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{{Short description|2022 Hindi film by Vivek Agnihotri}} | {{Short description|2022 Hindi film by Vivek Agnihotri}} | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}} | ||
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2021}} | {{Use Indian English|date=January 2021}} | ||
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'''''The Kashmir Files''''' is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language [[drama film]]<ref name=BBFC /> written and directed by [[Vivek Agnihotri]].<ref name="Bollywood Hungama 8 Feb">{{Cite news |last=Seta |first=Fenil |date=8 February 2022 |title=Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files to Clash with Prabhas-starrer Radhe Shyam on March 11 |website=[[Bollywood Hungama]] |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/vivek-agnihotris-kashmir-files-clash-prabhas-starrer-radhe-shyam-march-11/ |access-date=11 March 2022 |archive-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318152614/https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/vivek-agnihotris-kashmir-files-clash-prabhas-starrer-radhe-shyam-march-11/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The film presents a fictional storyline<ref name="BBC">{{Cite news |last=Sebastian |first=Meryl |date=15 March 2022 |title=Kashmir Files Vivek Agnihotri's film exposes India's new fault lines |newspaper=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-60732939 |access-date=27 April 2022 |archive-date=27 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427045135/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-60732939 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Al Jazeera">{{Cite web |date=2022-03-17 |title=Kashmir Files, hailed by Modi, triggers anti-Muslim hate speech |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/17/kashmir-files-film-modi-anti-muslim-hate-speech |access-date=2022-03-23 |website=Al Jazeera |archive-date=22 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322125423/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/17/kashmir-files-film-modi-anti-muslim-hate-speech |url-status=live }}</ref> | '''''The Kashmir Files''''' is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language [[drama film]]<ref name=BBFC /> written and directed by [[Vivek Agnihotri]].<ref name="Bollywood Hungama 8 Feb">{{Cite news |last=Seta |first=Fenil |date=8 February 2022 |title=Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files to Clash with Prabhas-starrer Radhe Shyam on March 11 |website=[[Bollywood Hungama]] |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/vivek-agnihotris-kashmir-files-clash-prabhas-starrer-radhe-shyam-march-11/ |access-date=11 March 2022 |archive-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318152614/https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/vivek-agnihotris-kashmir-files-clash-prabhas-starrer-radhe-shyam-march-11/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The film presents a fictional storyline<ref name="BBC">{{Cite news |last=Sebastian |first=Meryl |date=15 March 2022 |title=Kashmir Files Vivek Agnihotri's film exposes India's new fault lines |newspaper=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-60732939 |access-date=27 April 2022 |archive-date=27 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427045135/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-60732939 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Al Jazeera">{{Cite web |date=2022-03-17 |title=Kashmir Files, hailed by Modi, triggers anti-Muslim hate speech |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/17/kashmir-files-film-modi-anti-muslim-hate-speech |access-date=2022-03-23 |website=Al Jazeera |archive-date=22 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322125423/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/17/kashmir-files-film-modi-anti-muslim-hate-speech |url-status=live }}</ref> centred around the 1990 [[exodus of Kashmiri Hindus]] from Indian-administered [[Kashmir]].<ref name=britannica-jammu-kashmir>{{citation|last1=Akhtar|first1=Rais|last2=Kirk|first2=William|title=Jammu and Kashmir, State, India|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Jammu-and-Kashmir|access-date=7 August 2019|quote=Jammu and Kashmir, state of India, located in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent in the vicinity of the Karakoram and westernmost Himalayan mountain ranges. The state is part of the larger region of Kashmir, which has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since the partition of the subcontinent in 1947.|archive-date=20 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820091609/https://www.britannica.com/place/Jammu-and-Kashmir|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Jan·Osmańczyk2003">{{citation |last1=Jan·Osmaczyk |first1=Edmund |title=Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements: G to M |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fSIMXHMdfkkC&pg=PA1191 |page=1191 |year=2003 |editor-last=Mango |editor-first=Anthony |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-415-93922-5 |quote=Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute between India and Pakistan. It has borders with Pakistan and China. |access-date=2 April 2022 |archive-date=17 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117140437/https://books.google.com/books?id=fSIMXHMdfkkC&pg=PA1191 |url-status=live }}</ref> It depicts the exodus and the events leading up to it{{refn|The exodus followed the rise of violence in an [[insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir]]}} as a [[genocide]],<ref name="Shilajit Mitra"/><ref name="Anuj Kumar"/><ref name="Asim Ali"/><ref name="Ipsita Chakravarty"/> a framing considered inaccurate by scholars.<ref name="conspiracy-aggression-propaganda">*{{Cite journal |last=Evans |first=Alexander |date=2002-03-01 |title=A departure from history: Kashmiri Pandits, 1990-2001 |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/0958493022000000341 |journal=Contemporary South Asia |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=19–37 |doi=10.1080/0958493022000000341 |issn=0958-4935 |quote="My own interviews with a number of KPs in Jammu, many of whom hold Pakistan responsible, suggest suspicions of ethnic cleansing or even genocide are wide of the mark. The two conspiracy theories already described are not evidence based. As Sumantra Bose observes, those Rashtriya Swayam Sevak publications’ claims that large numbers of Hindu shrines were destroyed and Pandits murdered are largely false, to the extent that many of the shrines remain untouched and many of the casualties remain unsubstantiated." |s2cid=145573161 }} | ||
*{{citation |last=Bose |first=Sumantra |author-link=Sumantra Bose |title=Kashmir at the Crossroads: Inside a 21st-century conflict |location=New Haven and London |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2021 |page=122 |isbn=978-0-300-25687-1 |quote=In 1991 the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the movement’s parent organisation, published a book titled Genocide of Hindus in Kashmir. | *{{citation |last=Bose |first=Sumantra |author-link=Sumantra Bose |title=Kashmir at the Crossroads: Inside a 21st-century conflict |location=New Haven and London |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2021 |page=122 |isbn=978-0-300-25687-1 |quote=In 1991 the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the movement’s parent organisation, published a book titled Genocide of Hindus in Kashmir. (Footnote 38: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, ''Genocide of Hindus in Kashmir'' (Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 1991)) It claimed among many other things that at least forty Hindu temples in the Kashmir Valley had been desecrated and destroyed by Muslim militants. In February 1993 journalists from India’s leading newsmagazine sallied forth from Delhi to the Valley, armed with a list of twenty-three demolished temples supplied by the national headquarters of the BJP, the movement’s political party. They found that twenty-one of the twenty-three temples were intact. They reported that ‘even in villages where only one or two Pandit families are left, the temples are safe ... even in villages full of militants. The Pandit families have become custodians of the temples, encouraged by their Muslim neighbours to regularly offer prayers.’ Two temples had sustained minor damage during unrest after a huge, organised Hindu nationalist mob razed a sixteenth-century mosque in the north Indian town of Ayodhya on 6 December 1992. (Footnote 39: ''India Today'', 28 February 1993, pp.22–25)}} | ||
*{{citation |last=Bhatia |first=Mohita |title=Rethinking Conflict at the Margins: Dalits and Borderland Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir |pages=123–124 |year=2020 |location=Cambridge, UK and New York |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-83602-9 |quote=The dominant politics of Jammu representing 'Hindus' as a homogeneous block includes Pandits in the wider 'Hindu' category. It often uses extremely aggressive terms such as 'genocide' or 'ethnic cleansing' to explain their migration and places them in opposition to Kashmiri Muslims. The BJP has appropriated the miseries of Pandits to expand their 'Hindu' constituency and projects them as victims who have been driven out from their homeland by militants and Kashmiri Muslims.}} | *{{citation |last=Bhatia |first=Mohita |title=Rethinking Conflict at the Margins: Dalits and Borderland Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir |pages=123–124 |year=2020 |location=Cambridge, UK and New York |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-83602-9 |quote=The dominant politics of Jammu representing 'Hindus' as a homogeneous block includes Pandits in the wider 'Hindu' category. It often uses extremely aggressive terms such as 'genocide' or 'ethnic cleansing' to explain their migration and places them in opposition to Kashmiri Muslims. The BJP has appropriated the miseries of Pandits to expand their 'Hindu' constituency and projects them as victims who have been driven out from their homeland by militants and Kashmiri Muslims.}} | ||
*{{citation |last=Rai |first=Mridu |title=Kashmir and the Future of South Asia |pages=91–115, 106 |year=2021 |editor1-last=Bose |editor1-first=Sugata |series=Routledge Contemporary South Asia Series |chapter=Narratives from exile: Kashmiri Pandits and their construction of the past |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K20LEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA91 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781000318845 |quote=Among those who stayed on is Sanjay Tickoo who heads the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (Committee for the Kashmiri Pandits’ Struggle). He had experienced the same threats as the Pandits who left. Yet, though admitting ‘intimidation and violence’ directed at Pandits and four massacres since 1990, he rejects as ‘propaganda’ stories of genocide or mass murder that Pandit organizations outside the Valley have circulated. |author-link=Mridu Rai |editor2-last=Jalal |editor2-first=Ayesha |access-date=4 April 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314152555/https://books.google.com/books?id=K20LEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA91 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite interview |last=Rai |first=Mridu |subject-link=Mridu Rai |interviewer=Azad Essa |title=Kashmir: The Pandit question |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2011/8/1/kashmir-the-pandit-question |publisher=[[Al Jazeera]] |date=1 August 2011 |quote=[T]here is agreement at least that the number has to be a substantial proportion of the total population of the group. And here the numbers of Kashmiri Pandit killings do not technically support the use of the label of genocide. There are [also] several other factors, beyond the question of numbers, according to which the Pandits cannot be considered to be the victims of genocide.{{pb}}For one, they were not the sole victims of targeted killings in Kashmir since 1990.{{pb}}Kashmiri Muslims who dissented from the ideologies of various militant groups have also been systematically liquidated in the way in which Pandits had been. This does not conform to the accepted definition of genocide that is waged against a group defined collectively as the ‘other’, since Pandit claims of genocide rests on their being targeted for their religious identity.{{pb}}Secondly, genocide is preceded and accompanied by the dehumanisation of its victims. There is no evidence of such denial of humanity of the Pandits having taken place among the Kashmiri Muslims accused of perpetrating their mass destruction.{{pb}}And finally genocides are extremely well-organised acts involving the training of armed groups, indoctrinated fully into an ideological inflexibility so severe that it can override wider social opinion and consensus.{{pb}}There is no evidence of this having been the case in the valley. |access-date=29 June 2022 |archive-date=11 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511051421/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2011/8/1/kashmir-the-pandit-question |url-status=live }}</ref> The film claims that such facts were suppressed by a [[Conspiracy of silence (expression)|conspiracy of silence]].<ref name="Roy Chudhury truth">{{Cite magazine |last=Roy Chowdhury |first=Debasish |date=2022-03-30 |title=Column: How One Film Marks India's Descent Into Darkness |url=https://time.com/6162035/kashmir-files-india-hindu-muslim/ |magazine=TIME |quote=The “truth” that the film claims to reveal is that there was a “genocide” of Pandits in the 1990s, hidden by a callous ruling establishment and a servile media. Pandits were killed in their thousands, it claims, and not in the low hundreds as the government and Kashmiri Pandit organizations have stated. |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403201139/https://time.com/6162035/kashmir-files-india-hindu-muslim/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Kumar |first=Anuj |title='The Kashmir Files' movie review: A disturbing take which grips and gripes in turns |date=14 March 2022 |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/the-kashmir-files-movie-review-a-disturbing-take-which-grips-and-gripes-in-turns/article65223787.ece |newspaper=The Hindu |quote=The film is based on the testimonies of the people scarred for generations by the insurgency in the State, and presents the tragic exodus as a full-scale genocide, akin to the Holocaust, that was deliberately kept away from the rest of India by the media, the 'intellectual' lobby and the government of the day because of their vested interests. |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314184836/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/the-kashmir-files-movie-review-a-disturbing-take-which-grips-and-gripes-in-turns/article65223787.