The Kashmir Files

Review by Balti

Release Date

11th March 2022

Should I watch this movie?

A gripping historical action drama is set to expose the harrowing, fact-based saga of Hindu persecution that unfolded during the 1989-90 exodus of Kashmiri Pandits. The narrative plunges into the heart of a besieged Kashmir, where a young Kashmiri Hindu college student, raised in exile by his grandfather, remains tragically unaware of the brutal circumstances surrounding his parents' deaths amidst the terror that gripped the valley. As Islamic militants sweep through the region, their chilling decrees—"Raliv, Chaliv ya Galiv" (convert to Islam, leave or die) and "Al-Safa Batte Dafa"—echo through the communities, initiating a systematic banishment that tears families apart. Amidst this escalating terror, the venerable teacher Pushkar Nath Pandit faces an agonizing dilemma: his son, Karan, has been falsely branded an Indian spy, placing him squarely in the militants' crosshairs, prompting a desperate plea for protection to his trusted friend, the civil servant Brahma Dutt, who, upon traveling to Kashmir, is thrust into the horrifying reality of the unchecked violence and ethnic cleansing targeting the Kashmiri Pandits. This powerful cinematic endeavor promises to immortalize a forgotten chapter of history, capturing the raw courage and devastating loss etched into the very soul of Hindus persecuted.

The narrative plunges into a maelstrom of escalating terror as the militant commander Farooq Malik Bitta, a former student, violently breaches Pushkar Nath's home, shattering any semblance of peace. The desperate hope of concealment is brutally extinguished when Karan, discovered in a rice container, is ruthlessly shot by Bitta, his life bleeding out amidst the family's horror. In a moment of unimaginable degradation, Pushkar and his daughter-in-law Sharda are forced to plead for their very existence, culminating in Bitta's sadistic demand for Sharda to consume rice soaked in Karan's blood—a soul-crushing act of survival. Though the militants eventually depart, Pushkar's frantic plea for an ambulance is tragically thwarted as the hospital, seized by militants, cruelly denies treatment to non-Muslims, leaving Karan to succumb to his grievous wounds. Seeking desperately for safety, the family finds a brief, fragile refuge with the poet Kaul, who shelters many Pandits, but even this sanctuary is violently betrayed when militants, feigning protection, abduct Kaul and his son, their lifeless bodies later discovered hanging from trees—a final, gut-wrenching testament to the pervasive, merciless fanaticism depicted in this harrowing account.

The Kashmir Files, highly anticipated film, a stark mosaic woven from the authentic, heart-wrenching accounts of Islamic terrorism, victims and the chilling confessions of its perpetrators, promises an agonizing portrayal of humanity's profound breakdown. Each frame is anticipated to be steeped in an unbearable sorrow, forcing viewers to confront the raw, unvarnished grief of those whose lives were irrevocably shattered by senseless acts of violence. The narrative will not shy away from the agonizing details, juxtaposing the enduring pain etched into survivors' memories with the cold, unsettling rationalizations offered by those who inflicted such widespread suffering, revealing the chilling indifference and calculated cruelty that can reside within the human heart. This is not merely a movie; it is a solemn, essential viewing experience, destined to leave audiences steeped in a profound and lingering sadness, a poignant reminder of the depths to which evil can plunge the human spirit and the enduring cost paid by its innocent victims.

Main Cast

Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, Pallavi Joshi, Chinmay Mandlekar and Bhasha Sumbli.

Performance

A spectral inferno of raw emotion ignites the screen as Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, Pallavi Joshi, Chinmay Mandlekar, and Bhasha Sumbli unleash a torrent of visceral performances, resurrecting the nightmarish reality of the 1990 Kashmir Pandit exodus with breathtaking intensity. Pallavi Joshi, a chilling apparition of academic subversion, outdoes herself, embodying actual JNU characters whose insidious rhetoric constantly undermines India's sovereignty, her portrayal a surreal, unsettling mirror to a dark, gnawing truth. Anupam Kher, drawing from a wellspring of personal anguish, doesn't merely act; he bleeds the pain and suffering, his performance an almost hallucinatory descent into the heart of unimaginable loss, bringing home the crushing weight of a community's agony. Mithun Chakraborty, a stoic sentinel amidst the chaos, becomes the very sinew that binds this fractured narrative, his veteran presence anchoring the unfolding horror and gluing the entire, agonizing drama together with an unyielding grip. As Darshan Kumar navigates a labyrinth of discovery and despair, Chinmay Mandlekar embodies the terrifying zealotry of oppression, and Bhasha Sumbli’s innocent eyes reflect the profound, shattering impact, each performance a shard of glass in the collective memory, cutting through the silence of history. Together, this ensemble doesn't just perform; they conjure a brutal, beautiful, and utterly inescapable vision, setting the screen ablaze with an inferno of truth that demands witness, leaving audiences haunted by the spectral echoes of a horror too long submerged.

Production

Directed by Vivek Agnihotri. Written by Vivek Agnihotri and Saurabh M. Pandey. Produced by Tej Narayan Agarwal, Abhishek Agarwal, Pallavi Joshi and Vivek Agnihotri

Music & Soundtracks

Music by Rohit Sharma

Fact or Fiction?

Despite the insidious fog of propaganda, the true history of Kashmir screams a simple, bloody truth, a narrative of profound loss and relentless persecution that demands to be heard. For over five millennia, this sacred land was known as the tranquil home of Rishi Kashyap, a vibrant cradle where figures like Abhinavagupta 950 - 1020 AD once flourished, bearing witness to its rich indigenous Hindu heritage, a legacy now tragically diminished. Yet, this ancient peace was shattered by the chilling shadow of Arab Islamic invasion 711-713 AD, carving a region into terror and Islamic submission, systematically displacing and persecuting Kashmiri Hindus through centuries of unspeakable cruelty. From the monstrous acts of Sikandar Shah Miri 1380 -1413 AD, the 'Idol Breaker,' whose reign of terror echoed through time, to the heart-wrenching exodus of 90,000–100,000 Pandits in 1990 – a modern-day ethnic cleansing that emptied the Valley of its original inhabitants – the agony is undeniable, even as the region now holds a Muslim majority. This brutal saga, long suppressed by design, is now finally piercing through the silence, with recent efforts creating a much-needed awareness for a history deliberately obscured for decades.