The Kashmir Files
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Vivek Agnihotri
Written by	Vivek Agnihotri Saurabh M. Pandey
Starring	Mithun Chakraborty Anupam Kher Darshan Kumar Pallavi Joshi Chinmay Mandlekar Prakash Belawadi Puneet Issar
Cinematography	Udaysingh Mohite
Edited by	Shankh Rajadhyaksha
Music by	Score: Rohit Sharma Songs: Swapnil Bandodkar
Production companies	Zee Studios Abhishek Agarwal Arts
Distributed by	Zee Studios
Release date	11 March 2022 (2022-03-11)
Running time	170 minutes[1]
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Box office	est. ₹27.15 crore[2]

The Kashmir Files is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language drama film^[1] written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri. Produced by Zee Studios,^[4] the film is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus during the Kashmir Insurgency.^[5] It stars Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi.^[6] The film was initially set to release theatrically worldwide on 26 January 2022, coinciding with India's Republic Day,^[7] but was postponed due to the Omicron variant spread,^[8] and finally theatrically released on 11 March 2022.^[9]

It has been declared tax-free in Haryana,^[10] Madhya Pradesh,^[11] Gujarat,^[12] and Karnataka.^[13] The film has become a box office success, within three days of its release, setting several box office records for a small budget Hindi film.^[14][15]

Plot

The movie revolves around the journey of a young student Krishna (Darshan Kumar), who goes from being influenced by Prof. Radhika Menon (Pallavi Joshi) to finally learning about the genocide of his own people.

Cast

• Mithun Chakraborty as Brahma Dutt IAS
• Anupam Kher as Pushkar Nath Pandit
• Darshan Kumar as Krishna Pandit
• Pallavi Joshi as Radhika Menon
• Chinmay Mandlekar as Farooq Ahmed Dar (Bitta Karate)
• Prakash Belawadi as Dr. Mahesh Kumar
• Puneet Issar as DGP Hari Narain
• Bhasha Sumbli as Sharda Pandit
• Sourav Verma as Afzal
• Mrinal Kulkarni as Laxmi Dutt
• Atul Srivastava as Vishnu Ram
• Prithviraj Sarnaik
• Amaan Iqbal as Karan Pandit

Production

On 14 August 2019, Agnihotri announced the film with its first look poster saying, "the film will be an honest investigation into one of the biggest human tragedies". Director Vivek Agnihotri completed the script, stationed at an undisclosed location in the Himalayas. The subject of the film was the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits that took place between the late 80s and early 90s.^[16][17] As a part of production, Vivek Agnihotri claimed to have interviewed more than 700 emigrants from the exodus and recorded their stories over a period of two years ^[18] Actor Anupam Kher joined the cast as the lead actor of the film in May 2020. The first schedule of the film was called off due the coronavirus outbreak.^[19] Yograj Singh was removed for his speeches at the 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest,^[20] and Puneet Issar was brought in as replacement.^[21] A line producer, Sarahna died during the production by committing suicide.^[22]

Critical reception

Stutee Ghosh of The Quint rated the film 3.5 out of 5 and found the film to have made a compelling case for Kashmiri Pandits and their "hitherto unaddressed wounds" but wished for more nuance; the cinematography esp. color palette, Anupam Kher's acting, and realist depictions were praised in particular.^[26] Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times praised Agnihotri's non-mellowed take on the events and showered praises on cast performances.^[27] Joginder Tuteja, reviewing for Rediff.com, praised the subtle filmography, middling pace, and individual performances of the cast; noting the film to be a "real chronicle" of 90s' Kashmir, he rated 4 out of 5 stars.^[28] Likewise, Jagadish Angadi of Deccan Herald was effusive in his praise — Agnihotri's use of non-linear narratives and strong dialogues, enviable background research, and strong individual performances produced an "intense watch".^[29] Avinash Lohana of Pinkvilla scored the film at 3 out of 5 stars, praising the cast performances—particularly that of Kher's—and behind-the-scenes research but criticized the lack of balance.^[30]

In contrast, Shubhra Gupta, reviewing for The Indian Express gave the film a 1.5 out of 5 stars; uninterested in nuance, the film was held to be a work of propaganda aligned with the ruling party's discourse that only aimed to stoke the "deep-seated anger" of Pandits but it did tap into the grief of a displaced community and Kher's performance was commendable.^[31] Rahul Desai, reviewing for Film Companion, found the work to be a "fantasy-revisionist" rant lacking in clarity, craft, and sense where every Muslim was a Nazi and every Hindu, a Jew; with an unconvincing screenplay and weak characters, it was propaganda that strove only to tune in with the Hindu Nationalist mood of the nation rather than offer genuine empathy to the displaced victims.^[32]

Amogh Rohmetra, reviewing the film for The Print, noted multiple factual errors in Agnihotri's documentation of the events and criticized the attempts at maligning Jawaharlal Nehru University and selective aspersions on politicians; overall, he found the "disturbing and discomforting" work to be deserving of rapt attention but uncredible and "almost" in the service of propagating Islamophobia.^[33] Rohit Bhatnagar of The Free Press Journal found the screenplay as well as individual performances to be sloppy, thus failing to "translate the grief on the big canvas" and make any mark; however, he admired the effort that went behind the film and rated 2.5 out of 5 stars.^[34] Shilajit Mitra of The New Indian Express panned the film with a rating of 1 out of 5 stars and castigated Agnihotri for exploiting the suffering of Kashmiri Pandits by doing away with all nuance in service of a "communal agenda".^[35]

Release and box office

The film has been declared tax-free in Haryana,^[10] Madhya Pradesh,^[11] Gujarat,^[12] and Karnataka.^[13] The Kashmir Files was released in over 630 screens in India on 11 March 2022.^[36] The film earned ₹3.55 crore at the domestic box office on its opening day. On its second day, the film showed a growth of 139.44% and earned ₹8.50 crore, taking its total domestic box office collection to ₹12.05 crore.^[37] After the response from the first two days, the screens were increased to 2000 on 13 March 2022.^[38] The film earned ₹15.10 crore at the domestic box office on its third day, taking its opening weekend collection to ₹27.15 crore.^[37]

The Kashmir Files emerged as a box-office hit within its first two days of release.^[39] The film set several box office records for a small budget Hindi film.^[14]

Litigation

A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by an Uttar Pradesh resident^[40] which sought a stay on the film's release on grounds that the film may portray the Muslims as killers of the Kashmiri Pandits, presenting what it described as a one sided view that would hurt the sentiments of Muslims and could trigger violence against Muslims.^[41] The PIL was dismissed by a Bombay High Court on technical grounds.^[41]

A lawsuit was filed by the widow of an Indian Armed Forces squadron leader who died during the Kashmir Insurgency. The widow's lawsuit said that the film portrayed a false depiction of events vis-a-vis the husband and sought a stay on its release. Accordingly, the court restrained the makers from showing relevant scenes.^[42]

References

External links

• The Kashmir Files at IMDb