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> | *{{citation |last=Rai |first=Mridu |title=Kashmir and the Future of South Asia |pages=91–115, 106 |year=2021 |editor1-last=Bose |editor1-first=Sugata |series=Routledge Contemporary South Asia Series |chapter=Narratives from exile: Kashmiri Pandits and their construction of the past |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K20LEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA91 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781000318845 |quote=Among those who stayed on is Sanjay Tickoo who heads the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (Committee for the Kashmiri Pandits’ Struggle). He had experienced the same threats as the Pandits who left. Yet, though admitting ‘intimidation and violence’ directed at Pandits and four massacres since 1990, he rejects as ‘propaganda’ stories of genocide or mass murder that Pandit organizations outside the Valley have circulated. |author-link=Mridu Rai |editor2-last=Jalal |editor2-first=Ayesha |access-date=4 April 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314152555/https://books.google.com/books?id=K20LEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA91 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite interview |last=Rai |first=Mridu |subject-link=Mridu Rai |interviewer=Azad Essa |title=Kashmir: The Pandit question |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2011/8/1/kashmir-the-pandit-question |publisher=[[Al Jazeera]] |date=1 August 2011 |quote=[T]here is agreement at least that the number has to be a substantial proportion of the total population of the group. And here the numbers of Kashmiri Pandit killings do not technically support the use of the label of genocide. There are [also] several other factors, beyond the question of numbers, according to which the Pandits cannot be considered to be the victims of genocide.{{pb}}For one, they were not the sole victims of targeted killings in Kashmir since 1990.{{pb}}Kashmiri Muslims who dissented from the ideologies of various militant groups have also been systematically liquidated in the way in which Pandits had been. This does not conform to the accepted definition of genocide that is waged against a group defined collectively as the ‘other’, since Pandit claims of genocide rests on their being targeted for their religious identity.{{pb}}Secondly, genocide is preceded and accompanied by the dehumanisation of its victims. There is no evidence of such denial of humanity of the Pandits having taken place among the Kashmiri Muslims accused of perpetrating their mass destruction.{{pb}}And finally genocides are extremely well-organised acts involving the training of armed groups, indoctrinated fully into an ideological inflexibility so severe that it can override wider social opinion and consensus.{{pb}}There is no evidence of this having been the case in the valley. |access-date=29 June 2022 |archive-date=11 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511051421/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2011/8/1/kashmir-the-pandit-question |url-status=live }}</ref> The film claims that such facts were suppressed by a [[Conspiracy of silence (expression)|conspiracy of silence]].<ref name="Roy Chudhury truth">{{Cite magazine |last=Roy Chowdhury |first=Debasish |date=2022-03-30 |title=Column: How One Film Marks India's Descent Into Darkness |url=https://time.com/6162035/kashmir-files-india-hindu-muslim/ |magazine=TIME |quote=The “truth” that the film claims to reveal is that there was a “genocide” of Pandits in the 1990s, hidden by a callous ruling establishment and a servile media. Pandits were killed in their thousands, it claims, and not in the low hundreds as the government and Kashmiri Pandit organizations have stated. |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403201139/https://time.com/6162035/kashmir-files-india-hindu-muslim/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Kumar |first=Anuj |title='The Kashmir Files' movie review: A disturbing take which grips and gripes in turns |date=14 March 2022 |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/the-kashmir-files-movie-review-a-disturbing-take-which-grips-and-gripes-in-turns/article65223787.ece |newspaper=The Hindu |quote=The film is based on the testimonies of the people scarred for generations by the insurgency in the State, and presents the tragic exodus as a full-scale genocide, akin to the Holocaust, that was deliberately kept away from the rest of India by the media, the 'intellectual' lobby and the government of the day because of their vested interests. |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314184836/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/the-kashmir-files-movie-review-a-disturbing-take-which-grips-and-gripes-in-turns/article65223787.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
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''The Kashmir Files'' stars [[Mithun Chakraborty]], [[Anupam Kher]], [[Darshan Kumar]], and [[Pallavi Joshi]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Negi |first=Shrishti |date=9 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files Producer Pallavi Joshi: Am I Making the Film for Hindu Rashtra? I'm Just Telling a Story |url=https://www.news18.com/news/movies/the-kashmir-files-producer-pallavi-joshi-am-i-making-the-film-for-hindu-rashtra-im-just-telling-a-story-4854995.html |access-date=11 March 2022 |website=News18 |archive-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311075751/https://www.news18.com/news/movies/the-kashmir-files-producer-pallavi-joshi-am-i-making-the-film-for-hindu-rashtra-im-just-telling-a-story-4854995.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The plot follows a Kashmiri Hindu college student, raised by his exiled grandfather and shielded from the knowledge of the circumstances of the death of his parents. After his grandfather's death, the student, who had come to believe at college that the exodus was benign, becomes driven to uncover the facts of his family's deaths. The plot alternates between the student's quest in the present time, 2020, and his family's travails of thirty years before. The film was released in theatres on 11 March 2022.<ref name="Bollywood Hungama 8 Feb" /> It has been a commercial success,<ref name="BBC" /><ref name="Scroll BJP Promoting">{{Cite web |last=Poddar |first=Umang |date=17 March 2022 |title=How the BJP is promoting 'The Kashmir Files': Modi's endorsement, tax breaks, leave from work |url=https://scroll.in/article/1019708/how-the-bjp-is-promoting-the-kashmir-files-modis-endorsement-tax-breaks-leave-from-work |access-date=18 March 2022 |website=Scroll.in |archive-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318052302/https://scroll.in/article/1019708/how-the-bjp-is-promoting-the-kashmir-files-modis-endorsement-tax-breaks-leave-from-work |url-status=live }}</ref> seemingly benefitting from promotion by India's ruling [[Hindu nationalism|Hindu nationalist]] [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) and [[Tax deduction|tax benefits]].<ref name="NDTV runaway success">{{Cite web |last=Akhil |first=Kumar |date=18 March 2022 |title=How 'The Kashmir Files', Praised By PM Modi, Became A Runaway Success |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/how-the-kashmir-files-praised-by-pm-modi-became-a-runaway-success-2828326 |access-date=2022-03-20 |website=NDTV |archive-date=20 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320140105/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/how-the-kashmir-files-praised-by-pm-modi-became-a-runaway-success-2828326 |url-status=live }}</ref> | ''The Kashmir Files'' stars [[Mithun Chakraborty]], [[Anupam Kher]], [[Darshan Kumar]], and [[Pallavi Joshi]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Negi |first=Shrishti |date=9 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files Producer Pallavi Joshi: Am I Making the Film for Hindu Rashtra? I'm Just Telling a Story |url=https://www.news18.com/news/movies/the-kashmir-files-producer-pallavi-joshi-am-i-making-the-film-for-hindu-rashtra-im-just-telling-a-story-4854995.html |access-date=11 March 2022 |website=News18 |archive-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311075751/https://www.news18.com/news/movies/the-kashmir-files-producer-pallavi-joshi-am-i-making-the-film-for-hindu-rashtra-im-just-telling-a-story-4854995.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The plot follows a Kashmiri Hindu college student, raised by his exiled grandfather and shielded from the knowledge of the circumstances of the death of his parents. After his grandfather's death, the student, who had come to believe at college that the exodus was benign, becomes driven to uncover the facts of his family's deaths. The plot alternates between the student's quest in the present time, 2020, and his family's travails of thirty years before. The film was released in theatres on 11 March 2022.<ref name="Bollywood Hungama 8 Feb" /> It has been a commercial success,<ref name="BBC" /><ref name="Scroll BJP Promoting">{{Cite web |last=Poddar |first=Umang |date=17 March 2022 |title=How the BJP is promoting 'The Kashmir Files': Modi's endorsement, tax breaks, leave from work |url=https://scroll.in/article/1019708/how-the-bjp-is-promoting-the-kashmir-files-modis-endorsement-tax-breaks-leave-from-work |access-date=18 March 2022 |website=Scroll.in |archive-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318052302/https://scroll.in/article/1019708/how-the-bjp-is-promoting-the-kashmir-files-modis-endorsement-tax-breaks-leave-from-work |url-status=live }}</ref> seemingly benefitting from promotion by India's ruling [[Hindu nationalism|Hindu nationalist]] [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) and [[Tax deduction|tax benefits]].<ref name="NDTV runaway success">{{Cite web |last=Akhil |first=Kumar |date=18 March 2022 |title=How 'The Kashmir Files', Praised By PM Modi, Became A Runaway Success |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/how-the-kashmir-files-praised-by-pm-modi-became-a-runaway-success-2828326 |access-date=2022-03-20 |website=NDTV |archive-date=20 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320140105/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/how-the-kashmir-files-praised-by-pm-modi-became-a-runaway-success-2828326 |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
The critical reception of the film was mixed,<ref name="BBC" /> with the cinematography and acting thought to be compelling,{{refn|<ref name="Quint review" /><ref name="TKFDH" /><ref name="pinkvilla2" />}} but the storyline attracting criticism for attempting to recast established history<ref name="Shilajit Mitra" /><ref name="Anuj Kumar">{{citation |last=Kumar |first=Anuj |title='The Kashmir Files' movie review: A disturbing take which grips and gripes in turns |date=14 March 2022 |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/the-kashmir-files-movie-review-a-disturbing-take-which-grips-and-gripes-in-turns/article65223787.ece |newspaper=The Hindu |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314184836/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/the-kashmir-files-movie-review-a-disturbing-take-which-grips-and-gripes-in-turns/article65223787.ece |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="BBC News2" /> and propagating [[Islamophobia]].<ref name="Al Jazeera" /><ref name="Anuj Kumar" /><ref name="BBC News2" /><ref name="Shubhra Gupta" /><ref name="Siasat">{{Cite news |date=14 March 2022 |title='The Kashmir Files' is Hindutva's latest anti-Muslim weapon |url=https://www.siasat.com/the-kashmir-files-is-hindutvas-latest-anti-muslim-weapon-2290523/ |access-date=16 March 2022 |work=[[The Siasat Daily]] |archive-date=15 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315151604/https://www.siasat.com/the-kashmir-files-is-hindutvas-latest-anti-muslim-weapon-2290523/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Supporters have praised the film for showing what they say is an overlooked aspect of Kashmir's history.<ref name="Al Jazeera" /> [[ | The critical reception of the film was mixed,<ref name="BBC" /> with the cinematography and acting thought to be compelling,{{refn|<ref name="Quint review" /><ref name="TKFDH" /><ref name="pinkvilla2" />}} but the storyline attracting criticism for attempting to recast established history<ref name="Shilajit Mitra" /><ref name="Anuj Kumar">{{citation |last=Kumar |first=Anuj |title='The Kashmir Files' movie review: A disturbing take which grips and gripes in turns |date=14 March 2022 |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/the-kashmir-files-movie-review-a-disturbing-take-which-grips-and-gripes-in-turns/article65223787.ece |newspaper=The Hindu |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314184836/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/the-kashmir-files-movie-review-a-disturbing-take-which-grips-and-gripes-in-turns/article65223787.ece |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="BBC News2" /> and propagating [[Islamophobia]].<ref name="Al Jazeera" /><ref name="Anuj Kumar" /><ref name="BBC News2" /><ref name="Shubhra Gupta" /><ref name="Siasat">{{Cite news |date=14 March 2022 |title='The Kashmir Files' is Hindutva's latest anti-Muslim weapon |url=https://www.siasat.com/the-kashmir-files-is-hindutvas-latest-anti-muslim-weapon-2290523/ |access-date=16 March 2022 |work=[[The Siasat Daily]] |archive-date=15 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315151604/https://www.siasat.com/the-kashmir-files-is-hindutvas-latest-anti-muslim-weapon-2290523/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Supporters have praised the film for showing what they say is an overlooked aspect of Kashmir's history.<ref name="Al Jazeera" /> [[Indian Prime Minister]] [[Narendra Modi]] and several BJP ministers have praised the film.<ref name="BBC News2" /> Theatres across India have witnessed [[hate speech]] against Muslims, including incitement to violence.<ref name="France24">{{Cite web |date=2022-04-08 |others=AFP |title=India's Hindu hardliners jump on Kashmir blockbuster |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220408-india-s-hindu-hardliners-jump-on-kashmir-blockbuster |access-date=2022-04-10 |website=France 24 |archive-date=10 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410190630/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220408-india-s-hindu-hardliners-jump-on-kashmir-blockbuster |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-17 |title=The Kashmir Files: Videos of Anti-Muslim Hate, Slogans in Theatres Go Viral |url=https://www.thequint.com/news/india/the-kashmir-files-anti-muslim-hate-slogans-enter-theatres-across-country |access-date=2022-03-24 |website=TheQuint |archive-date=17 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317145910/https://www.thequint.com/news/india/the-kashmir-files-anti-muslim-hate-slogans-enter-theatres-across-country |url-status=live }}</ref> The film, which cost approximately {{INRConvert|15|c|lk=on}}<ref name="India Today">{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india-today-insight/story/why-the-kashmir-files-is-a-blockbuster-nobody-saw-coming-1925582-2022-03-15|publisher=India Today|title=Why the Kashmir files is a blockbuster|last=Singh|first=Suhani|date=March 15, 2022|access-date=16 March 2022|archive-date=16 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316052752/https://www.indiatoday.in/india-today-insight/story/why-the-kashmir-files-is-a-blockbuster-nobody-saw-coming-1925582-2022-03-15|url-status=live}}</ref> to {{INRConvert|25|c|lk=off}}<ref name="GQ budget" /> to make, had grossed {{INRConvert|340.92|c|lk=off}} worldwide,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Kashmir Files Box Office |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/the-kashmir-files/box-office/ |website=Bollywood Hungama |date=11 March 2022 |access-date=24 April 2022 |archive-date=4 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504153908/https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/the-kashmir-files/box-office/ |url-status=live }}</ref> becoming the [[List of Hindi films of 2022#Box office collection|third highest-grossing Hindi film of 2022]]. | ||
