Sushil Pandit reviews Shikara, says ‘it airbrushes horrors of brutal cleansing from J&K'

Shikara – Untold Story of Kashmiri Pandits is anything but that. It was only marketed as one. Soon after I saw film, someone pointed me to publicity material. It h miraculously morphed into 'Shikara – A Timeless Love Story in Worst of Times'. Sly, film isn’t even that. re is nothing timeless about Love or Story in Shikara. And Times it is set in were, actually, far worse than filmmakers could summon candour, or competence, to show. In fact, it is about depiction of se Times that film bly lets you down.

'Shikara – A Timeless Love Story in Worst of Times'

story of Kashmiri Pandits is that of a brutal genocide. You may need a love story, or any or story, to show how that genocide was committed 30 years ago. That bit is understandable. In Shikara, it is or way round. film has used Kashmiri Pandit genocide to show an ordinary gooey, mushy and pulpy love story. And, that it is not all.

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You know how genetic modification (GM) makes fruits and vegetables look better, tastier and longer-lasting. Genocides are a messy business. Is that why ours has been given a bit of genetic makeover? Shikara has not only airbrushed horrors of our brutal cleansing from Valley, it has been fairly inventive about its origins too. For example, film tells us that like all our problems, it is President of America who is actually responsible for exodus of Hindus from Kashmir. From very first frame till last, hero is shown typing away. He writes hundreds of letters to President of America protesting against ir politics. Because, Director believes that h US not fought Soviets in Afghanistan, we KPs would still be in our homes in Kashmir.

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We are also told that jih we face is for a rational reason. A terrorist in film takes to guns because his far succumbs to he injuries sustained in a cane-charge by police on a political procession. Till I last checked, Hizb, Lashkar or Jaish were not formed to avenge individual grievances. Nor did brutes like Yasin, Bitta or Zargar take to guns for such reasons. Such rationalisations have served cause of camouflaging jih in Kashmir just as clumsily as Naxals are justified in Bastar.

scale and speed at which violence is shown to erupt, leing to Hindus emptying out, renders pre-exodus bonhomie in Hindu-Muslim relations in Kashmir unreal and exaggerated. This generally happens when you attempt to give primacy to a few individual exceptions over larger societal realities. But n, how else would you secularise hatred for Hindus and sustain a rose-tinted narrative?

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And if you think that secular monkey balancing is now too trite to cut much ice se days, story-teller begs to differ. While tomato-distribution in a refugee camp was to mock at a political party with a de giveaway pseudonym, re was not even a pretence of an effort to mask a pedestrian homily on Ayodhya issue. se issues in film seem re to apologise for even kid-glove treatment given to jih.

Years ago when I heard that “Our Moon Has Blood Clots” was going to be turned into a movie by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, I thought, like many or activist friends, that our story might, finally, get production values it deserved to deliver impact and reach. I should have recalled 1942, A Love Story he me to commemorate golden jubilee of Quit India movement. leitmotif of that film was a song- Ek lki ko dekha toh aisa laga… In Shikara, this time, Mr Chopra who sells romance for a living, seems to have turned book into Mills and Boon has a few Blood Clots.

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Sushil Pandit, author of this article is a Republic Contributor on Kashmir and Internal Security. 

views and opinions expressed within this article are personal opinions of author. facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing do not reflect views of Republic TV/ Republic World/ ARG Outlier Media Pvt. Ltd.