The Kashmir Files have brought awareness to the massive exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990. It has been well received at the Indian box office. On April 9, a grand screening attended by Vivek Agnihotri and Pallavi Joshi took place in the Siam Pavalai Theater in Siam Paragon, Bangkok. The theater was fully packed with Indians and Thais who attended the special premiere.

In another tweet, Vivek Agnihotri announced the screening organized by the GKPD in Thailand. “Looking forward to this grandest screening ever in Bangkok. 750+ people and hundreds in waiting. Organized by @kp_global #TheKashmirFiles #RightToJustice.”

The packed theater gave a standing ovation in a show of patriotism during the screening. The massive hit continues to show in theaters in Thailand. The film has ignited a feeling of patriotism that is felt across borders as more people come to support India.

Be it a small film, it has come as a titan in the industry as it ushers a new beginning in the industry. It has toppled Bollywood films since its release which is a massive feat by itself. Without the press support of big organizations, it has managed to be a worldwide hit.

It was met with a lot of controversies since its release but it has stayed strong throughout. With the strength of modern media, it has set a new trend for upcoming movies.

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The clip contains various scenes depicting the period of militancy, including women in mourning. The background score features poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s “Hum Dekhenge”, an iconic poem that was also used in ‘The Kashmir Files’.

“Militants barged in the house of SPO Ishfaq Ahmed and killed him along with his brother Umer Jan” and “these killings are in a series of cold-blooded murders of peace-loving Kashmiris,” read two texts in the video.

Another frame has a text reading “Kashmir has lost 20,000 lives to these targeted killings. It’s time we speak up”.

The video ends with the text “Hum Kashmir Hain, Hum Dekhenge (We are Kashmir, we will see).” The video was posted on Twitter by the Jammu and Kashmir Police on March 31 and has garnered 1.64 lakh views. Incidentally, on April 4, the Kashmir Valley witnessed a fresh spurt in attacks on migrants and Kashmiri Pandits.

Released in March, ‘The Kashmir Files’, directed by Vivek Agnihotri, was endorsed by a number of Union ministers and granted tax-free status in most BJP-ruled states.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also endorsed ‘The Kashmir Files’, saying it is incumbent upon those who fight for the truth to ensure that all efforts to present history in the right context are supported. PTI SKL SMN

The film has been controversial and was alleged to be political propaganda to encourage hate against Muslims. Many spoke out about the issue and organized individual press conferences to address its controversy.

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“The protesters were people from the BJP. They came to my house, climbed the walls. My elderly parents were there. We weren’t there at home. Does anybody have the right to do this to your house?” the Delhi CM said.

“My life is not important. I keep saying, I don’t care about my life. My life is for the country. I was on a fast for 15 days — there must be some madness in me? The doctor said I wouldn’t survive. I’m a diabetes patient. But this goondagardi is not good for the country,” he added, asserting that he was not worried about any threat to his life.

Mr. Kejriwal accused BJP leaders of “promoting” The Kashmir Files and had responded to a demand to make the film tax-free saying the makers should upload the film on YouTube.

He went on to say that the BJP was “not really worried” about Kashmiri Pandits.

“When the genocide happened, who’s government was in power? It was the BJP’s. It was their Governor- Jagmohan. The BJP was in the state and at the Centre then. They have done injustice with Kashmiri Pandits. Not even one family has been rehabilitated. After so many years, they come and say – we are making a film on you – and then they make money out of it. This is badtameezee (insolence). It’s like you are rubbing salt on their wounds. If I was in their place, I would try to rehabilitate the Kashmiri Pandits. I have spoken to many Kashmiri Pandits, they are angry with the BJP,” Mr. Kejriwal said.

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Twinkle took a jab at the craze around the film. ‘In a meeting at a producer’s office, I am informed that there is a deluge of fresh movie titles being registered as an homage to The Kashmir Files. Since larger cities have already been claimed, now the poor chaps are registering names like Andheri Files, Khar-Danda Files, and even South Bombay Files’, pens Twinkle.

She then proceeds further to talk about making a movie titled “Nail Files”. “8 pm: Mother has invited us over for dinner and while she is fussing over her granddaughter, I inform her that I too have registered a title based on the Kashmir Files wave. ‘I am going to make a movie called Nail File.’ ‘About what? A disastrous manicure,’ she asks.”

This has caused a huge backlash among the Netizens accusing her of being insensitive.

Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit wrote, “@mrsfunnybones ma’am, you are too late. This film (#KashmirFiles) on the genocide of #KashmiriPandits has already hit the nail on the communal coffin of #IslamicTerrorism. Request you not be so insensitive towards the genocide of 7 lac #KashmiriPandits.”

One Twitter user wrote, “Twinkle Khanna mocks #KashmirFiles that shows genocide of innocents. Suggests @myogiadityanath do gas-releasing asana @akshaykumar produces #LJ films, mocks faith of majority, and then interviews PM, meets Yogi Unity in diversity!”

Another one urged netizens to stop “wasting money” on Bollywood celebs. “So, the latest to mock the Kashmiri Pandit genocide is Twinkle Khanna. The ugly truth of Bollywood: it’s all about balancing the money flow—by pleasing anti-India lobby with such mockery, & then desperately running to temples—with whitewash PR. Stop wasting your money on them,” the tweet read.

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RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat praises ‘The Kashmir Files’ movie, saying it has created public awareness across the country and outside about the reality behind the exodus of Kashmiri pandits from the valley in 1990.

Kashmiri pandits will be able to return to their homes in the valley soon, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Sunday, asserting that work is on to create a conducive atmosphere so that they are never displaced again.

Returning to the Valley

Addressing members of the Kashmiri pandit community virtually on the last day of the three-day ‘Navreh’ celebrations, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief said that the time has come for fulfilling the pledge of returning to their homes in the Kashmir valley.

“It won’t take many days for the fulfillment of our pledge of returning to the valley. It will come true very soon and we have to continue making attempts in this direction. Our history and our great leaders should serve as the guiding light and inspiration for all of us,” Bhagwat said in his over half-an-hour speech.

Referring to his participation in the Kashmiri pandit festival ‘Herath’ (Shivaratri) in 2011 in Delhi, he said the community had taken a pledge on the occasion that they will return to their homeland.

“Challenges do come in everyone’s life … We are in a situation where we were displaced in our own country three-four decades ago. What is the solution?? he said and added, “We will not succumb and see our pledge fulfilled by returning to our homes.”

He referred to Israel and said the Jews struggled for 1800 years for their homeland. “Nothing much was done in 1700 years by them for their pledge, but over the past 100 years, the history of Israel saw it achieving its target and also becoming one of the leading countries in the world.”

Kashmir Pandits

“We (Kashmiri pandits) have had to live in different parts of the globe despite the fact that Kashmir is an integral part of India. We can live anywhere but we cannot forget our homeland,” he said.

Bhagwat said ‘The Kashmir Files’ movie has highlighted the reality of Kashmiri pandits before the world.

He said the removal of Article 370 “opened the way for the return of the pandits to the Kashmir valley”.

“The time for your return to the valley as a Hindu and a ‘Bharat Bakt’ is approaching, you have faced displacement in the past but in the future, nothing like this should happen with you,” he said.

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“The Kashmir Files is not made on the budget like a lot of other movies. But it is probably going to be cost-to-profit the biggest hit of Indian cinema. You have got to acknowledge there is something that is connecting with this nation and academically you have to watch it. You have to watch it to absorb, to learn from it that look, there is this movement that has happened. It’s no longer a film, it’s a movement.”

Yami Gautam and Aditya Dhar had been some of the first people to have urged others to watch the film. Stars like Akshay Kumar and Kangana Ranaut also praised the movie.

On a political note, a photo of The Kashmir Files vandalized on the main gate of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence has been circulating the internet. According to The Quint, it is morphed or a photoshop as the vandalism was very clear. The words ‘The Kashmir Files Is Not A Lie, It’s Horrifying Truth’ come from a poster released by the film overlayed at the gate.

Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) members, including Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, stormed and vandalized the gate of the chief minister’s residence on Wednesday, 30 March.

This was in protest against Kejriwal’s remarks on Vivek Agnihotri’s film ‘The Kashmir Files’, where he called on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters to join the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as they would be respected and not be asked: “to paste posters of films.”

The visuals shared by the AAP leaders as well as news media organizations only show red paint on the gate without the title of the film.

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NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday accused the BJP of creating a “poisonous atmosphere” by spreading “false propaganda” about the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir Valley.

The Congress, too, had attacked the BJP for promoting the movie. The party’s communication department head Randeep Surjewala had accused the government of trying to spread hatred in society through the movie.