== Plot == | == Plot == | ||
| Line 48: | Line 47: | ||
The refugee Pandits from the Kashmir valley settle in [[Jammu]] and live on meagre ration and in poor conditions. Brahma is appointed as an advisor to the new Governor of J&K. At his request, the [[Minister of Home Affairs (India)|Home Minister]] visits the Jammu camps where Pushkar demands the removal of [[Article 370]] and the resettlement of Kashmiri Pandits. Brahma manages to get Sharda a government job in Nadimarg in Kashmir, and the family moves there. | The refugee Pandits from the Kashmir valley settle in [[Jammu]] and live on meagre ration and in poor conditions. Brahma is appointed as an advisor to the new Governor of J&K. At his request, the [[Minister of Home Affairs (India)|Home Minister]] visits the Jammu camps where Pushkar demands the removal of [[Article 370]] and the resettlement of Kashmiri Pandits. Brahma manages to get Sharda a government job in Nadimarg in Kashmir, and the family moves there. | ||
One day a group of militants headed by Bitta dress up as members of the [[Indian Armed Forces in Jammu and Kashmir|Indian Army]] and arrive at Nadimarg. They start rounding up the Pandits living there. Sharda resists when the militants get hold of her elder son Shiva. Angry Farooq strips her and saws her body in half. He lines up Shiva and the remaining Pandits and shoots them into a mass grave. Pushkar is spared to spread the word about what happened. | One day, a group of militants headed by Bitta dress up as members of the [[Indian Armed Forces in Jammu and Kashmir|Indian Army]] and arrive at Nadimarg. They start rounding up the Pandits living there. Sharda resists when the militants get hold of her elder son Shiva. Angry Farooq strips her and saws her body in half. He lines up Shiva and the remaining Pandits and shoots them into a mass grave. Pushkar is spared to spread the word about what happened. | ||
'''2020''' | '''2020''' | ||
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The [[Central Board of Film Certification|Indian Censor board]] (CBFC) gave ''The Kashmir Files'' [[Central Board of Film Certification#A certificate|A certificate]], which is restricted to [[18 rating|adults (aged 18 and above)]]. According to CBFC, it is a feature film in the genre '[[drama film|drama]]' and there is no mention of the film being commercial/documentary in the CBFC records.<ref name="Censor board 7 April 2022">{{cite news |title=The Kashmir Files is a 'drama' movie: censor board in RTI reply |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/the-kashmir-files-is-a-drama-movie-censor-board-in-rti-reply-7857074/ |access-date=9 April 2022 |work=The Indian Express |date=7 April 2022 |archive-date=9 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409033115/https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/the-kashmir-files-is-a-drama-movie-censor-board-in-rti-reply-7857074/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[British Board of Film Classification]] (BBFC) found the film to contain "strong bloody violence" and certified the film as [[British Board of Film Classification#15|suitable only for viewers aged 15 years and over]].<ref name="BBFC" /> Australian censors gave the film an [[Motion picture content rating system#Australia|18+]] plus rating.<ref name="Stuff 23 March 2022" /> | The [[Central Board of Film Certification|Indian Censor board]] (CBFC) gave ''The Kashmir Files'' [[Central Board of Film Certification#A certificate|A certificate]], which is restricted to [[18 rating|adults (aged 18 and above)]]. According to CBFC, it is a feature film in the genre '[[drama film|drama]]' and there is no mention of the film being commercial/documentary in the CBFC records.<ref name="Censor board 7 April 2022">{{cite news |title=The Kashmir Files is a 'drama' movie: censor board in RTI reply |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/the-kashmir-files-is-a-drama-movie-censor-board-in-rti-reply-7857074/ |access-date=9 April 2022 |work=The Indian Express |date=7 April 2022 |archive-date=9 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409033115/https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/the-kashmir-files-is-a-drama-movie-censor-board-in-rti-reply-7857074/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[British Board of Film Classification]] (BBFC) found the film to contain "strong bloody violence" and certified the film as [[British Board of Film Classification#15|suitable only for viewers aged 15 years and over]].<ref name="BBFC" /> Australian censors gave the film an [[Motion picture content rating system#Australia|18+]] plus rating.<ref name="Stuff 23 March 2022" /> | ||
In New Zealand, the censorship clearance was mired in controversy. The film had originally received an [[Motion picture content rating system#New Zealand|R16]] classification from the New Zealand [[Classification Office (New Zealand)|Classification Office]].<ref name="Stuff 23 March 2022">{{cite news |last1=Franks |first1=Josephine |title=Chief censor reviewing classification of The Kashmir Files after concerns from Muslim community |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/128108533/chief-censor-reviewing-classification-of-the-kashmir-files-after-concerns-from-muslim-community |access-date=23 March 2022 |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |date=19 March 2022 |url-status=live |archive-date=22 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322025444/https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/128108533/chief-censor-reviewing-classification-of-the-kashmir-files-after-concerns-from-muslim-community }}</ref> However, with the [[Islam in New Zealand|Muslim community]] raising concerns about potential incitement of [[Islamophobia]], the rating was raised to [[Motion picture content rating system#New Zealand|R18]]; [[David Shanks]], the [[Chief Censor of New Zealand]], highlighted "the nature and intensity of the violence and cruelty depicted" and defended the new age restriction to be in consistence with Australia and India.<ref>{{cite news |date=25 March 2022 |title=NZ tightens Kashmir Files rating after anti-Muslim concerns |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/nz-tightens-kashmir-files-rating-after-anti-muslim-concerns/6NXDXWU2ESQUGMSUER7XFC76NY/ |url-status=live |access-date=27 March 2022 |archive-date=27 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327110018/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/nz-tightens-kashmir-files-rating-after-anti-muslim-concerns/6NXDXWU2ESQUGMSUER7XFC76NY/ }}</ref><ref name="Stuff 23 March 2022" /> Leader of the right-wing [[New Zealand First]] party [[Winston Peters]] accused the Classification Office of censoring the film based on its political content, and was supported by other politicians.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kumar |first=Arvind |date=2022-03-22 |title='The Kashmir Files' not a fictional movie, says New Zealand's Hindu community |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/tarana/128120899/the-kashmir-files-not-a-fictional-movie-says-new-zealands-hindu-community |access-date=2022-05-17 |website=Stuff |archive-date=23 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323230337/https://www.stuff.co.nz/tarana/128120899/the-kashmir-files-not-a-fictional-movie-says-new-zealands-hindu-community |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-20 |title='The Kashmir Files' classification creates controversy in New Zealand |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/national/the-kashmir-files-classification-creates-controversy-in-new-zealand-1093018.html |access-date=2022-05-17 |website=Deccan Herald |archive-date=17 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517220737/https://www.deccanherald.com/national/the-kashmir-files-classification-creates-controversy-in-new-zealand-1093018.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | In New Zealand, the censorship clearance was mired in controversy. The film had originally received an [[Motion picture content rating system#New Zealand|R16]] classification from the New Zealand [[Classification Office (New Zealand)|Classification Office]].<ref name="Stuff 23 March 2022">{{cite news |last1=Franks |first1=Josephine |title=Chief censor reviewing classification of The Kashmir Files after concerns from Muslim community |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/128108533/chief-censor-reviewing-classification-of-the-kashmir-files-after-concerns-from-muslim-community |access-date=23 March 2022 |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |date=19 March 2022 |url-status=live |archive-date=22 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322025444/https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/128108533/chief-censor-reviewing-classification-of-the-kashmir-files-after-concerns-from-muslim-community }}</ref> However, with the [[Islam in New Zealand|Muslim community]] raising concerns about potential incitement of [[Islamophobia]], the rating was raised to [[Motion picture content rating system#New Zealand|R18]]; [[David Shanks]], the [[Chief Censor of New Zealand]], highlighted "the nature and intensity of the violence and cruelty depicted" and defended the new age restriction to be in consistence with Australia and India.<ref>{{cite news |date=25 March 2022 |title=NZ tightens Kashmir Files rating after anti-Muslim concerns |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/nz-tightens-kashmir-files-rating-after-anti-muslim-concerns/6NXDXWU2ESQUGMSUER7XFC76NY/ |url-status=live |access-date=27 March 2022 |archive-date=27 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327110018/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/nz-tightens-kashmir-files-rating-after-anti-muslim-concerns/6NXDXWU2ESQUGMSUER7XFC76NY/ }}</ref><ref name="Stuff 23 March 2022" /> Leader of the right-wing [[New Zealand First]] party [[Winston Peters]] accused the Classification Office of censoring the film based on its political content, and was supported by other politicians.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |last=Kumar |first=Arvind |date=2022-03-22 |title='The Kashmir Files' not a fictional movie, says New Zealand's Hindu community |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/tarana/128120899/the-kashmir-files-not-a-fictional-movie-says-new-zealands-hindu-community |access-date=2022-05-17 |website=Stuff |archive-date=23 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323230337/https://www.stuff.co.nz/tarana/128120899/the-kashmir-files-not-a-fictional-movie-says-new-zealands-hindu-community |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-20 |title='The Kashmir Files' classification creates controversy in New Zealand |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/national/the-kashmir-files-classification-creates-controversy-in-new-zealand-1093018.html |access-date=2022-05-17 |website=Deccan Herald |archive-date=17 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517220737/https://www.deccanherald.com/national/the-kashmir-files-classification-creates-controversy-in-new-zealand-1093018.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
In Singapore, the film was banned by the [[Infocomm Media Development Authority|censor authority]] after a consultation with the [[Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth]] and the [[Ministry of Home Affairs (Singapore)|Ministry of Home Affairs]]; the film's "provocative and one-sided portrayal of Muslims" was held to have the potential of disrupting "social cohesion and religious harmony".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kai |first=Ng Wei |date=9 May 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files movie banned in Singapore over potential to cause enmity, disrupt harmony |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/kashmir-files-movie-banned-in-singapore-over-potential-to-cause-enmity-disrupt-harmony |access-date=11 May 2022 |website=[[The Straits Times]] |archive-date=11 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511050644/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/kashmir-files-movie-banned-in-singapore-over-potential-to-cause-enmity-disrupt-harmony |url-status=live }}</ref> The ban has been argued as a strong-handed way of protecting the country's [[secularism]], an approach of pre-emptive actions that the [[People's Action Party]], the governing party of Singapore, has long been undertaking to maintain racial and [[Religion in Singapore|religious]] societal harmony.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Chakraborthy |first1=Antara |last2=Prakash |first2=Pravin |date=27 May 2022 |title=A tale of two countries: interpreting The Kashmir Files |url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/tale-two-countries-interpreting-kashmir-files |access-date=26 June 2022 |website=The Interpreter |publisher=[[Lowy Institute]] |archive-date=28 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628162505/https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/tale-two-countries-interpreting-kashmir-files |url-status=live }}</ref> | In Singapore, the film was banned by the [[Infocomm Media Development Authority|censor authority]] after a consultation with the [[Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth]] and the [[Ministry of Home Affairs (Singapore)|Ministry of Home Affairs]]; the film's "provocative and one-sided portrayal of Muslims" was held to have the potential of disrupting "social cohesion and religious harmony".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kai |first=Ng Wei |date=9 May 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files movie banned in Singapore over potential to cause enmity, disrupt harmony |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/kashmir-files-movie-banned-in-singapore-over-potential-to-cause-enmity-disrupt-harmony |access-date=11 May 2022 |website=[[The Straits Times]] |archive-date=11 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511050644/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/kashmir-files-movie-banned-in-singapore-over-potential-to-cause-enmity-disrupt-harmony |url-status=live }}</ref> The ban has been argued as a strong-handed way of protecting the country's [[secularism]], an approach of pre-emptive actions that the [[People's Action Party]], the governing party of Singapore, has long been undertaking to maintain racial and [[Religion in Singapore|religious]] societal harmony.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Chakraborthy |first1=Antara |last2=Prakash |first2=Pravin |date=27 May 2022 |title=A tale of two countries: interpreting The Kashmir Files |url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/tale-two-countries-interpreting-kashmir-files |access-date=26 June 2022 |website=The Interpreter |publisher=[[Lowy Institute]] |archive-date=28 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628162505/https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/tale-two-countries-interpreting-kashmir-files |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
