It was quite difficult for Vidhu Vinod Chopra to write Shikara: The Untold Story Of Kashmiri Pandits. For first few years, he wasn't sure if he could make a film. It was painful because he was writing about the events that his mother had gone through.
It has been 11 years since Vidhu Vinod Chopra wants this story to be told. Finally, he is ready to narrate the story exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 via Shikara, which he says is his most ambitious project.
"I have done much work in all these years but this was perhaps my most challenging as I had to remain dispassionate as a moviemaker to depict the truth, and yet make a compelling argument that the only solution to such hatred is love That is at the centre of my movie. The love between Shiv Kumar Dhar and Shanti (the protagonists), Shanti is also my mother''s name by the way, is a binding factor which forces us to think beyond hatred," said Chopra.
When asked what took so long to make the film since it's been 30 years since he left Kashmir, the filmmaker replied:
"I started work on this post my mother''s demise in 2007. The Kashmiri Pandit exodus is a known issue but the complexities and the build-up of events that led to the driving away of the Kashmiri Pandits is not known. This movie required significant research so that we could tell an absorbing story which is fact based and helps in bringing this conversation to the fore."
The filmmaker who has donned the director's hat after a hiatus of 13 years, said that the process of writing the movie was not easy.
"The writing also took significant time as I had to sift through tons of documentation and video footage to bring reality to celluloid. This movie was difficult to write. I worked with Abhijat Joshi and Rahul Pandita for several years before I could bring it to life."
Hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, Vidhu Vinod Chopra wants peace to return to the valley, just as it was in his growing up years. The filmmaker urges youngsters specifically to watch the movie, because he feels they should learn about the valley's tense history, how Kashmir became what it is today. The movie is slated to release on Feb 7.