Pawar said that Kashmiri Pandits did, indeed, have to flee the Valley, but he pointed out that Muslims, too, were targeted in a similar manner. “Pakistan-based terror groups were responsible for the attacks on Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims,” he said.

Pawar’s remarks come at a time when the feeling that his party is going soft on the BJP was gaining ground within the Shiv Sena, the NCP’s ally in Maharashtra’s ruling coalition.

Pawar also criticized the BJP for dragging Jawaharlal Nehru into the debate over Kashmir. He argued that it was V P Singh who was PM when the exodus of Kashmir Pandits began.

“The V P Singh government was backed by the BJP. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was the home minister and Jagmohan, who later contested the Lok Sabha polls from Delhi as a BJP candidate, was the governor of Jammu and Kashmir,” Pawar said. He added that the then J&K chief minister Farooq Abdullah had quit following differences with Jagmohan and that it was the governor who facilitated the departure of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley.

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Is the Kashmir Files right-wing propaganda? Many journalists weigh on the controversial movie as it took the Indian cinemas by storm. Here are some points of view we have come across.

Images Dawn

Images Dawn says “given the blatant communal climate in India, the implications in the film are unmistakable: that terrorists = Muslims”.

“The recently released Bollywood film The Kashmir Files is a laughable piece of right-wing propaganda. But its over-simplification is what makes it frightening”

“None of it is surprising. Even a cursory look at Agnihotri’s filmography reveals something obvious: that he’s mostly made C-grade erotica and D-grade propaganda.”

India Today

India Today applauds the movie for its countless achievements

“Vivek Agnihotri’s directorial venture, The Kashmir Files, continues to impress each day at the box office. After crossing many milestones, the film has added yet another feather to its cap. Even after 21 days of its release, The Kashmir Files has managed to hold its own at the box office despite big releases like Bachchhan Paandey and RRR. It has now managed to cross the Rs 300-crore mark at the worldwide box office. The Kashmir Files, which released on March 11, is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus during the Kashmir insurgency in 1990. It stars Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumaar, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi.”

“In a major achievement, The Kashmir Files has been passed without any cuts in UAE, that too without any cuts. It will also release in Singapore soon. Meanwhile, the film has crossed Rs 300 crore at the worldwide box office. In India, it is expected to end in the range of Rs 265 to 275 crore to emerge one of the biggest grossers of all time. On Day 21, the film reportedly earned Rs 2 crore in India, taking the total domestic box office collection to Rs 237.22 crore. Meanwhile, The Kashmir Files had an overall 13.66 per cent Hindi occupancy on Thursday, March 31.”

Our Thoughts

The Kashmir Files has been very controversial since its release and it will stir up feelings. It is like the Titanic, it is partly based on history but the story itself could have or could have not happened. It brings awareness to the mistakes of the past. Is it propaganda if it really happened?

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Western Media

Western media have reported the plights of Muslims experiencing abuse from the Hindus as they brave to watch the theaters. Many organizations have held press conferences saying this was a political move and it disturbs the peace.

What could have been missed in these reports is that this has been a part of history. Just like the Titanic, Jack and Rose probably did not exist but the story might have. It is also a part of history that shows us the real emotions people felt experiencing that strategy. It gives us awareness and triggers compassion for their plight but it also makes us appreciate their lives.

The Kashmir Files is no different. It shows us the feelings of the people who have been part of the exodus. They trigger emotions as they share their stories in life, it is a part of history that happened to bring us to where we are today.

The Times

According to the Times, this was political. “Social media is flooded with videos of members of the audience erupting in rousing hate speeches after seeing the film, with calls for the slaughter of Muslims and a boycott of Muslim businesses. Often, these speeches are staged by Hindu vigilante organizations ideologically allied with Modi’s government. In a climate of growing intolerance, where exclusion and marginalization of Muslims have become mainstream political discourse, the movie is making Indian Muslims even more fearful.”

“The “truth” that the film claims to reveal is that there was a “genocide” of Pandits in the 1990s, hidden by a callous ruling establishment and a servile media. Pandits were killed in their thousands, it claims, and not in the low hundreds as the government and Kashmiri Pandit organizations have stated.”

Be it hundreds or thousands, it is still genocide and no one deserved to die under that circumstance. As the West depicts it as a political move, for us it is a part of history we are being aware of and we could learn from it.

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