=== Litigations === | === Litigations === | ||
A [[Public interest litigation in India|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 in India|violence against Muslims]]. The PIL was dismissed by the [[Bombay High Court]] on grounds that the filer should have challenged the certificate issued to the film by the [[Central Board of Film Certification]].<ref name="IT plea dismissed">{{Cite web |last=Vidya |date=8 March 2022 |title=Plea against The Kashmir Files dismissed by Bombay High Court |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/plea-against-the-kashmir-files-dismissed-by-bombay-high-court-1922316-2022-03-08 |access-date=10 March 2022 |website=India Today |archive-date=8 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308205620/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/plea-against-the-kashmir-files-dismissed-by-bombay-high-court-1922316-2022-03-08 |url-status=live }}</ref> Another 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 related to her husband and sought a stay on its release. Accordingly, the court restrained the makers from showing the relevant scenes.<ref name="IT court stays">{{Cite web |last=Dipali |first=Patel |date=10 March 2022 |title=Court stays release of Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/court-stays-release-of-vivek-agnihotri-s-the-kashmir-files-1923950-2022-03-10 |access-date=10 March 2022 |website=India Today |archive-date=10 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220310151404/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/court-stays-release-of-vivek-agnihotri-s-the-kashmir-files-1923950-2022-03-10 |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, miscellaneous petitions were filed in various courts to stop the screening on the potential of promoting communal enmity.<ref name="CNN-28Apr22">{{Cite news |last1=Mogul |first1=Rhea |last2=Mitra |first2=Esha |last3=Suri |first3=Manveena |title=India's latest box office smash 'The Kashmir Files' exposes deepening religious divides |url=https://www.cnn.com/style/article/india-kashmir-files-controversy-intl-hnk/index.html |date=28 April 2022 |access-date=30 June 2022 |work=[[CNN]] |language=en |archive-date=2 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702093012/https://www.cnn.com/style/article/india-kashmir-files-controversy-intl-hnk/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref | A [[Public interest litigation in India|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 in India|violence against Muslims]]. The PIL was dismissed by the [[Bombay High Court]] on grounds that the filer should have challenged the certificate issued to the film by the [[Central Board of Film Certification]].<ref name="IT plea dismissed">{{Cite web |last=Vidya |date=8 March 2022 |title=Plea against The Kashmir Files dismissed by Bombay High Court |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/plea-against-the-kashmir-files-dismissed-by-bombay-high-court-1922316-2022-03-08 |access-date=10 March 2022 |website=India Today |archive-date=8 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308205620/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/plea-against-the-kashmir-files-dismissed-by-bombay-high-court-1922316-2022-03-08 |url-status=live }}</ref> Another 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 related to her husband and sought a stay on its release. Accordingly, the court restrained the makers from showing the relevant scenes.<ref name="IT court stays">{{Cite web |last=Dipali |first=Patel |date=10 March 2022 |title=Court stays release of Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/court-stays-release-of-vivek-agnihotri-s-the-kashmir-files-1923950-2022-03-10 |access-date=10 March 2022 |website=India Today |archive-date=10 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220310151404/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/court-stays-release-of-vivek-agnihotri-s-the-kashmir-files-1923950-2022-03-10 |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, miscellaneous petitions were filed in various courts to stop the screening on the potential of promoting communal enmity.<ref name="CNN-28Apr22">{{Cite news |last1=Mogul |first1=Rhea |last2=Mitra |first2=Esha |last3=Suri |first3=Manveena |title=India's latest box office smash 'The Kashmir Files' exposes deepening religious divides |url=https://www.cnn.com/style/article/india-kashmir-files-controversy-intl-hnk/index.html |date=28 April 2022 |access-date=30 June 2022 |work=[[CNN]] |language=en |archive-date=2 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702093012/https://www.cnn.com/style/article/india-kashmir-files-controversy-intl-hnk/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
=== Theatrical release === | === Theatrical release === | ||
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== Reception == | == Reception == | ||
=== Critical reception === | === Critical reception === | ||
[[Shubhra Gupta]] reviewing for ''[[The Indian Express]]'' rated the film 1.5 out of 5 stars, criticising the film for being uninterested in nuance and describing the film as propaganda aligned with the ruling party, that aimed to stoke the "deep-seated anger" of Pandits. However, she also stated that the film did tap "into the grief of the displaced Pandits," and commended Kher's performance.<ref name="Shubhra Gupta">{{Cite news |last=Gupta |first=Shubhra |author-link=Shubhra Gupta |date=12 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files movie review: Anupam Kher is the emotional core of this overwrought film |website=[[The Indian Express]] |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/the-kashmir-files-anupam-kher-emotional-core-vivek-ranjan-agnihotri-7816266/ |url-status=live |access-date=12 March 2022 |archive-date=12 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312045225/https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/the-kashmir-files-anupam-kher-emotional-core-vivek-ranjan-agnihotri-7816266/ }}</ref> Rahul Desai reviewing for ''[[Film Companion]]'', found the work to be a "fantasy-revisionist" rant lacking in clarity, craft, and sense where every Muslim was a Nazi and every Hindu, a Jew; with an unconvincing screenplay and weak characters, it was propaganda that strove only to tune in with the [[Hindutva|Hindu nationalist]] mood of the nation rather than offer any genuine empathy to the displaced victims.<ref name="Rahul Desai">{{Cite news |last=Desai |first=Rahul |date=11 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files Is A Defensive And Dishonest Dive Into The Past |newspaper=Film Companion}}</ref> | [[Shubhra Gupta]] reviewing for ''[[The Indian Express]]'' rated the film 1.5 out of 5 stars, criticising the film for being uninterested in nuance and describing the film as propaganda aligned with the ruling party, that aimed to stoke the "deep-seated anger" of Pandits. However, she also stated that the film did tap "into the grief of the displaced Pandits," and commended Kher's performance.<ref name="Shubhra Gupta">{{Cite news |last=Gupta |first=Shubhra |author-link=Shubhra Gupta |date=12 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files movie review: Anupam Kher is the emotional core of this overwrought film |website=[[The Indian Express]] |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/the-kashmir-files-anupam-kher-emotional-core-vivek-ranjan-agnihotri-7816266/ |url-status=live |access-date=12 March 2022 |archive-date=12 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312045225/https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/the-kashmir-files-anupam-kher-emotional-core-vivek-ranjan-agnihotri-7816266/ }}</ref> Rahul Desai reviewing for ''[[Film Companion]]'', found the work to be a "fantasy-revisionist" rant lacking in clarity, craft, and sense where every Muslim was a Nazi and every Hindu, a Jew; with an unconvincing screenplay and weak characters, it was propaganda that strove only to tune in with the [[Hindutva|Hindu nationalist]] mood of the nation rather than offer any genuine empathy to the displaced victims.<ref name="Rahul Desai">{{Cite news |last=Desai |first=Rahul |date=11 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files Is A Defensive And Dishonest Dive Into The Past |newspaper=Film Companion |url=https://www.filmcompanion.in/reviews/the-kashmir-files-movie-review-a-defensive-and-dishonest-dive-into-the-past}}</ref> | ||
Tanul Thakur, reviewing for ''[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]]'', was scathing: the film—"monotonous", "inert", and | Tanul Thakur, reviewing for ''[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]]'', was scathing: the film—"monotonous", "inert", and featuring an "objectively poor screenplay"—was set up in an alternate reality and felt like iterations of collected [[WhatsApp|Whatsapp]] screeds in service of a Hindu majoritarian state and especially [[Narendra Modi]]; Agnihotri lured the audience with facts only to distort and [[Communalism (South Asia)|communalize]] them, and target those who are critical of the incumbent political government in India.<ref name="Tanul Thakur">{{Cite web |last=Thakur |first=Tanul |date=19 March 2022 |title=As a Film, 'The Kashmir Files' Is Both Laughable and Frightening in Its Relentless Communalism |url=https://thewire.in/film/as-a-film-the-kashmir-files-is-both-laughable-and-frightening-in-its-relentless-communalism |access-date=2022-03-24 |website=The Wire |archive-date=24 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324232241/https://thewire.in/film/as-a-film-the-kashmir-files-is-both-laughable-and-frightening-in-its-relentless-communalism |url-status=live }}</ref> Asim Ali, reviewing for ''[[Newslaundry]]'', was also critical of the film, finding it to have exploited the sufferings of Kashmiri Pandits in peddling a Hindu Nationalist worldview where no Muslim in Kashmir had any aspiration except persecuting Hindus.<ref name="Asim Ali">{{Cite web |last=Ali |first=Asim |date=15 March 2022 |title=Don't trust Muslims, leftists or secularists: Why The Kashmir Files is no Schindler's List |url=https://www.newslaundry.com/2022/03/15/dont-trust-muslims-leftists-or-secularists-why-the-kashmir-files-is-no-schindlers-list |access-date=2022-03-19 |website=Newslaundry |archive-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318134933/https://www.newslaundry.com/2022/03/15/dont-trust-muslims-leftists-or-secularists-why-the-kashmir-files-is-no-schindlers-list |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Reuters">{{cite news |last1=Jamkhandikar |first1=Shilpa |title=Controversial Kashmir movie praised by India's Modi is box office hit |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/india/controversial-kashmir-movie-praised-by-indias-modi-is-box-office-hit-2022-03-16/ |access-date=27 March 2022 |work=Reuters |date=16 March 2022 |archive-date=27 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327161003/https://www.reuters.com/world/india/controversial-kashmir-movie-praised-by-indias-modi-is-box-office-hit-2022-03-16/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Shilajit Mitra of ''[[The New Indian Express]]'' panned the film with a rating of 1 out of 5 stars and castigated Agnihotri for exploiting the suffering of Kashmiri Pandits by doing away with all nuance in service of a "communal agenda".<ref name="Shilajit Mitra">{{Cite web |last=Mitra |first=Shilajit |date=12 March 2022 |title=Kashmir Files, A limp attempt at provocation |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/review/2022/mar/12/movie-review-kashmir-files-a-limp-attempt-at-provocation-2429076.html |access-date=12 March 2022 |website=The New Indian Express |archive-date=12 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312233944/https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/review/2022/mar/12/movie-review-kashmir-files-a-limp-attempt-at-provocation-2429076.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
