203. The Kashmir Files; movie review

 

THE KASHMIR FILES

Cert 15

164 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong bloody violence, threat, brief scene of sexual humiliation

According to Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, thousands of hours of research and hundreds of witness interviews led to the final scripting of The Kashmir Files.

But it spoils any point it is trying to make by falling down the well-worn path of stereotyping Muslims.

They are seen as perpetrators of a terrible genocide, killing Kashmiri Pandits on their way to trying to take over the state.

But many observers have thrown down upon the veracity of the story and Agnihotri's generalisations don't help.

The Kashmir Files stars Darshan Kumar as the present-day son of parents who were killed among the many in the early 1990s.

He was a baby at the time and has been brought up by his grandfather (Anupam Kher) who witnessed the horrors but protected the boy by telling him that his mother and father had died in a traffic accident.

Thus, when he goes to college he sees no reason not to be taken on the flow of the Free Kashmir movement which favours Muslims.

The story spends much time in flashback to the horrors of the merciless killings and torture and the political fall-out.

The Pakistan-backed Muslims are compared to the Hitler-supporting Nazis because of the scale and ruthlessness of their killings.

The Indian government also comes under fire for inaction in the face of growing evidence of atrocities.

However, the account is queried during the movie as well as the critics who believe it is political propaganda.

I can only comment on the film itself which I thought was enthralling albeit that the characters often fall into predictable actions and dialogue.

Meanwhile, the violence is hard to bear.

Thus, whatever the viewpoint, it must be agreed that it is extremely sad that such a beautiful land has been drenched in blood in the name of religion.

Reasons to watch: Riveting story

Reasons to avoid: Needs background knowledge

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 7.5/10

Did you know? The Indian and Pakistani-administered portions of Kshmir are divided by a “line of control” agreed to in 1972, although neither country recognises it as an international boundary. In addition, China became active in the eastern area of Kashmir in the 1950s and has controlled the northeastern part of Ladakh (the easternmost portion of the region) since 1962.

The final word. Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri : "It was not easy to take this decision, as one has to face many types of dangers, you can be threatened by terrorists and when terrorists attack, no police or army comes to save you, although my wife Pallavi Joshi gave me courage. And we decided that we will make this film like a creative soldier." India Today

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