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An ‘agnihotri’, by literal interpretation, is one who is into the rituals of the fire and ‘vivek’, literally means conscience; it altogether depends on how an agnihotri engages oneself with the rituals of the fire, with conscience or without. It is always fraught with conflicting possibilities, ending with either a happy consecration or a painful conflagration. The makers of the film ‘The Kashmir Files’ have told us that it was the result of a bite of conscience that led to presenting the realism behind the ordeal of the Kashmiri pandits that led to their exodus from the valley, their homeland.
We are happy to learn that our worthy PM finds time to see a film in the harrowing times of the Russia-Ukraine war and he has seen ‘The Kashmir Files’ and has openly endorsed the viewpoint (I repeat the viewpoint and not the vision) of the director. He is reported to say that the film has rattled the ‘entire ecosystem’ which claims to be torchbearers of freedom of expression but does not want the truth to be told. On a different occasion he has reportedly said that it is not an issue about the film, but that of ‘bringing out the truth’ and ‘presenting history in its correct perspective’ before the country since this has been long ‘suppressed’ by the ‘poori jamaat’. During his premiership, Bollywood has churned out hundreds of films but this film has caught his fancy, may be by its theme that suits his design. The PM, to his utter delight, has got a new arsenal to target the ‘entire ecosystem’ and the ‘poori jamaat’. Getting the clue from the PM, the Union Home Minister has also applauded the bold presentation of truth. To further the cause for such a ‘truth’, the BJP-run state governments have exempted the film from taxes for mass viewership. I wish people go theatres and see the film as a film only and neither as an item of a political agenda nor as an instrument of communal vendetta, which this film may potentially lead to at the hands of machinating minds. This is not to play down the agony and the destitution the Kashmiri pandits must have gone through those days of communal terrorism, losing near and dear ones and fleeing the homeland. But then people have been witness to and victims of more gruesome genocide in the partitions of Punjab and Bengal and other parts of the country during the freedom struggle and our history has been one of indelible blotches of blood-stains. While the film-makers should be left free to essay films on themes they choose, they must ostensibly tread line of neutrality between entertainment and propaganda. The audience must also behave responsibly and must draw a line between being entertained and being provoked. The aftermath of viewing ‘The Kashmir Files’ in the coming months will show the maturity of the Indian viewership, even as the provocateurs are already in the job.
But a film is a film is a film. It has a storyline and a cinematograph. The audio-visual medium is a very strong medium as the pictorial presentation always captures the attention and if it is a motion picture the effect is more lethal. The makers of films embellish the storyline and the visuals to extract full impact intended. It was no different for Mr Vivek Agnihotri, the maker of ‘The Kashmir Files’, trying to portray the plight and flight of Kashmiri pandits with professed truthfulness backed by interviews of victims and eye-witnesses. The film is not backed by any document by a historian. It is Mr Agnihotri’s own interpretation of incidents that emanated for him from the narratives of individuals. The film is anecdotal in nature with all the twists and turns of a Bollywood thriller. But the viewers including the PM must carry it in their minds that the authenticity has been fictionalised and the narrative is only a make-believe, the so-vaunted truth presented is only a version of truth as in a kaleidoscopic scenario. Looking at history in its true perspective is a national imperative and it is equally true that the person, whether a historian or a film-maker must be sensitive enough to read through that perspective. Since historians and film-makers, as good as other ordinary individuals, have nuanced understanding due to their upbringing, education and environment; sometimes their understanding gets blurred. As long as they keep it to themselves, there is no harm. But as they try to vent it in public, the understanding may turn catastrophic. The role-play of film-maker as a historian is really hard, in terms of both known and unknown black-holes.
‘The Kashmir Files’ is a disturbing film, in all connotations of the adjective.
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.
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