Debasish Roy Chowdhury, co-author of [[To Kill a Democracy|''To Kill a Democracy: India's Passage to Despotism'']], found the film to be a prominent marker of India's "descent into darkness"; rather than offering genuine closure for the Pandits, Agnihotri inflamed hatred against Muslims, secular parties, and liberal media in pursuance of a Hindu Supremacist cause.<ref name="Roy Chowdhury">{{Cite magazine |last=Roy Chowdhury |first=Debasish |date=2022-03-30 |title=Column: How One Film Marks India's Descent Into Darkness |url=https://time.com/6162035/kashmir-files-india-hindu-muslim/ |magazine=TIME |access-date=27 April 2022 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403201139/https://time.com/6162035/kashmir-files-india-hindu-muslim/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Nitasha Kaul]], a Kashmiri Pandit academic, reviewing for ''[[The News Minute]]'', held the work to be a communal and [[Masculism|masculinist]] propaganda that collapsed the complex politics of Kashmir into a one-sided moral tale palatable to the current Hindutva dispensation in India; Agnihotri appropriated Pandit sufferings to portray all Kashmiri Muslims as barbarian invaders, undeserving of any solidarity.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaul |first=Nitasha |author-link=Nitasha Kaul |date=2022-03-24 |title=Kashmir is not a file: Propaganda and politics in India |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/kashmir-not-file-propaganda-and-politics-india-162236 |access-date=27 April 2022 |website=[[The News Minute]] |archive-date=22 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422023257/https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/kashmir-not-file-propaganda-and-politics-india-162236 |url-status=live }}</ref> Alpana Kishore, one of the few journalists who had covered Kashmir in the 1990s (as part of [[Newstrack]]), found the film to be a set of factual episodes but strung together in a contextless fashion; Agnihotri did not bother to even portray the other side of the divide, and was brazen in pushing a pro-right agenda.<ref>{{Cite podcast |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFlkNiq9JKQ |title=The Kashmir Files, reportage on the Kashmiri Pandits, Congress party’s survival |website=Hafta |publisher=[[Newslaundry]] |host=Abhinandan Sekhri |date=26 March 2022 |time=26:33 |access-date=9 April 2022 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403204801/https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=wFlkNiq9JKQ |url-status=live }}</ref> | Debasish Roy Chowdhury, co-author of [[To Kill a Democracy|''To Kill a Democracy: India's Passage to Despotism'']], found the film to be a prominent marker of India's "descent into darkness"; rather than offering genuine closure for the Pandits, Agnihotri inflamed hatred against Muslims, secular parties, and liberal media in pursuance of a Hindu Supremacist cause.<ref name="Roy Chowdhury">{{Cite magazine |last=Roy Chowdhury |first=Debasish |date=2022-03-30 |title=Column: How One Film Marks India's Descent Into Darkness |url=https://time.com/6162035/kashmir-files-india-hindu-muslim/ |magazine=TIME |access-date=27 April 2022 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403201139/https://time.com/6162035/kashmir-files-india-hindu-muslim/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Nitasha Kaul]], a Kashmiri Pandit academic, reviewing for ''[[The News Minute]]'', held the work to be a communal and [[Masculism|masculinist]] propaganda that collapsed the complex politics of Kashmir into a one-sided moral tale palatable to the current Hindutva dispensation in India; Agnihotri appropriated Pandit sufferings to portray all Kashmiri Muslims as barbarian invaders, undeserving of any solidarity.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaul |first=Nitasha |author-link=Nitasha Kaul |date=2022-03-24 |title=Kashmir is not a file: Propaganda and politics in India |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/kashmir-not-file-propaganda-and-politics-india-162236 |access-date=27 April 2022 |website=[[The News Minute]] |archive-date=22 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422023257/https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/kashmir-not-file-propaganda-and-politics-india-162236 |url-status=live }}</ref> Alpana Kishore, one of the few journalists who had covered Kashmir in the 1990s (as part of [[Newstrack]]), found the film to be a set of factual episodes but strung together in a contextless fashion; Agnihotri did not bother to even portray the other side of the divide, and was brazen in pushing a pro-right agenda.<ref>{{Cite podcast |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFlkNiq9JKQ |title=The Kashmir Files, reportage on the Kashmiri Pandits, Congress party’s survival |website=Hafta |publisher=[[Newslaundry]] |host=Abhinandan Sekhri |date=26 March 2022 |time=26:33 |access-date=9 April 2022 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403204801/https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=wFlkNiq9JKQ |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
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=== Reception by Kashmiri Pandits === | === Reception by Kashmiri Pandits === | ||
Reception among Pandits has been mixed with some regarding the film to be a cathartic experience | Reception among Pandits has been mixed with some regarding the film to be a cathartic experience<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gigoo |first=Siddhartha |date=2022-03-15 |title=The Kashmir Files: Cinema As Testimony |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/art-entertainment/the-kashmir-files-cinema-as-testimony-news-186885 |access-date=27 April 2022 |website=Outlook |archive-date=27 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427071636/https://www.outlookindia.com/art-entertainment/the-kashmir-files-cinema-as-testimony-news-186885 |url-status=live }}</ref> while others have been critical.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=Ashutosh |date=2022-03-28 |title=Bitter And Divided: 'Kashmir Files' Fuels Polarisation In The Displaced Pandit Community |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/national/bitter-and-divided-kashmir-files-fuels-polarisation-in-the-displaced-pandit-community-news-188899 |access-date=27 April 2022 |website=Outlook |archive-date=27 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427071618/https://www.outlookindia.com/national/bitter-and-divided-kashmir-files-fuels-polarisation-in-the-displaced-pandit-community-news-188899 |url-status=live }}</ref> Journalist [[Rahul Pandita]], who fled from [[Srinagar]] during the exodus, said that the experience for Pandits watching the film was like "an emotional catharsis."<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-03-15 |title=Kashmir Files: Vivek Agnihotri's film exposes India's new fault lines |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-60732939 |access-date=2022-05-17 |archive-date=27 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427045135/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-60732939 |url-status=live }}</ref> A Kashmiri Hindu immigrant to [[New Zealand]] told [[Stuff (website)|''Stuff'']] that ''The Kashmir Files'' was a good representation of the exodus, requesting that Muslims watch it to understand the other side of the conflict.<ref name="auto"/> President of the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS) Sanjay Tickoo criticized the movie for its misrepresentations and added that this movie is making Kashmir Pandits feel unsafe in the [[Kashmir Valley]].<ref>{{cite web | title=The Kashmir Files making resident Kashmiri Pandits feel unsafe | website=NewsClick | date=2022-03-17 | url=https://www.newsclick.in/The-Kashmir-Files-making-resident-Kashmiri-Pandits-feel-unsafe | access-date=30 November 2022 | archive-date=30 November 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130174115/https://www.newsclick.in/The-Kashmir-Files-making-resident-Kashmiri-Pandits-feel-unsafe | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Kashmiri Pandits Refute Communal Claims Made in The Kashmir Files | website=NewsClick | date=2022-03-21 | url=https://www.newsclick.in/Kashmiri-Pandits-Refute-Communal-Claims-Made-The-Kashmir-Files | access-date=30 November 2022 | archive-date=30 November 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130174113/https://www.newsclick.in/Kashmiri-Pandits-Refute-Communal-Claims-Made-The-Kashmir-Files | url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
== Political messaging and historical accuracy == | == Political messaging and historical accuracy == | ||
The film's director Vivek Agnihotri claims the film to be a depiction of the "truth of Kashmir",<ref name="Rohmetra">{{Cite news |last=Rohmetra |first=Amogh |date=13 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files tries showing 1990 exodus 'truth' but Vivek Agnihotri gives it death blow |newspaper=The Print |url=https://theprint.in/features/reel-take/the-kashmir-files-tries-showing-1990-exodus-truth-but-vivek-agnihotri-gives-it-death-blow/871254 |access-date=27 April 2022 |archive-date=25 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425153340/https://theprint.in/features/reel-take/the-kashmir-files-tries-showing-1990-exodus-truth-but-vivek-agnihotri-gives-it-death-blow/871254/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Roy Chowdhury"/> when "terrorism seep[ed] in and humanity [was] absent".<ref name="NewYorker-21Jun22">{{Cite magazine |last=Chotiner |first=Isaac |date=21 June 2022 |title=What a Disturbing New Film Reveals About Modi's India |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/q-and-a/what-a-disturbing-new-film-reveals-about-modis-india |access-date=22 June 2022 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |archive-date=21 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621162744/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/q-and-a/what-a-disturbing-new-film-reveals-about-modis-india |url-status=live }}</ref> Its key message — in line with Hindu Right views on the issue — is that what is known as the [[exodus of Kashmiri Pandits]] was actually a "genocide" which was kept out of history textbooks and mainstream discourse deliberately.<ref name="Shilajit Mitra"/><ref name="Ipsita Chakravarty">{{Cite web |last=Chakravarty |first=Ipsita |date=19 March 2022 |title=Here are five things 'The Kashmir Files' gets wrong about Kashmir |url=https://scroll.in/article/1019863/here-are-five-things-the-kashmir-files-gets-wrong-about-kashmir |access-date=2022-03-19 |website=Scroll.in |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319145249/https://scroll.in/article/1019863/here-are-five-things-the-kashmir-files-gets-wrong-about-kashmir |url-status=live }}</ref> This was achieved by selecting several horrific events known to have occurred over a period of a decade and half, and then depicting them as happening in the course of about a year to one single fictitious family<ref name="Roy Chowdhury"/> – a "fictional take on real events", as one reviewer labelled it.<ref>Mona, [https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/reviews/story/vivek-ranjan-agnihotris-the-kashmir-files-is-a-brutally-honest-take-377416 Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files is a ‘brutally’ honest take] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512113753/https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/reviews/story/vivek-ranjan-agnihotris-the-kashmir-files-is-a-brutally-honest-take-377416 |date=12 May 2022 }}, The Tribune (Chandigarh), 13 March 2022.</ref> | The film's director Vivek Agnihotri claims the film to be a depiction of the "truth of Kashmir",<ref name="Rohmetra">{{Cite news |last=Rohmetra |first=Amogh |date=13 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files tries showing 1990 exodus 'truth' but Vivek Agnihotri gives it death blow |newspaper=The Print |url=https://theprint.in/features/reel-take/the-kashmir-files-tries-showing-1990-exodus-truth-but-vivek-agnihotri-gives-it-death-blow/871254 |access-date=27 April 2022 |archive-date=25 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425153340/https://theprint.in/features/reel-take/the-kashmir-files-tries-showing-1990-exodus-truth-but-vivek-agnihotri-gives-it-death-blow/871254/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Roy Chowdhury"/> when "terrorism seep[ed] in and humanity [was] absent".<ref name="NewYorker-21Jun22">{{Cite magazine |last=Chotiner |first=Isaac |date=21 June 2022 |title=What a Disturbing New Film Reveals About Modi's India |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/q-and-a/what-a-disturbing-new-film-reveals-about-modis-india |access-date=22 June 2022 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |archive-date=21 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621162744/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/q-and-a/what-a-disturbing-new-film-reveals-about-modis-india |url-status=live }}</ref> Its key message — in line with Hindu Right views on the issue — is that what is known as the [[exodus of Kashmiri Pandits]] was actually a "genocide" which was kept out of history textbooks and mainstream discourse deliberately.<ref name="Shilajit Mitra"/><ref name="Ipsita Chakravarty">{{Cite web |last=Chakravarty |first=Ipsita |date=19 March 2022 |title=Here are five things 'The Kashmir Files' gets wrong about Kashmir |url=https://scroll.in/article/1019863/here-are-five-things-the-kashmir-files-gets-wrong-about-kashmir |access-date=2022-03-19 |website=Scroll.in |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319145249/https://scroll.in/article/1019863/here-are-five-things-the-kashmir-files-gets-wrong-about-kashmir |url-status=live }}</ref> This was achieved by selecting several horrific events known to have occurred over a period of a decade and half, and then depicting them as happening in the course of about a year to one single fictitious family<ref name="Roy Chowdhury"/> – a "fictional take on real events", as one reviewer labelled it.<ref>Mona, [https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/reviews/story/vivek-ranjan-agnihotris-the-kashmir-files-is-a-brutally-honest-take-377416 Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files is a ‘brutally’ honest take] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512113753/https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/reviews/story/vivek-ranjan-agnihotris-the-kashmir-files-is-a-brutally-honest-take-377416 |date=12 May 2022 }}, The Tribune (Chandigarh), 13 March 2022.</ref> | ||
