One’s Abandoning a home can take Tisca lifetime to heal:
In light of the Afghan crisis, Tisca Chopra took to social media to share that she spent a major chunk of her childhood in Kabul. She tells us, “We were part of the
Indian community there. My dad was the principal at the India School, Kabul. We spent 10 years there.”
Recalling her childhood in the country, she shares, “I remember it being a magical time. We would wake up to four feet of snow covering the ground as far as the eyes could see. In the summer, my dad and I used to go climbing up a hill that was at the end of our street in Shahr-e Naw, three or four times a week.”
Chopra resonates with Sahraa Karimi, an Afghan filmmaker and chairperson of the Afghan Film Organisation, who believes the world has abandoned them. She elaborates, “Shahrbanoo Sadat became my friend in Toronto. She and I were discussing how cinema and art are likely to be destroyed by the insanity of the Taliban. They are regressive, brutal and art is beyond their understanding.”
Her heart goes out to those who are stuck in the country or are leaving. “Abandoning one’s home can take a lifetime to heal. The plight of women and children there can’t even be imagined. Anyone who can leave Afghanistan is leaving or has left, including the best brains like lawyers, doctors, engineers, teachers, IT experts and journalists.”
The actor urges the United Nations to intervene and film communities to support Afghan cinema. She says, “Film and art communities across the globe should come together to stand by the Afghan people. We should make documentaries and shorts about the insanity that is about to be leashed on the people left behind in the country.”
In the past year, Soni Razdan has shot for a few web projects and is enjoying this phase of her career. “When I shot last year, there was no Delta variant or a vaccine. I was scared and had planned to gargle post pack-up and every time I took a break as a precaution. Though on the sets, we followed all protocols and regulations with regards to sanitisation. I forgot about all else when I was shooting as I was focused on the job,” she shares.
Razdan shot for a music video in Kashmir and admits that it was an emotional experience for her. “I didn’t expect such feelings even though I have never lived in Kashmir. I am a Kashmiri Pandit, but I haven’t lost my home in Kashmir. I was taken aback when I felt so much. I don’t have a direct link to that kind of loss or pain yet loss is a part of our lives. The fear of displacement is universal,” she says.
With most locations abroad unavailable for shoot, a number of filmmakers are turning to Kashmir for shoots, which pleases her.
She shares, “What has happened in
Kashmir in all these years is a tragedy for everyone, not just Kashmiris. It is lovely to see more and more filmmakers opting to shoot in Kashmir. I hope, through the medium of filmmaking, we can bridge some gaps or erase the misconceptions about the Valley. We need to bond more as a country.”
She is quite outspoken on social media and has touched upon many sensitive subjects. Talking about her views on it, she says, “Social media is a double-edged sword. I don’t take it seriously anymore. I do air my views as a social exercise, but somewhere down the line, Twitter has become poisonous. There is no point in getting sucked into all of it, so I am selective now. Moreover, you wonder if anyone’s listening?” she signs off.