encountered while migrating from Kashmir, their treatment by agencies outside and the discrimination they subsequently faced for years
It shows no way forward while disturbing the many attempts of many people to advocate for political peace and harmony in Kashmir.
This is a mere attempt at playing with emotions of people are attached to this conflict while veering away from the reality of what happened during and after.
There is no attempt to narrate or show sufferings of Pandit families in those wretched camps that were meant to be safe haven nor does it question how did a substantial population were made refugees in their own country in the first place.
Verdict The Kashmir Files
A propaganda driven movie by Agnihotri tries to hoard sympathy from one community by vilifying the other.
He easily side steps killings of Kashmiri Muslims- the biggest victims of this conflict and humanitarian crisis. A smear campaign against a section of people that over the years proven detractors wrong. Ask any Indian who was paid a visit to Kashmir or hell ask any Kashmiri Pandit actually living in Kashmir and they will let you know how incomplete The Kashmir Files really is.
Anupam Kher’s arc in the movie may be the only part where one does feel genuine pain and emotion about what happened and sympathize with the character and the person.
His mind suffering from dementia and the pain of never seeing his home again in Habba Kadal is something though provoking.
Other than that this is just a hogwash attempted to create a single minded hate fueled narrative, asking the never ending question ‘What about Kashmiri Pandits’? Maybe it is high time someone got up and asked the question ‘What about Kashmiris’? instead.