The film's exclusive focus on violence of Muslims on Hindus—with limited attention given to the overall [[Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir|history of human rights abuses in the state]]{{efn|Kashmiri Muslims were also killed during the insurgency,<ref name="Rohmetra" /> and in greater numbers, often at the hands of Indian security apparatus.<ref name="Ipsita Chakravarty" /><ref>{{Citation |last=Bose |first=Sumantra |title=Kashmir at the Crossroads, Inside a 21st-Century Conflict. |page=92 |year=2020 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-25687-1 |quote=On 15 March 1990, by which time the Pandit exodus from the Valley was substantially complete, the All-India Kashmiri Pandit Conference, a community organisation, stated that thirty-two Pandits had been killed by militants since the previous autumn. This plausible figure amounted to a ''third'' of about one hundred targeted killings by JKLF militants since autumn 1989. (Emphasis added) |author-link=Sumantra Bose}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Bose |first1=Tapan |title=India's 'Kashmir War' |date=31 March 1990 |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=25 |number=13 |jstor=4396095 |quote=According to a breakdown of those killed by the militants so far, of the total 100, 32 were Hindus (from both the valley and outside) and the rest Muslims. |last2=Mohan |first2=Dinesh |last3=Navlakha |first3=Gautam |last4=Banerjee |first4=Sumanta |page=655}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title='The Kashmir Files' is Hindutva's latest anti-Muslim weapon |date=14 March 2022 |url=https://www.siasat.com/the-kashmir-files-is-hindutvas-latest-anti-muslim-weapon-2290523 |newspaper=The Siasat Daily |quote=It is to be noted that in response to a Right to Information (RTI) filed over the number of deaths of Kashmiri pandits killed by terrorists since the inception of militancy in 1990, the district police headquarters in Srinagar revealed official figures that state 89 casualties as compared to 1635 deaths of people of other faiths, during the same time. |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314194637/https://www.siasat.com/the-kashmir-files-is-hindutvas-latest-anti-muslim-weapon-2290523/ |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the Indian Home Ministry's internal data, 1,583 Hindu civilians were killed in the conflict between 1988 and 2005, while the Muslim civilians killed in the same period numbered 12,245.<ref>{{Citation |last=Swami |first=Praveen |author-link=Praveen Swami |title=India, Pakistan and the Secret Jihad: The covert war in Kashmir, 1947–2004 |series=Asian Security Studies |publisher=Routledge |year=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z2l9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA175 |isbn=978-0-415-40459-4 |page=175 |access-date=25 March 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314152555/https://books.google.com/books?id=z2l9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA175 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}—and especially, the painting of all Muslims as active or passive participants in the exodus has been seen as promoting [[Islamophobia]] and aiding a [[Hindu nationalism|Hindu Nationalist]] cause.<ref name="Roy Chowdhury" /><ref name="Rohmetra" /><ref name="Hindu Islamophobia">{{Citation |last=Kumar |first=Anuj |title='The Kashmir Files' movie review: A disturbing take which grips and gripes in turns |date=14 March 2022 |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/the-kashmir-files-movie-review-a-disturbing-take-which-grips-and-gripes-in-turns/article65223787.ece |newspaper=The Hindu |quote=Employing some facts, some half-truths, and plenty of distortions, [the film] propels an alternative view about the Kashmir issue, with the intent to not just provoke... but incite.... In Agnihotri’s documentation, terror has a religion and it appears every Muslim in Kashmir has been a separatist and keen to convert Hindus to Islam.... One fears, in the name of street justice, the clippings of the film will soon end up in social media to fuel further hate against one community. |access-date=27 April 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314184836/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/the-kashmir-files-movie-review-a-disturbing-take-which-grips-and-gripes-in-turns/article65223787.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> The film has also faced charges of [[historical revisionism]] and unnuanced storytelling.<ref name="CNN-28Apr22" /><ref name="BBC News2" /><ref name="Roy Chowdhury" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Barton |first=Naomi |date=20 March 2022 |title='The Kashmir Files' Uses Kashmiri Pandits For Propaganda, and Hates Muslims |url=https://thewire.in/film/the-kashmir-files-propaganda-anti-muslim |access-date=2022-03-24 |website=The Wire |archive-date=22 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322194039/https://thewire.in/film/the-kashmir-files-propaganda-anti-muslim |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Shubhra Gupta" /><ref name="Rahul Desai" /><ref>{{Citation |first=Anuj |last=Kumar |title='The Kashmir Files' movie review: A disturbing take which grips and gripes in turns |newspaper=The Hindu |date=14 March 2022 |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/the-kashmir-files-movie-review-a-disturbing-take-which-grips-and-gripes-in-turns/article65223787.ece |quote=The Kashmiri Pandits’ pain is real and should be expressed in popular culture, but it deserved a more nuanced, more objective take rather than the 'us vs them' worldview that Agnithotri has propagated over 170 minutes.... There is no middle ground for him, as he picks and chooses instances from the past to suit his narrative. |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314184836/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/the-kashmir-files-movie-review-a-disturbing-take-which-grips-and-gripes-in-turns/article65223787.ece |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mitra |first=Shilajit |date=12 March 2022 |title=Kashmir Files, A limp attempt at provocation |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/review/2022/mar/12/movie-review-kashmir-files-a-limp-attempt-at-provocation-2429076.html |access-date=12 March 2022 |website=The New Indian Express |quote=... there is not a single moderate [Muslim] in The Kashmir Files.... The fact that no conflict is unidimensional, that there can be multiple oppressed groups in a region, simply doesn’t dawn on this film. |archive-date=12 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312233944/https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/review/2022/mar/12/movie-review-kashmir-files-a-limp-attempt-at-provocation-2429076.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Siasat anti-Muslim">{{Citation |title='The Kashmir Files' is Hindutva's latest anti-Muslim weapon |date=14 March 2022 |url=https://www.siasat.com/the-kashmir-files-is-hindutvas-latest-anti-muslim-weapon-2290523 |newspaper=The Siasat Daily |quote=A film that is based on the tragedy and exodus of Kashmiri Pandits has instead managed to become a propaganda tool that is being used to rouse anti-Muslim and anti-Kashmiri passions in the country, adding to the current atmosphere of anti-minority hate that has permeated deep in society over the last eight years or so. |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314194637/https://www.siasat.com/the-kashmir-files-is-hindutvas-latest-anti-muslim-weapon-2290523/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Several critics have compared Agnihotri with [[Leni Riefenstahl]], a [[Nazi propaganda|Nazi propagandist]].<ref name="Rahul Desai" /><ref name="Roy Chowdhury" /><ref name="Bhatia" /> Isaac Chotiner, interviewing Agnihotri for [[The New Yorker | The film's exclusive focus on violence of Muslims on Hindus—with limited attention given to the overall [[Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir|history of human rights abuses in the state]]{{efn|Kashmiri Muslims were also killed during the insurgency,<ref name="Rohmetra" /> and in greater numbers, often at the hands of Indian security apparatus.<ref name="Ipsita Chakravarty" /><ref>{{Citation |last=Bose |first=Sumantra |title=Kashmir at the Crossroads, Inside a 21st-Century Conflict. |page=92 |year=2020 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-25687-1 |quote=On 15 March 1990, by which time the Pandit exodus from the Valley was substantially complete, the All-India Kashmiri Pandit Conference, a community organisation, stated that thirty-two Pandits had been killed by militants since the previous autumn. This plausible figure amounted to a ''third'' of about one hundred targeted killings by JKLF militants since autumn 1989. (Emphasis added) |author-link=Sumantra Bose}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Bose |first1=Tapan |title=India's 'Kashmir War' |date=31 March 1990 |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=25 |number=13 |jstor=4396095 |quote=According to a breakdown of those killed by the militants so far, of the total 100, 32 were Hindus (from both the valley and outside) and the rest Muslims. |last2=Mohan |first2=Dinesh |last3=Navlakha |first3=Gautam |last4=Banerjee |first4=Sumanta |page=655}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title='The Kashmir Files' is Hindutva's latest anti-Muslim weapon |date=14 March 2022 |url=https://www.siasat.com/the-kashmir-files-is-hindutvas-latest-anti-muslim-weapon-2290523 |newspaper=The Siasat Daily |quote=It is to be noted that in response to a Right to Information (RTI) filed over the number of deaths of Kashmiri pandits killed by terrorists since the inception of militancy in 1990, the district police headquarters in Srinagar revealed official figures that state 89 casualties as compared to 1635 deaths of people of other faiths, during the same time. |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314194637/https://www.siasat.com/the-kashmir-files-is-hindutvas-latest-anti-muslim-weapon-2290523/ |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the Indian Home Ministry's internal data, 1,583 Hindu civilians were killed in the conflict between 1988 and 2005, while the Muslim civilians killed in the same period numbered 12,245.<ref>{{Citation |last=Swami |first=Praveen |author-link=Praveen Swami |title=India, Pakistan and the Secret Jihad: The covert war in Kashmir, 1947–2004 |series=Asian Security Studies |publisher=Routledge |year=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z2l9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA175 |isbn=978-0-415-40459-4 |page=175 |access-date=25 March 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314152555/https://books.google.com/books?id=z2l9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA175 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}—and especially, the painting of all Muslims as active or passive participants in the exodus has been seen as promoting [[Islamophobia]] and aiding a [[Hindu nationalism|Hindu Nationalist]] cause.<ref name="Roy Chowdhury" /><ref name="Rohmetra" /><ref name="Hindu Islamophobia">{{Citation |last=Kumar |first=Anuj |title='The Kashmir Files' movie review: A disturbing take which grips and gripes in turns |date=14 March 2022 |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/the-kashmir-files-movie-review-a-disturbing-take-which-grips-and-gripes-in-turns/article65223787.ece |newspaper=The Hindu |quote=Employing some facts, some half-truths, and plenty of distortions, [the film] propels an alternative view about the Kashmir issue, with the intent to not just provoke... but incite.... In Agnihotri’s documentation, terror has a religion and it appears every Muslim in Kashmir has been a separatist and keen to convert Hindus to Islam.... One fears, in the name of street justice, the clippings of the film will soon end up in social media to fuel further hate against one community. |access-date=27 April 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314184836/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/the-kashmir-files-movie-review-a-disturbing-take-which-grips-and-gripes-in-turns/article65223787.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> The film has also faced charges of [[historical revisionism]] and unnuanced storytelling.<ref name="CNN-28Apr22" /><ref name="BBC News2" /><ref name="Roy Chowdhury" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Barton |first=Naomi |date=20 March 2022 |title='The Kashmir Files' Uses Kashmiri Pandits For Propaganda, and Hates Muslims |url=https://thewire.in/film/the-kashmir-files-propaganda-anti-muslim |access-date=2022-03-24 |website=The Wire |archive-date=22 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322194039/https://thewire.in/film/the-kashmir-files-propaganda-anti-muslim |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Shubhra Gupta" /><ref name="Rahul Desai" /><ref>{{Citation |first=Anuj |last=Kumar |title='The Kashmir Files' movie review: A disturbing take which grips and gripes in turns |newspaper=The Hindu |date=14 March 2022 |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/the-kashmir-files-movie-review-a-disturbing-take-which-grips-and-gripes-in-turns/article65223787.ece |quote=The Kashmiri Pandits’ pain is real and should be expressed in popular culture, but it deserved a more nuanced, more objective take rather than the 'us vs them' worldview that Agnithotri has propagated over 170 minutes.... There is no middle ground for him, as he picks and chooses instances from the past to suit his narrative. |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314184836/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/the-kashmir-files-movie-review-a-disturbing-take-which-grips-and-gripes-in-turns/article65223787.ece |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mitra |first=Shilajit |date=12 March 2022 |title=Kashmir Files, A limp attempt at provocation |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/review/2022/mar/12/movie-review-kashmir-files-a-limp-attempt-at-provocation-2429076.html |access-date=12 March 2022 |website=The New Indian Express |quote=... there is not a single moderate [Muslim] in The Kashmir Files.... The fact that no conflict is unidimensional, that there can be multiple oppressed groups in a region, simply doesn’t dawn on this film. |archive-date=12 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312233944/https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/review/2022/mar/12/movie-review-kashmir-files-a-limp-attempt-at-provocation-2429076.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Siasat anti-Muslim">{{Citation |title='The Kashmir Files' is Hindutva's latest anti-Muslim weapon |date=14 March 2022 |url=https://www.siasat.com/the-kashmir-files-is-hindutvas-latest-anti-muslim-weapon-2290523 |newspaper=The Siasat Daily |quote=A film that is based on the tragedy and exodus of Kashmiri Pandits has instead managed to become a propaganda tool that is being used to rouse anti-Muslim and anti-Kashmiri passions in the country, adding to the current atmosphere of anti-minority hate that has permeated deep in society over the last eight years or so. |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314194637/https://www.siasat.com/the-kashmir-files-is-hindutvas-latest-anti-muslim-weapon-2290523/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Several critics have compared Agnihotri with [[Leni Riefenstahl]], a [[Nazi propaganda|Nazi propagandist]].<ref name="Rahul Desai" /><ref name="Roy Chowdhury" /><ref name="Bhatia" /> Isaac Chotiner, interviewing Agnihotri for ''[[The New Yorker]]'', summed up the work as an ahistorical exercise in "stigmatization and fearmongering".<ref name="NewYorker-21Jun22" /> In response to accusations of propaganda, Agnihotri said: "How can a film on terrorism be propaganda?", adding that "The film is only against terrorism. I have not criticized Muslims."<ref name="CNN-28Apr22" /> He also denied allegations that the film could create a divide between Hindus and Muslims, calling the allegations "agenda-driven".<ref name="CNN-28Apr22" /> | ||
