Analysis:
The film "The Kashmir Files" has made thousands of
people aware of the harsh truth of Kashmir and the brutal genocide that has
been covered up or denied for years. Some individuals are sceptical that the
film is based on genuine events and that the victims of the incident were never
heard. "To some, the truth regarding Kashmir may appear unbelievable," "Broken people don't talk; they merely want to be heard," and "This is a massive war of information, narratives," are just two of the movie's exchanges that have challenged
commonly held assumptions built by decades of whitewashing and denials.
The film takes viewers back to 1989, when a great fight
broke out in Kashmir as a result of escalating Islamic jihad, driving the vast
majority of Hindus to abandon the valley. Approximately 100,000 of the valley's total 140,000 Kashmiri Pandits migrated during February and March 1990, according to estimates. More of them left in the years that followed until
only roughly 3,000 families remained in the valley by 2011.
The film, which is based on video interviews with
first-generation Kashmiri Pandit victims of the Kashmir Genocide, begins in
1990, with the resignation of Jammu and Kashmir's then-CM, Farooq Abdullah.
Abdullah had lost power in 1984, most likely after speaking at a meeting in
Kashmir alongside Yasin Malik, the leader of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation
Front (JKLF). His brother-in-law Farooq Abdullah was later succeeded as state
Chief Minister by Ghulam Mohammad Shah, who was supported by the Congress
party.
According to reports, the Islamization of Jammu and Kashmir
began in the 1980s, when Sheikh Abdullah's government renamed over 300 places
in Kashmir with Islamic names. Since then, Kashmiri Hindus have been targeted
and labelled as 'Mukhbirs,' or Indian military informants. They've been added to
the list of Islamist terrorist organizations on the run.
The film 'The Kashmir Files' depicts the family of Pushkar Nath Pandit, played by Anupam Kher, whose son is named on a terrorist hit list and is murdered by terrorists, while his daughter-in-law is murdered in public and his grandson is shot in the head. The film's depiction of the family's suffering makes the audience ponder how humans can be so cruel to one another in the name of religion.
Getting into the movie:
The film's strong characteristics are its exceptional story and screenplay, superb photography, amazing casting, effective direction, high-quality production, and evidence-backed narration of happenings with accurate dates and times.
The film focuses on the current situation of things in Kashmir. The film succeeded in making the audience relive how Hindus were betrayed by their friendly next-door neighbour, competent officers not allowed to operate by the radicals, police officers given 'Padmashri' to keep their mouths shut, media persons who were suffocated and assaulted, the sorry state of the displaced Hindus in refugee camps, the helplessness and inability to narrate to one's own grandson the extreme pain and sufferings inflicted by the radical.
At several times throughout the video, one can detect a strong desire to bring the situation of Kashmiri Pandits to the attention of people all over the world. The film was successful in instilling a strong dislike for Jihadi terrorists and their protectors (for example, politicians, incompetent officers, liberals, seculars, etc.)
The film vividly portrays how a Kashmiri youth is encouraged against Kashmiri Pandits in institutions like Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). It also reveals how the 'Azaadi' movement supports separatists.
Several dialogue passages, such as 'Today Kashmir is burning; tomorrow the entire country will burn!', 'Why are Kashmiri Hindus denied justice?', 'Why was a situation like this allowed to occur despite Kashmir being an integral part of India?', 'Why are Kashmiri Hindus not being resettled in the Kashmir valley?', 'The mainstream Hindus are also responsible for this situation of Kashmiri Hindus?', and so on, force the viewer to reflect. Background banter and Kashmiri songs performed by supporting actors and the lead cast add to the film's edge.
It was created by Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri. He rose to
prominence after directing the film 'The Tashkent Files' a few years ago. Mithun Chakravarty, Anupam Kher, Pallavi Joshi, Puneet Issar, Mrinal Dev Kulkarni, Atul Shrivastva, and Praash Belawadi star in The Kashmir Files.
Aside from them, several up-and-coming musicians have put their mark on the
picture. They are, in particular, Bhasha Sumbli, Darshan Kumar, and Chinmay
Mandlekar, who have more than justified their positions with superb
performances.
The film deviates from the conventional Bollywood film structure by focusing on a story, especially a love story. In reality, the film
is not based on a typical conventional plot. Its narrative is expressly based
on video interviews conducted in 1990 with first-generation Kashmiri Pandit
victims. This gives authenticity to the film's theme and pace. Because Kashmir
and Kashmiri Pandits are such difficult problems for people everywhere, there
may be some gaps in the picture in terms of research and development. To make
up for these deficiencies, the filmmaker wisely avoided scenes that could have
provoked unneeded criticism and controversy.
