No stranger to high waves in his career, Anupam Kher is currently riding the crest of his achievements in Indian cinema with the powerful all-pervasive impact of his latest release, The Kashmir Files.
The film has now become a full-fledged movement towards obtaining belated justice for lakhs of persecuted Kashmiri Pandits. Taking time off from his jampacked schedule, Kher speaks to Firstpost on the impact of the film. Edited excerpts below:
The Kashmir Files is not a film. It is a movement. Have you ever been part of a film that has had such a strong impact?
No no no. Never! I’ve never seen anything like this. The Kashmir Files has gone way beyond anything that I’ve done before. And mind you, its reach and impact is growing by the day… no, by the hour. As you rightly said in your review, it has opened up wounds that never healed. Impact like this is not possible for any other film. This is a once-in-a-lifetime achievement.
Did you expect such an impact?
No one could have foreseen this kind of impact. We knew it would open up a debate, at least we hoped so. Isske baare mein logon ko pataa hi nahin tha [People just did not know about the genocide of lakhs of Kashmiri Pandits].When they see the film, and are informed about the enormity of the crime, they feel shocked, and then they feel guilty.
Funny you mention guilt. I have seen a lot of that happening among those who watch the film.
This kind of impact is not just rare, it is impossible. Yeh movement toh aur kabhi ho hi nahin sakta [This cannot happen again]. When Steven Spielberg made Schindler’s List [1993], the shock that audiences felt was not that of an unfamiliar historical happening. People knew about the Jew holocaust, not just through history books but through many brilliant films before Schindler’s List. But where was the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits mentioned? It was hushed up. After watching the film, 95 percent of the audience tells us, "Aisa hua tha mujhe toh pata hi nahi" [I did not know this had happened].
Why do think this atrocity against a whole community was unknown to mankind?
Because it was suppressed by the government machinery, journalists, media. Everybody hid it because the Kashmiri Pandits were not vote banks.
Are human beings only vote banks in this country?
Aisa nahin hai. Not all of them are like that. Lekin inhone dabaa ke rakha [But they suppressed it]. Sadly, the Kashmiri Pandits were treated that way. Otherwise you tell me, how was it that the world didn’t know about an atrocity of this level? Five lakh Kashmiri Pandits were rendered homeless overnight. They were staying as refugees in cities all over India, like Pune, Delhi, and Jammu. They were all around you. Aur aapko pata nahin hai? [And you did not know?] They say there was no internet in 1990, hence no information on the Kashmiri Pandits. In that case, how does everyone know about the 1984 Sikh riots? And about Jallianwala Bagh massacre?
You are no stranger to films that make lasting impact. Saaransh [1984] for example?
You can’t compare the impact of Saaransh with The Kashmir Files. That was the story of one individual’s struggle against the system. This is the story, true story, of an entire community’s planned persecution. My character in the film represents the community’s persecution. He puts up a brave but futile fight for his homeland.
You are yourself a Kashmiri Pandit, and a victim?
From 1990 onwards, I’ve used various platforms to bring the genocide and eviction of Kashmiri Pandits into the public notice. But it needed an honest film like The Kashmir Files to validate the atrocity, and take it to the world. The impact is unbelievable. Pehle main bolta tha yeh sailaab hai, lekin yeh Tsunami hai [Initially, I used to claim it is a storm, but it is actually a Tsunami]. The film has hit people world over. They want to know how this holocaust was hidden from them for 32 years. Sometimes, pain brings people much closer together than happiness.
Why do you think there is a lack of appreciation from within the film industry?
I don’t need it. Why should I look for validation from anyone? That’s not my concern. I am not looking for validation from anybody.
Why do a lot of people see The Kashmir Files as an anti-Muslim film?
It is not! It is anti-terrorism. Those who have seen the film know this. In the final speech by Darshan Kumar, he says so.
As a Kashmiri Pandit, I know the terrorists targeted Muslims as well as Hindus. In Pakistan, so many Muslims are killed on a regular basis by terrorists.
And yet, why is there a feeling that the film is generating strong anti-Muslim sentiments?
It is generating no such thing. Only empathy for what happened to Kashmiri Pandits because they are the victims. This anti-Muslim narrative is happening only in the minds of those who are always standing on the other side. They are, by now, clichés. Before The Kashmir Files, at least seven-eight films on Kashmir have showed the terrorists’ point of view. Why didn’t anyone object to the Kashmiri Hindu’s viewpoint being obliterated from these films? Those makers had their point of view. Vivek Agnihotri has his point of view. Kya problem hai? [What is the problem?] I don’t want to give any importance to the naysayers.
Would you agree that none of your 500-plus films has made this kind of an impact?
Opportunity mili nahi, yaar [I did not get the opportunities]. This film is very close to my heart. My own mama [maternal uncle], who was an overseer in Kashmir, he built a home after saving money his entire life. Five days after he moved into his new home, he got a letter saying he must vacate his home or die. He left in one Fiat car with whatever possession he could take. He died of a broken heart within three years.
Do you think there is a chance that Kashmiri Pandits will finally get their homes back?
Yes, I hope so. It may not happen in my lifetime. But I am confident that justice will finally be done to them.
The Kashmir Files is playing in cinemas.
Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.
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