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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
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Box office	est. ₹12.05 crore

The Kashmir Files is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language drama film written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri. Produced by Zee Studios, the film is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits during the Kashmir Insurgency. It stars Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi.

The film was initially set to release theatrically worldwide on 26 January 2022, coinciding with India's Republic Day, but was postponed due to the Omicron variant spread, and finally theatrically released on 11 March 2022. The film faced two legal cases before its release, one of which led to a court order restraining certain scenes. It was declared tax-free in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Karnataka.

Plot

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The movie revolves around the journey of a young student Krishna (Darshan Kumar), who goes from being brainwashed by professor Radhika Menon (Pallavi Joshi) to finally learning about what's presented as the true events of the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits.

The film portrays the events surrounding the exodus as a "genocide", in which thousands of Kashmiri Hindus were massacred, women raped and children shot. The displaced families are shown living as refugees till today.

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. 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 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. Yograj Singh was removed for his speeches at the 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest, and Puneet Issar was brought in as replacement. A line producer, Sarahna died during the production by committing suicide.

Critical reception

The Kashmir Files has received mixed reviews from film critics.

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 but wished for more nuance; Anupam Kher's acting was praised in particular. Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times praised Agnihotri's realist take on the events and showered praises on cast performances. Joginder Tuteja, reviewing for Rediff.com, praised Agnihotri's subtle filmography and individual performances of the cast; noting the film to be a "real chronicle" of 90s' Kashmir, he rated 4 out of 5 stars. 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.

In contrast, Shubhra Gupta, a Rotten Tomatoes Top Critic, reviewing for The Indian Express gave the film a 1.5 out of 5 stars; uninterested in nuance, the film was effectively a work of propaganda aligned with the ruling party's discourse, that aimed to stoke the "deep-seated anger" of Pandits and tap into the grief of a displaced community. Rahul Desai, reviewing for Film Companion, found the work to be a "fantasy-revisionist" rant lacking in clarity and craft where every Muslim was a Nazi and every Hindu, a Jew; with an unconvincing screenplay and weak characters, it strove only to tune in with the Hindu Nationalist mood of the nation rather than offer any genuine empathy to the displaced victims. 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. Shilajit Mitra of The New Indian Express panned the film with a rating of 1 out of 5 stars — he castigated Agnihotri for exploiting the suffering of Kashmiri Pandits and doing away with all nuance in service of a "communal agenda" against the Muslim community.

Release and box office

The film has been declared tax-free in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Karnataka. The Kashmir Files was released in over 630 screens in India on 11 March 2022. 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. After the successful opening, the screens were increased to 2000 on 13 March 2022 and a weekend target of ₹24 crore set.

Litigation

A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by an Uttar Pradesh resident 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. The PIL was dismissed by a Bombay High Court on technical grounds.

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.

References

1. ^ "The Kashmir Files". British Board of Film Classification. 9 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
2. ^ "The Kashmir Files Box Office". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
3. "The Kashmir Files line producer dies by suicide; heartbroken Anupam Kher writes that the news 'shook' him". Times Now. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
4. "Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files to CLASH with Prabhas-starrer Radhe Shyam on March 11 : Bollywood News". Bollywood Hungama. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
5. "Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files to go on floors next month". Cinema Express. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
6. Negi, Shrishti (9 March 2022). "The Kashmir Files Producer Pallavi Joshi: Am I Making the Film for Hindu Rashtra? I'm Just Telling a Story". News18. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
7. "Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty's 'The Kashmir Files' to release on Republic Day 2022". The New Indian Express. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
8. "Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri's 'The Kashmir Files' release postponed amid rising COVID-19 cases". Bollywood Hungama. 10 January 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
9. "Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files to CLASH with Prabhas-starrer Radhe Shyam on March 11". Bollywood Hungama. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
10. ^ Keshri, Shweta (11 March 2022). "Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files releases today all over India". India Today.
11. ^ "'The Kashmir Files' film declared tax-free in Haryana". Asian News International. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
12. ^ "'The Kashmir Files' becomes tax-free in Madhya Pradesh". Times of India. 13 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
13. ^ "Anupam Kher starrer 'The Kashmir Files' gets tax-free in Gujarat". Times of India. 13 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
14. ^ "'The Kashmir Files' to be tax-free in Karnataka". Deccan Hearld. 13 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
15. ^ Gupta, Shubhra (12 March 2022). "The Kashmir Files movie review: Anupam Kher is the emotional core of this overwrought film". The Indian Express. Retrieved 12 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
16. "Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files to go on floors next month". Cinema Express. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
17. "The Kashmir Files: Vivek Agnihotri announces new film through poster, announces its release on 15 August, 2020". Firstpost. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
18. "Vivek Agnihotri on The Kashmir Files: 'I wanted to make a film about people who did not pick up guns'-Entertainment News , Firstpost". Firstpost. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
19. "COVID 19 effect: Shooting of 'The Kashmir Files' called off". The Times of India. 17 May 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
20. "Yograj Singh out of Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files". The Tribune (Chandigarh). 12 December 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
21. "Puneet Issar Replaces Yograj Singh In 'The Kashmir Files' Post Singh's Derogatory Remark". Mid-Day. 15 December 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
22. "The Kashmir Files line producer dies by suicide; heartbroken Anupam Kher writes that the news 'shook' him". Times Now. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
23. ^ "The Kashmir Files box office collection Day 1: Vivek Agnihotri film mints Rs 3.55 crore". The Indian Express. 13 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
24. "Netizens on Twitter reveal that the screening of The Kashmir Files has been stopped in cinema halls". Box Office Worldwide. 12 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
25. "The Kashmir Files movie review: Anupam Kher is the soul of this gut-wrenching film that's brazen and brutal". Hindustan Times. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
26. "'The Kashmir Files' movie review: Anupam Kher is brilliant in this heart-wrenching story". Deccan Herald. 12 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
27. "The Kashmir Files Review: Anupam Kher shines in the film that creates an impact but lacks balance". Pinkvilla. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
28. "Review: 'The Kashmir Files' Makes a Compelling Case For Kashmiri Pandits". The Quint. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
29. "The Kashmir Files movie review: Anupam Kher is the soul of this gut-wrenching film that's brazen and brutal". Hindustan Times. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
30. TUTEJA, JOGINDER. "The Kashmir Files Review". Rediff. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
31. "The Kashmir Files Review: Anupam Kher shines in the film that creates an impact but lacks balance". Pinkvilla. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
32. Desai, Rahul (11 March 2022). "The Kashmir Files Is A Defensive And Dishonest Dive Into The Past". Film Companion. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
33. Bhatnagar, Rohit (11 March 2022). "The Kashmir Files review: A preachy tale of facts that lacks attention". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
34. Mitra, Shilajit (12 March 2022). "Movie Review| Kashmir Files, A limp attempt at provocation". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
35. Mankad, Himesh (13 March 2022). "Box Office: The Kashmir Files set to emerge first blockbuster of pandemic; Targets a Rs 24 crore weekend". Pinkvilla. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
36. ^ Vidya (8 March 2022). "Plea against The Kashmir Files dismissed by Bombay High Court". India Today. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
37. Dipali, Patel (10 March 2022). "Court stays release of Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files". India Today. Retrieved 10 March 2022.

External links

• The Kashmir Files at IMDb

• 2022 films
• 2022 drama films
• Indian films
• Indian drama films
• Films directed by Vivek Agnihotri
• Hindi-language drama films
• Kashmir conflict in films