'Shikara: A Love Letter From Kashmir' highlights the plight of Kashmiri Pandits

Shikara is all set to be Vidhu Vinod Chopra's comeback film as he returns to the silver screen as a director after 12 years. The historical romance deals with the subject of the mass exodus of the Kashmiri pandits from their homeland in the year 1990. The makers of the film took to their social media accounts to release the official motion poster of the film as they captioned their post with the words, "Tees saal baad, humari kahani kahi jayegi (after 30 years, our story will be told)... Here is a timeless love story in the worst of times."

Take a look at their post:

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The motion poster of Shikara gives a glimpse of the plight of Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s as it begins with the protest cry "Kashmir humara chhod do!" (Leave our Kashmir alone!) with a visual of thousands of Kashmiris, homeless and settled in an enclosed place awaiting their freedom from the situation. The voiceover at the end of the teaser declares towards the end that after 30 years of the incident, on January 19, 2020, their story will be told. The image of a flower-decked shikara boat with a couple laying low in silence resonates with the storyline of the film as it sails through the blue and calm waters.

The synopsis of the film reads-- "In 1990, 4 lakh Kashmiri Pandits (Hindus) were forced to leave their homes under the threat of life. Till today, they continue to live as refugees in their own country, in small refugee camps in the city of Jammu. Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Shikara follows the story of Shiv and Shanti, two Kashmiri Pandits, chronicling their survival through 30 years of exile. In the current season of hate, love is all that keeps hope alive." 

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Vidhu Vinod Chopra is all set to return to direction with this refreshing story from the valleys in which he finds his own roots. Chopra's last directorial was the Amitabh Bachchan starrer Eklavya in the year 2007. The trailer for Shikara is scheduled to drop on January 7 and the film will release in theaters on February 7, 2020. Although nothing has been revealed about the cast of the film yet, it has, reportedly, been written, directed and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and will be presented by Fox Star Studios.

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Take a look at the official motion poster here:

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