‘SHIKARA IS A MOVEMENT’
Kashmir has always been an emotive issue, and the ordeal of Kashmiri Pandits perhaps even more so. Vidhu Vinod Chopra, though, has never shied away from that which is difficult. The director, a Kashmiri Pandit himself, is now releasing Shikara, a film that highlights his community’s suffering. He hopes it will engineer awareness, but also a physical return for Pandits. Excerpts from an interview:
Q. You’ve said you have wanted to make this film since the 1990s. What took you so many years?
I was writing, researching, talking to people and identifying actors, trying to create an authentic story that would help me dispassionately tell the truth behind the Kashmiri Pandit issue. For me, this is not just a movie. It is a movement of sorts—to make the nation realise the trauma this community experienced and the sheer helplessness with which they were packed off to various refugee camps across the country.
Q. With Lage Raho Munna Bhai, you brought Gandhigiri into mainstream pop culture. Do you think Shikara could do the same for Kashmiri Pandits?
We feel confident that Shikara will present the most authentic narrative on the Kashmiri Pandit exodus, accurately depicting what led to this black spot on our country’s history. When people see this movie, they will be able to empathise and I am certain that it will also wake up the establishment to pursue the cause of ensuring that the Kashmiri Pandit community returns to its rightful motherland.
Q. Why the love story at the centre of it all?
The central message of the film is that when hate is all that’s left, love is the only weapon.
Q. What was it like shooting with 4,000 Kashmiri Pandits who were reliving their moment of exile?
I feel extremely blessed that I had the support of 4,000 Kashmiri Pandits. They did the film because they wanted someone to tell their story to the world. I relished every moment I spent with them. We ate Kashmiri food, spoke Kashmiri, recollected glorious moments of a once harmonious Kashmir and took a collective promise that we will return. Through Shikara, I bring their voices to the nation with only one intent—that we have to go back to our homeland.
Q. Are there any films or books that served as a creative inspiration for you to tell this particular story?
Yes, Gone with the Wind and Doctor Zhivago. These two films depicted timeless love in the worst of times. So does Shikara. ■