Krishna's father is killed in the film while hiding in a container of rice, an event fashioned after the killing of telecommunications engineer B. K. Ganjoo in 1990.<ref name=Rohmetra | Krishna's father is killed in the film while hiding in a container of rice, an event fashioned after the killing of telecommunications engineer B. K. Ganjoo in 1990.<ref name=Rohmetra/> But the additional portrayal of militants forcing his wife to eat the blood-soaked rice was rejected by Ganjoo's brother as 'fiction'; he emphasized that the family was never consulted while making the film.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-10 |title=You know 'The Kashmir Files story' of BK Ganjoo. Now know his neighbour Abdul's |url=https://theprint.in/features/you-know-the-kashmir-files-story-of-bk-ganjoo-now-know-his-neighbour-abduls/947614/ |access-date=2022-05-22 |website=ThePrint |archive-date=13 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513085841/https://theprint.in/features/you-know-the-kashmir-files-story-of-bk-ganjoo-now-know-his-neighbour-abduls/947614/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Krishna's mother is raped and killed by cutting her with a mechanical saw, an event fashioned after the killing of unrelated Girija Tikoo, also in 1990.<ref name="Ipsita Chakravarty"/> This event juxtaposed in the film with a massacre fashioned after the [[2003 Nadimarg massacre]] in an entirely different time frame under the watch of a [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] government. The massacre is depicted in the film as occurring in broad daylight in front of Kashmiri Muslim neighbours as passive participants, in contrast to the real event which happened in the dead of night with silenced guns and no witnesses.<ref name="Ipsita Chakravarty"/> Sanjay Tikoo, the head of the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti, says, "that was not like that; ... no massacre of Kashmiri Pandits took place before [the eyes] of Kashmiri Muslims".<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yY43T8auqg The Kashmir Files: The Pandits who never left] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506203854/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yY43T8auqg |date=6 May 2022 }}, Al Jazeera English, via YouTube, May 2022.</ref> | ||
The film depicts the [[Jawaharlal Nehru University]]{{efn|name=JNU}} as an unpatriotic institution sympathetic to terrorism.<ref name="Rohmetra" /> [[Article 370 of the Constitution of India|Article 370]] of the Constitution, that granted nominally autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir and was in effect during the time frame of the film, is named as one of the factors behind the displacement of Kashmiri Pandits.<ref name="Rohmetra" /> Blame is also attached to [[Farooq Abdullah]], the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir prior to the 1990 exodus; the former Indian prime minister [[Rajiv Gandhi]]; and Indian home minister [[Mufti Mohammad Sayeed]], a person of Kashmiri heritage. The serving prime minister [[V. P. Singh]] (in 1990), and the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] that supported his government, appear to be absolved of responsibility by the film.<ref name="Rohmetra" /><ref name="Asim Ali" /><ref name="Roy Chowdhury" /><ref name="Bhatia" /> The central character Krishna Pandit is shown as being provoked by terrorists to turn against the present-day prime minister [[Narendra Modi]].<ref name="Rohmetra" /> The former prime minister [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]] is also subtly derided for attempting to win the hearts of Kashmiris.<ref name="Anuj Kumar" /> | The film depicts the [[Jawaharlal Nehru University]]{{efn|name=JNU}} as an unpatriotic institution sympathetic to terrorism.<ref name="Rohmetra" /> [[Article 370 of the Constitution of India|Article 370]] of the Constitution, that granted nominally autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir and was in effect during the time frame of the film, is named as one of the factors behind the displacement of Kashmiri Pandits.<ref name="Rohmetra" /> Blame is also attached to [[Farooq Abdullah]], the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir prior to the 1990 exodus; the former Indian prime minister [[Rajiv Gandhi]]; and Indian home minister [[Mufti Mohammad Sayeed]], a person of Kashmiri heritage. The serving prime minister [[V. P. Singh]] (in 1990), and the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] that supported his government, appear to be absolved of responsibility by the film.<ref name="Rohmetra" /><ref name="Asim Ali" /><ref name="Roy Chowdhury" /><ref name="Bhatia" /> The central character Krishna Pandit is shown as being provoked by terrorists to turn against the present-day prime minister [[Narendra Modi]].<ref name="Rohmetra" /> The former prime minister [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]] is also subtly derided for attempting to win the hearts of Kashmiris.<ref name="Anuj Kumar" /> | ||
A [[Kashmiri separatist movement|Kashmiri separatist]] militant named Farooq Malik Bitta is depicted in the movie, fashioned after [[Farooq Ahmed Dar]] ("Bitta Karate") and [[Yasin Malik]] rolled into one. But he is also shown as being involved in the [[2003 Nadimarg massacre]], which was of neither's doing.<ref name="Rohmetra"/ | A [[Kashmiri separatist movement|Kashmiri separatist]] militant named Farooq Malik Bitta is depicted in the movie, fashioned after [[Farooq Ahmed Dar]] ("Bitta Karate") and [[Yasin Malik]] rolled into one. But he is also shown as being involved in the [[2003 Nadimarg massacre]], which was of neither's doing.<ref name="Rohmetra"/> The facts of Bitta Karate's long years of incarceration despite a lack of conviction or Malik's eventual conversion to non-violent means of struggle are not mentioned.<ref name="Anuj Kumar"/><ref>{{Cite news |last=Pandita |first=Rahul |date=2016-04-21 |title=A cry for Pandits from down south |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/a-cry-for-kashmiri-pandits-from-down-south/article6305496.ece |access-date=2022-03-19 |issn=0971-751X |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319131558/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/a-cry-for-kashmiri-pandits-from-down-south/article6305496.ece |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Ipsita Chakravarty" /> | ||
The film's central characters repeatedly blame an [[Indian National Congress]]-led government in Delhi for the Kashmir exodus while in reality the actual exodus took place during a coalition government supported by the BJP.<ref name="Roy Chowdhury" /> | The film's central characters repeatedly blame an [[Indian National Congress]]-led government in Delhi for the Kashmir exodus while in reality the actual exodus took place during a coalition government supported by the BJP.<ref name="Roy Chowdhury" /> | ||
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== Box office == | == Box office == | ||
''The Kashmir Files'' opened to box office with a slow start and competed with [[Prabhas]]-starrer ''[[Radhe Shyam]]'',<ref name="BollywoodHungama-19Mar22">{{Cite news |date=19 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files Box Office Estimate Day 9: The film collects Rs. 23.50 crores; has a shot of touching Rs. 300 crores |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-special-features/kashmir-files-box-office-estimate-day-9-film-collects-rs-23-50-crores-shot-touching-rs-300-crores/ |access-date=29 June 2022 |website=[[Bollywood Hungama]] |archive-date=23 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423201141/https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-special-features/kashmir-files-box-office-estimate-day-9-film-collects-rs-23-50-crores-shot-touching-rs-300-crores/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=12 March 2022 |title=Radhe Shyam faces rejection outside home states; The Kashmir Files surprises with a good opening day |url=https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/box-office/radhe-shyam-faces-rejection-outside-home-states-kashmir-files-surprises-good-opening-day-1044219 |access-date=29 June 2022 |website=[[Pinkvilla]] |archive-date=29 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629101452/https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/box-office/radhe-shyam-faces-rejection-outside-home-states-kashmir-files-surprises-good-opening-day-1044219 |url-status=live }}</ref> which was released on the same day, but has quickly gained higher share of collections within days.<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 March 2022 |title='Radhe Shyam' does very well in Telugu, but loses in Bollywood |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/tollywood/130322/radhe-shyam-does-very-well-in-telugu-but-loses-in-bollywood.html |access-date=29 June 2022 |website=[[Deccan Chronicle]] |archive-date=29 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629101452/https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/tollywood/130322/radhe-shyam-does-very-well-in-telugu-but-loses-in-bollywood.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The film recorded an earnings of {{INRConvert|3.55|c}}, {{INRConvert|8.5|c}} and {{INRConvert|15.1|c}} in India respectively on its first three days, taking its opening weekend collection to {{INRConvert|27.15|c}} and an estimated {{INRConvert|5|c}} in India and overseas, respectively.<ref name="bo" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=14 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files collects approx. 653k USD [Rs. 5 cr.] in overseas |website=Bollywood Hungama |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-overseas/kashmir-files-collects-approx-653k-usd-rs-5-cr-overseas/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 March 2022 |archive-date=15 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315061138/https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-overseas/kashmir-files-collects-approx-653k-usd-rs-5-cr-overseas/ }}</ref> After the response from the first two days, the screens were increased to 2,000 on 13 March 2022.<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files Box Office: Film's shows increased from 600 to 2000 after stupendous response |website=Bollywood Hungama |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-special-features/kashmir-files-box-office-films-shows-increased-600-2000-stupendous-response |url-status=live |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314070147/https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-special-features/kashmir-files-box-office-films-shows-increased-600-2000-stupendous-response/ }}</ref> With a collections growth of 323% on its first Monday compared to the release day, the film broke the record for the highest increase in collections for an Indian film on its first Monday.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files Box Office: Vivek Agnihotri's directorial survives Khooni Monday test; shows 323% growth and claims the no. 1 spot |website=Bollywood Hungama |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-special-features/kashmir-files-box-office-vivek-agnihotris-directorial-survives-khooni-monday-test-shows-323-growth-claims-no-1-spot/ |url-status=live |access-date=19 March 2022 |archive-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318095858/https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-special-features/kashmir-files-box-office-vivek-agnihotris-directorial-survives-khooni-monday-test-shows-323-growth-claims-no-1-spot/ }}</ref> At the end of the first week, the film earned {{INRConvert|97.3|c}} at the Indian box office.<ref name="bo" /> | ''The Kashmir Files'' opened to box office with a slow start and competed with [[Prabhas]]-starrer ''[[Radhe Shyam]]'',<ref name="BollywoodHungama-19Mar22">{{Cite news |date=19 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files Box Office Estimate Day 9: The film collects Rs. 23.50 crores; has a shot of touching Rs. 300 crores |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-special-features/kashmir-files-box-office-estimate-day-9-film-collects-rs-23-50-crores-shot-touching-rs-300-crores/ |access-date=29 June 2022 |website=[[Bollywood Hungama]] |archive-date=23 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423201141/https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-special-features/kashmir-files-box-office-estimate-day-9-film-collects-rs-23-50-crores-shot-touching-rs-300-crores/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=12 March 2022 |title=Radhe Shyam faces rejection outside home states; The Kashmir Files surprises with a good opening day |url=https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/box-office/radhe-shyam-faces-rejection-outside-home-states-kashmir-files-surprises-good-opening-day-1044219 |access-date=29 June 2022 |website=[[Pinkvilla]] |archive-date=29 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629101452/https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/box-office/radhe-shyam-faces-rejection-outside-home-states-kashmir-files-surprises-good-opening-day-1044219 |url-status=live }}</ref> which was released on the same day, but has quickly gained higher share of collections within days.<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 March 2022 |title='Radhe Shyam' does very well in Telugu, but loses in Bollywood |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/tollywood/130322/radhe-shyam-does-very-well-in-telugu-but-loses-in-bollywood.html |access-date=29 June 2022 |website=[[Deccan Chronicle]] |archive-date=29 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629101452/https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/tollywood/130322/radhe-shyam-does-very-well-in-telugu-but-loses-in-bollywood.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The film recorded an earnings of {{INRConvert|3.55|c}}, {{INRConvert|8.5|c}} and {{INRConvert|15.1|c}} in India respectively on its first three days, taking its opening weekend collection to {{INRConvert|27.15|c}} and an estimated {{INRConvert|5|c}} in India and overseas, respectively.<ref name="bo" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=14 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files collects approx. 653k USD [Rs. 5 cr.] in overseas |website=Bollywood Hungama |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-overseas/kashmir-files-collects-approx-653k-usd-rs-5-cr-overseas/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 March 2022 |archive-date=15 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315061138/https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-overseas/kashmir-files-collects-approx-653k-usd-rs-5-cr-overseas/ }}</ref> After the response from the first two days, the screens were increased to 2,000 on 13 March 2022.<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files Box Office: Film's shows increased from 600 to 2000 after stupendous response |website=Bollywood Hungama |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-special-features/kashmir-files-box-office-films-shows-increased-600-2000-stupendous-response/ |url-status=live |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314070147/https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-special-features/kashmir-files-box-office-films-shows-increased-600-2000-stupendous-response/ }}</ref> With a collections growth of 323% on its first Monday compared to the release day, the film broke the record for the highest increase in collections for an Indian film on its first Monday.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files Box Office: Vivek Agnihotri's directorial survives Khooni Monday test; shows 323% growth and claims the no. 1 spot |website=Bollywood Hungama |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-special-features/kashmir-files-box-office-vivek-agnihotris-directorial-survives-khooni-monday-test-shows-323-growth-claims-no-1-spot/ |url-status=live |access-date=19 March 2022 |archive-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318095858/https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-special-features/kashmir-files-box-office-vivek-agnihotris-directorial-survives-khooni-monday-test-shows-323-growth-claims-no-1-spot/ }}</ref> At the end of the first week, the film earned {{INRConvert|97.3|c}} at the Indian box office.<ref name="bo" /> | ||
