‘The Kashmir Files’ not premiering today in Silchar due to technical issues; Gold MD assures screening tomorrow

Kashmir means different things to different people. To some it is the “heaven on earth”, to others it means vote bank, propaganda and politics. In Sanskrit, the word “Kashmir” means “desiccated from water”. Even though Kashmir in real sense is heaven on earth, it’s probably not the peaceful heaven one would imagine. There are venomous roots of propaganda-politics, terrorism and unrest. Among many chapters of its agony-filled history, there is one forgotten chapter that is now in “news again”.

The much-dodged controversy of the ‘Kashmir Pandits’ exodus has find a portrayal in Vivek Agnihotri’s latest film, “The Kashmir Files”. The film based on true events and testimonials of the first generation victims of the Kashmir Pandit Community in 1990 features Bollywood stalwarts like Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, Prakash Belawadi, Darshan Kumaar and Pallavi Joshi.

The trailer released a few weeks back opens with the scene of a militant queueing 24 Kashmir Pandits in a line and shooting them down mercilessly. From the trailer itself, the film seems to project the violence faced by the ‘Hindu Brahmin Community’. A line from the film — ‘azzadi is a song of terrorist’ has stayed with many.

“This isn’t an exodus but genocide”, says IAS Brahma Dutt (Mithun Chakraborty). Pushkar Nath Pandit (Anupam Khe) too seconds this and tries to share his pain with his grandson Krishna (Darshan Kumar). The separatist cry of ‘Raliv, tsalive, chaliv’ (convert, die or leave) wrenches the gut with agony and truly paints the picture of the then Kashmir under militants. This film is a reminder of how the political machinery orphaned and abandoned the then newly accessed state of Kashmir.

While one needs to see the film to understand the pain and agony of the Kashmiri Pandits, Silchar residents will need to wait for a while. Due to technical reasons, Gold Digital Cinema, Silchar is not premiering this movie today, but we have confirmed with the Managing Director of the cinema hall Manish Kumar Baid, that the film will be available starting with the 5 PM show tomorrow.