The main focus of the film is on four key dimensions:
failures of the government and administration to deal with the situation when
terrorism engulfed Kashmir in 1989-90, a covert collaboration of political leadership with the terror module in Kashmir, displacement of the Kashmiri Pandit community, and a deep nexus of liberal-secular media and intellectual class with the terrorist regime in Kashmir aimed at creating a false political narrative to conceal the truth about Kashmir.
The narration and presentation are based on symbolization
recipes throughout the film. The family of Pushkar Nath Pandit (Anupam Kher) depicts a typical Kashmiri Pandit victim, whereas Brahm Dutt IAS (Mithun Chakravarti) and DGP Hari Narain (Puneet Issar) represent the state's wounded and helpless civil and police administration. Similarly, Prof. Radhika Menon
(Pallavi Joshi) represents India's liberal-left-secular elite, whereas Vishnu
Ram (Atul Shrivasta) represents the country's then-sold-out media. Dr Mahesh
Kumar's (Prakash Belawadi) involvement demonstrates one of Kashmiri terrorists'
cruellest techniques in the medical arena.
Sharda Pandit (Bhasha Sumbli) represents the Kashmiri Pandit
feminine role before, during, and after the expulsion of KPs, as well as their
pain and fortitude, whereas Farooq Malik Bitta (Chinmay Mandlekar) and Afzal
(Saurav Verma) represent terror against Pandits and jihad against India,
respectively.
Krishna Pandit (Darshan Kumar) is a third-generation victim
of Pandit terrorism who has never seen or been taught about the actual
situation that led to the Pandits' evacuation from Kashmir. He is uninformed of
historical facts and is overpowered by the ideological narratives of the
liberal and left lobbies until he confronts his historical background in
Kashmir spanning thousands of years, with his family being among the first
victims of terrorism in Kashmir. As a result, once he connects with the truth
about Kashmir's history and narrative, he emerges as a future hope for Kashmir.
The theme of the film:
The film's theme revolves around two main narratives: the
government's and administration's continuous and consistent failure to provide
justice to the Pandit community in and outside the Kashmir valley over the last
three decades, and attempts to mislead the nation about Kashmiri Pandits' true
intentions. In the film, Pushkar Nath Pandit's phone chats send a powerful
message to the nation. ......that is, "if Kashmir is allowed to continue
as it has, it will spawn other such Kashmirs across India." And his
prediction in the film is close to becoming accurate in real life.
The Kashmir Files is not a give-and-take strategy based on
the oft-repeated adage "forget and forgive." It pinpoints the role of
individuals and institutions, friends and neighbours, communities and
organizations that led to the death and destruction in Kashmir in a very
nuanced approach that does not incite animosity. It has also highlighted the
Pandit community's desire to remove Article 370 in order to resolve
long-standing difficulties such as their re-settlement in Kashmir.
Atrocities committed against minorities after 1990 have also
been included in the film, and they have a powerful message to convey. With the
exception of a few unfortunate circumstances, Bollywood has a general
inclination to include sensationalism in films to play its part, which this
production has normally avoided. Long-length frames frequently introduce a
sense of monotony, and such frames should have been broken into two or three,
if possible.
'The Kashmir Files' is proof of Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri's fearlessness!
Several heart-wrenching scenes from the film!
- A Hindu lady is told to eat rice soaked in her husband's blood in order to save her father-in-law and children.
- Massacring government officials in a marketplace in broad daylight and tearing down India's national flag
- Extremist women are committing terrorism by denying Hindu women access to rationed grain.
- Assassinating a Hindu poet who used to write anti-Muslim poetry and hanging his body from a tree
- A young Hindu girl was forced to pee in her snack box while fleeing.
- Jawaharlal Nehru University is undergoing well-planned brainwashing of Hindu students.
- Refusing to treat Hindus in hospitals and destroying a blood donation container donated by Hindus for a terrorist
- While Rajiv Gandhi, then Prime Minister, remained inactive, then Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and Central Home Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad silently approved of Hindu genocide.
- In front of the public, Hindu women's clothes are ripped and sawed vertically.
- 25 people have been killed mercilessly and repeatedly.