After the response from the first week, the screens were increased to 4,000 by 18 March.<ref name="Bollywood Hungama screens" /> In an interview with ''The New Yorker'' in June 2022, Agnihotri stated that ZEE Studios did not have faith in the film and thus the production studio had only released the film in 400 screens; and that the increase in the shows was in response to the audience demand. However, ZEE Studios clarified that the gradual increase in the number of screens was a "pre-decided business strategy" which was also agreed upon by the director.<ref name="NewYorker-21Jun22" /> | After the response from the first week, the screens were increased to 4,000 by 18 March.<ref name="Bollywood Hungama screens" /> In an interview with ''The New Yorker'' in June 2022, Agnihotri stated that ZEE Studios did not have faith in the film and thus the production studio had only released the film in 400 screens; and that the increase in the shows was in response to the audience demand. However, ZEE Studios clarified that the gradual increase in the number of screens was a "pre-decided business strategy" which was also agreed upon by the director.<ref name="NewYorker-21Jun22" /> | ||
The film emerged as a box-office success within its first two days of release.<ref name="boi1">{{citation |title=The Kashmir Files Is Another Gadar – On Its Way To Create HISTORY |date=14 March 2022 |url=https://www.boxofficeindia.com/report-details.php?articleid=6738 |publisher=Box Office India |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314084717/https://www.boxofficeindia.com/report-details.php?articleid=6738 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="boi2">{{cite news |date=14 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Records Fantastic Weekend – Set For Extraordinary Run |publisher=Box Office India |url=https://www.boxofficeindia.com/report-details.php?articleid=6736 |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314071441/https://www.boxofficeindia.com/report-details.php?articleid=6736 |url-status=live }}</ref> It received massive push in the form of government support, national news coverage, social media forwards and [[word of mouth]]<ref name="BollywoodHungama-19Mar22" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=18 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files box office collection day 7: Vivek Agnihotri's film hours away from crossing Rs 100 crore mark |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/the-kashmir-files-box-office-collection-day-7-vivek-agnihotri-film-rs-100-crore-mark-7825646/ |access-date=29 June 2022 |work=[[The Indian Express]] |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531085353/https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/the-kashmir-files-box-office-collection-day-7-vivek-agnihotri-film-rs-100-crore-mark-7825646/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and rode on them following its opening weekend.<ref name="HindustanTimes-26Mar22" /> By the end of April, according to [[Bollywood Hungama | The film emerged as a box-office success within its first two days of release.<ref name="boi1">{{citation |title=The Kashmir Files Is Another Gadar – On Its Way To Create HISTORY |date=14 March 2022 |url=https://www.boxofficeindia.com/report-details.php?articleid=6738 |publisher=Box Office India |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314084717/https://www.boxofficeindia.com/report-details.php?articleid=6738 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="boi2">{{cite news |date=14 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Records Fantastic Weekend – Set For Extraordinary Run |publisher=Box Office India |url=https://www.boxofficeindia.com/report-details.php?articleid=6736 |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314071441/https://www.boxofficeindia.com/report-details.php?articleid=6736 |url-status=live }}</ref> It received massive push in the form of government support, national news coverage, social media forwards and [[word of mouth]]<ref name="BollywoodHungama-19Mar22" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=18 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files box office collection day 7: Vivek Agnihotri's film hours away from crossing Rs 100 crore mark |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/the-kashmir-files-box-office-collection-day-7-vivek-agnihotri-film-rs-100-crore-mark-7825646/ |access-date=29 June 2022 |work=[[The Indian Express]] |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531085353/https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/the-kashmir-files-box-office-collection-day-7-vivek-agnihotri-film-rs-100-crore-mark-7825646/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and rode on them following its opening weekend.<ref name="HindustanTimes-26Mar22" /> By the end of April, according to ''[[Bollywood Hungama]]''{{'s}} estimates, the film grossed {{INRConvert|297.53|c}} in India and {{INRConvert|43.39|c}} overseas, for a worldwide gross collection of {{INRConvert|340.92|c}},<ref name="bo">{{Cite web |title=The Kashmir Files Box Office |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/the-kashmir-files/box-office/ |access-date=6 May 2022 |website=[[Bollywood Hungama]] |date=11 March 2022 |archive-date=4 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504153908/https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/the-kashmir-files/box-office/ |url-status=live }}</ref> making it the [[List of Hindi films of 2022#Box office collection|third highest grossing Hindi film of 2022]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Worldwide Highest Grossing Bollywood Movies on 2022 - Bollywood Hungama |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/box-office-collections/worldwide/ |access-date=21 January 2023 |website=[[Bollywood Hungama]] |language=en |archive-date=23 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623035055/https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/box-office-collections/worldwide/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It was the first movie to cross the figure of {{INRConvert|250|c}} in the aftermath of [[COVID-19 pandemic in India]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 April 2022 |title=Kashmir Files: Vivek Agnihotri's becomes first Hindi film to cross Rs 250 crore mark in pandemic era |url=https://www.financialexpress.com/entertainment/kashmir-files-vivek-agnihotris-becomes-first-hindi-film-to-cross-rs-250-crore-mark-in-pandemic-era/2489496/ |access-date=2022-04-17 |website=The Financial Express |publisher=The Indian Express |archive-date=13 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413150236/https://www.financialexpress.com/entertainment/kashmir-files-vivek-agnihotris-becomes-first-hindi-film-to-cross-rs-250-crore-mark-in-pandemic-era/2489496/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=24 March 2022 |others=ANI |title=The Kashmir Files hits yet another milestone, enters Rs 200-crore club |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/entertainment/the-kashmir-files-hits-yet-another-milestone-enters-rs-200-crore-club-122032400570_1.html |access-date=2022-04-17 |newspaper=Business Standard India |archive-date=17 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417032111/https://www.business-standard.com/article/entertainment/the-kashmir-files-hits-yet-another-milestone-enters-rs-200-crore-club-122032400570_1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
The film became a major competitor for the [[Akshay Kumar]]-starrer ''[[Bachchhan Paandey]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files Box Office Estimate Day 9: The film collects Rs. 23.50 crores; has a shot of touching Rs. 300 crores |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-special-features/kashmir-files-box-office-estimate-day-9-film-collects-rs-23-50-crores-shot-touching-rs-300-crores/ |access-date=17 June 2022 |website=[[Bollywood Hungama]] |archive-date=23 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423201141/https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-special-features/kashmir-files-box-office-estimate-day-9-film-collects-rs-23-50-crores-shot-touching-rs-300-crores/ |url-status=live }}</ref> which was released one week after ''The Kashmir Files'', and eroded its box office collections.<ref name="HindustanTimes-26Mar22">{{Cite news |last=Mathur |first=Abhimanyu |date=26 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files' box office success decoded: How news, social media, word of mouth scripted an unlikely success story |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/the-kashmir-files-box-office-success-decoded-how-news-social-media-word-of-mouth-scripted-an-unlikely-success-story-101648227536467.html |access-date=17 June 2022 |work=[[Hindustan Times]] |archive-date=21 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220721042718/https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/the-kashmir-files-box-office-success-decoded-how-news-social-media-word-of-mouth-scripted-an-unlikely-success-story-101648227536467.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | The film became a major competitor for the [[Akshay Kumar]]-starrer ''[[Bachchhan Paandey]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files Box Office Estimate Day 9: The film collects Rs. 23.50 crores; has a shot of touching Rs. 300 crores |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-special-features/kashmir-files-box-office-estimate-day-9-film-collects-rs-23-50-crores-shot-touching-rs-300-crores/ |access-date=17 June 2022 |website=[[Bollywood Hungama]] |archive-date=23 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423201141/https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-special-features/kashmir-files-box-office-estimate-day-9-film-collects-rs-23-50-crores-shot-touching-rs-300-crores/ |url-status=live }}</ref> which was released one week after ''The Kashmir Files'', and eroded its box office collections.<ref name="HindustanTimes-26Mar22">{{Cite news |last=Mathur |first=Abhimanyu |date=26 March 2022 |title=The Kashmir Files' box office success decoded: How news, social media, word of mouth scripted an unlikely success story |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/the-kashmir-files-box-office-success-decoded-how-news-social-media-word-of-mouth-scripted-an-unlikely-success-story-101648227536467.html |access-date=17 June 2022 |work=[[Hindustan Times]] |archive-date=21 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220721042718/https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/the-kashmir-files-box-office-success-decoded-how-news-social-media-word-of-mouth-scripted-an-unlikely-success-story-101648227536467.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
== Accolades == | |||
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" | |||
|+ | |||
! scope="col" | Award | |||
! scope="col" | Date of ceremony | |||
! scope="col" | Category | |||
! scope="col" | Nominee(s) | |||
! scope="col" | Result | |||
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | {{Tooltip|Ref(s)|References}} | |||
|- | |||
! scope="row" rowspan="7" | [[Filmfare Awards]] | |||
| rowspan="7" | [[68th Filmfare Awards|27 April 2023]] | |||
| [[Filmfare Award for Best Film|Best Film]] | |||
| {{N/a}} | |||
| {{nom}} | |||
| rowspan="7" align="center" | <ref>{{Cite web |title=Nominations for 68th Filmfare Awards 2023 |url=https://www.filmfare.com/awards/filmfare-awards-2023/nominations |access-date=2023-05-01 |website=[[Filmfare]] |language=en}}</ref> | |||
|- | |||
| [[Filmfare Award for Best Director|Best Director]] | |||
| [[Vivek Agnihotri]] | |||
| {{nom}} | |||
|- | |||
| [[Filmfare Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] | |||
| [[Anupam Kher]] | |||
| {{nom}} | |||
|- | |||
| rowspan="2" | [[Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]] | |||
| [[Darshan Kumar]] | |||
| {{nom}} | |||
|- | |||
| [[Mithun Chakraborty]] | |||
| {{nom}} | |||
|- | |||
| [[Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]] | |||
| [[Vivek Agnihotri]] | |||
| {{nom}} | |||
|- | |||
| [[Filmfare Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]] | |||
| Shankh Rajadhyaksha | |||
| {{nom}} | |||
|- | |||
! scope="row" rowspan="2" | [[International Indian Film Academy Awards|IIFA Awards]] | |||
| rowspan="2" | [[23rd IIFA Awards|26–27 May 2023]] | |||
| [[IIFA Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] | |||
| [[Anupam Kher]] | |||
| {{nom}} | |||
| rowspan="2" align="center" | <ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-27 |title=IIFA 2023 nominations announced: Brahmastra, Gangubai Kathiawadi and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 lead the list |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/iifa-2023-nominations-announced-brahmastra-gangubai-kathiawadi-bhool-bhulaiyaa-2-lead-the-list-8345858/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> | |||
|- | |||
| [[IIFA Award for Best Story|Best Story]] | |||
| [[Vivek Agnihotri]] | |||
| {{nom}} | |||
|} | |||
== Soundtrack == | == Soundtrack == | ||
| Line 244: | Line 295: | ||
== Notes == | == Notes == | ||
{{Notelist}} | {{Notelist}} | ||
== See also == | |||
* ''[[The Kerala Story]]'' | |||
== References == | == References == | ||
| Line 249: | Line 303: | ||
== External links == | == External links == | ||
* {{IMDb title|10811166}} | * {{IMDb title|10811166}} | ||
* {{AllMovie title | 731453 |The Kashmir Files}} | * {{AllMovie title | 731453 |The Kashmir Files}} | ||
| Line 273: | Line 328: | ||
[[Category:Films shot in Mussoorie]] | [[Category:Films shot in Mussoorie]] | ||
[[Category:Films shot in Srinagar]] | [[Category:Films shot in Srinagar]] | ||
[[Category:Indian propaganda films]] | |||
[[Category:Religious controversies in film]] | |||
[[Category:Religious controversies in India]] | |||
[[Category:Hinduism in pop culture-related controversies]] | |||
[[Category:Films about forced migration]] | |||