Another ?Mission Kashmir?

The most noteworthy thing about the movie Shikara is that, it is a first. The atrocious happenings of the 1990’s and the despondent and hapless state of the Kashmiri Hindus has finally found its conduit through the big screen. This was Bollywood’s first attempt at showcasing the crimes committed against the Kashmiri Hindus and their resulting ethnic cleansing from the Valley. Shikara is a fictional love story between a Kashmiri Hindu Boy and Girl and yes, that’s it!!

It is not a film on the exodus of the Kashmiri Hindus in its entirety, one should not watch the movie on the pretext of what it was sold on. The film takes 30 to 40 mins of its initial screen space to sell you a love story based in Kashmir. Kashmir has been picturesquely-portrayed, reminding us of those days that almost every Bollywood Movie made it a point to shoot in the Valley.

The protagonist, Shiv Kumar Dhar (Aadil Khan) marries Shanti (Sadia) in a traditional Kashmiri wedding. His excited Muslim best friend Latif (Zain Durrani), whose father helps the young couple build their home, is an integral part of their lives. The death of Latif’s father in an attack pushes him to take up arms against the State. This is where the story starts building up.

During the exodus, as Hindus are forced to leave home, the memories of trauma are accompanied by chants of ‘Azaadi’ in Kashmir. The real incidents are combined with a fictional love story.

The film demands the return of four lakh Kashmiri Hindus to the Valley, as Shiv writes 1664 letters over the decades to the Presidents of America, to seek international solidarity. The letters naturally fall on deaf years. Newcomers Aadil Khan as Shiv Kumar Dhar and Sadia as Shanti are an interesting choice for a couple. The performances are fresh and at various occasions impactful, however, the 30 Year aging of the protagonists is dodgy, majorly due to the poor make up.

Shikara is directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. It is written by Rahul Pandita, Abhijat Joshi and Vidhu Vinod Chopra as well.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra fails miserably to deliver on his promises. The movie was sold on the pretext that it was the ‘Untold Story of the Kashmiri Pandits’. However it turned out to be otherwise. While the story keeps you engaged, it becomes a tad bit boring and predictable in the second half. The director has more focus on the love story.

The audiences had such tall anticipations from the movie, and it all just fell flat. Shikara will make you lament for the Kashmiri Hindus, but only for a while. It is, fundamentally, the love story of two people who just happen to be Kashmiri Hindus. The exodus of Kashmiri Hindus, a tragic chapter of the Bharatiya History that pains us each time it’s touched upon, has been scarcely portrayed.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s direction is remarkable; however, the film has subtly also played to its propaganda. Just like in his previous movie Mission Kashmir, Chopra tries to justify the actions of violence by the terrorists, which is preposterous.

Shiv Kumar Dhar’s friend Lateef’s father’s death is where the story starts building up. The injuries Lateef’s father sustains result in his death. However, we are not given any information about the clash between the party workers and the police, what caused the clash in the first place, or why the police resorted to violence. The death is attributed to the police or the state action without any credible explanation and the story is conveniently pushed forward. Lateef’s actions of violence are grossly justified.

It is saddening and frustrating at the same time that the brutality and barbarity faced by the Kashmiri Hindus have not been represented appropriately and sufficiently in the movie. Chopra trivialises the threat Kashmiri Hindu women faced during the time of the ethnic cleansing and exodus, it is widely known that many were raped and killed. For a matter of fact, those loudspeakers that are used to remember the almighty through Azaans, were used viciously to warn the Kashmiri Hindu men to leave behind their wives, daughters and mothers for the pleasure of these impotent scoundrels.

Terrorists looking to target Kashmiri Hindus are termed as ‘a few boys up to mischief’. There is also a jibe at the slogan of ‘Mandir Wahin Banayenge’, an attempt to dilute another sensitive matter and was very distastefully inserted in the script. Shikara makes no attempt to discuss what disrupted the seeming concord, adding nothing new to the conversation. The film has tried to bury the results of religious fundamentalism under the garb of ‘love and hope’.

In one such scene, the film portrays how today’s marriages have unfortunately diluted the cultural and ethnic heritage of one’s community, especially the Kashmiris, and are nothing but made up of discomforting, loud and ridiculous Mika Singh songs accompanied by alcohol. It is a stark warning to all the communities to save these unique elements of their customs and traditions before the ethnic fabric is washed off.

The scenes at the refugee camps are saddening and heart-breaking. Especially the scene when a truck full of tomatoes arrives and how everyone rushes to grab a few of them, leaves you with moist eyes, or the scene when an old man is continuously pleading and shouting that he wants to go back to Kashmir evokes a sense of pain and empathy.

I am going for 2.5 out of 5 Stars for Shikara.