The Kashmir Files: Is the Movie Worth Watching?

Out of all the movies released this weekend, The Kashmir Files is the most controversial and yet the most-watched movie. It has had the most number of controversies associated with it which have benefited it as much as the movie has suffered. Vivek Agnihotri, the filmmaker who helmed the movie has been receiving several death threats in context to The Kashmir Files, which does make one wonder, “Is the movie that influential?”

Many people have been wondering whether or not they should invest their time and money in the movie and go to the theatres to watch it. To ease your decision, in this article, we’ve provided a detailed analysis of the movie including both its pros and cons. Go through the article, to make an informed decision. Also, if you’ve decided to go for the movie, know what to expect from it.

What do we know about the movie?

Plot:

The story has been narrated in two timelines. Between 1980-1990, the Hindu residents of Kashmir valley face a lot of torture by the militants. The militants raise slogans against them that warn the Kashmiri Pandits to either convert to Islam, leave Kashmir or die. They also chant slogans that preach that one day the Kashmir valley will be free of Kashmiri Pandits. 

Pushkar Nath Pandit is a middle-aged school teacher living in the valley. He lives with his son Karan and daughter-in-law Sharda. The militants get informed that Pushkar’s son Karan is an Indian spy and is the reason behind their information getting leaked to the government. They send a team of militants to search for Karan. 

Pushkar Nath Pandit is worried for the safety of his son Karan. He requests his friend Brahma Dutt, who is a civil servant, to take care of his son’s safety. Brahma Dutt advises him to hide himself and his family inside their house. Karan hides in a container full of rice. The militants find him and shoot him. They also find Pushkar and his daughter-in-law Sharda. When the two plead with the militants for their lives, they ask Sharda to eat the rice grains soaked in her husband’s blood.

Pushkar and Sharda flee to Jammu and start living near Nadimarg. Brahma Dutt gets Sharda a government job in the same town. After some time, the militants dressed up as the Indian army trying to protect the Kashmiri Pandits and started attacking them. They stripped Sharda and chopped her body into two halves.

Pushkar flees Jammy and brings up his grandson Krishna away from the valley. Pushkar tells Krishna that his parents died in a car accident. After the death of Pushkar, Krishna finds out about the genocide, in which his family died. He goes to Kashmir to spread the ashes of Pushkar on his motherland, as per his last wish. There, he meets Bitta, the leader of the militants, who now claims to be new-age Gandhi. 

He finds some newspaper clips that were collected by his grandfather, Pushkar, and tries to prove that it was Bitta and his militants who killed his family. When he returns to ANU, he contests elections and in his speech, tells people about the massacre that killed his family. He receives mixed reactions from the crowd.

Starcast:

• The character of IAS Brahma Dutt has been essayed by Mithun Chakraborty.
• Anupam Kher played the protagonist Pushkar Nath Pandit.
• The character of Pushkar’s grandson Krishna has been essayed by Darshan Kumar.
• Pallavi Joshi featured in the role of Radhika Menon.
• The character of Farooq Malik Bitta, the leader of the militants, has been played by Chinmay Mandlekar.
• Prakash Belawadi is featured in the role of Dr. Mahesh Kumar who tries to save Karan’s life.
• Puneet Issar was featured in the role of DGP Hari Narain.
• Bhasha Sumbli essayed the role of Karan’s wife and Pushkar’s daughter-in-law, Sharda Pandit.
• Amaan Iqbal featured in the role of Pushkar’s son, Karan Pandit.

Pros: 

• The film has two strengths that are required to carry a movie, direction, and acting.
• The actors along with the director keep you involved in the story throughout.
• The story does not play on any kind of bias and covers all the aspects of the incidents.
• The cinematographer has successfully captured the beauty of the valley without distracting the audience from the story.

Cons:

• The movie is a story, rather than an incident, it does not arrive at a satisfactory conclusion where you can identify the real antagonists of it.
• While the actors have been successful enough in getting under the skin of their characters. There are some instances when they fail to maintain continuity in their Kashmiri dialect.
• Several political parties and groups have claimed that the director has pertained from showing the blunt reality, and has diluted it by distributing the blame on the media, the government, etc.

Conclusion:

The Kashmir Files is a movie that has been popularising ever since its trailer came out. Also, the movie has been in controversy after its director, Vivek Agnihotri started receiving death threats.

The movie revolves around Pushkar Nath Pandit who is a school teacher. His son Karan gets killed by the militants. While trying to escape from the valley and raise a voice against the militants, he loses his daughter-in-law also. He raises his grandson Krishna all alone and tells him that his parents died in an accident. 

After Krishna learns about what happened to his family, he tries to raise his voice against Bitta and contests the ANU elections. The movie has been helmed by Vivek Agnihotri and the actors have successfully gotten under the skin of their characters. The movie has been declared tax-free in most states of the country. It is advisable to consider watching the movie.

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