It was in 1990 when Kashmiri Pandits turned refugees in their own country overnight. The story of ethnic cleansing and riots that took place in 1989 in Kashmir will be soon told on the big screen.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra upcoming film titled Shikara chronicles the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir on the night of Jan 19, 1990 through the story of Shiv Kumar Dhar (played by Aadil Khan) and Shanti Dhar (essayed by Sadia).
The film is based on true events and that the protagonist couple is somewhat a reflection of Chopra¡¯s own parents.
The film is indeed close to his heart as he had earlier said that Shikara is dedicated to his mother who couldn't return to her home in Mumbai.
Recently, at the Jaipur Literature Festival, when Vidhu Vinod Chopra was talking about his film that is all set to release on Feb 7, said that the Kashmiri Pandits deserve something similar to what is happening at Shaheen Bagh.?
¡°There needs to be a Shaheen Bagh for Pandits as well,¡± he was quoted as saying by The Quint.?
In a similar appeal, about a week ago, Kashmiri Pandits had urged Shaheen Bagh protestors to back them too.?
Kashmiri Pandits had stressed, according to IANS, that before voicing support for a community that is in majority in most of the countries covered under the CAA, the Shaheen Bagh protestors must come to aid for a community within India that has faced trouble for so long but lacked voices of support.?
Shaheen Bagh has become a hub of anti-CAA protest for over a month now, with protesters demanding repeal of the CAA for its alleged discrimination against a particular community.?
Meanwhile, the film is facing quite a lot of backlash on social media already. #BoycottShikara became a trend on social media after Vidhu Vinod Chopra gave an honest statement about how the film in a way, tells people that they need to move on 30 years after the exodus of Kashmiri pandits.?
Chopra had referred to the movie as a means of "healing" and "a fight between two friends." He emphasized that nearly half the crew that worked on the movie was the local Muslim population that was aware of the subject.?People on social media think that he was trivializing the issue to promote his movie.?
Rahul Pandita, the writer of the story defended the film. He wrote on Twitter, "I am a Kashmiri Pandit who lost everything in 1990, while you were doing God knows what in Bombay. I am the writer of #shikara and I would not let anyone compromise on the Pandit story. I will not betray the memory of those who fell to the bullets of radical Islamists."
Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri who is shooting his own film The Kashmir Files on the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits also lashed out at Chopra.
"Vinod Chopra has made a love story. When you make a love story about genocide you are bound to be talking the language of the pacifist. That¡¯s his expertise. I have no comment on that. He has earlier made another love story 1942: A Love Story about love during times of a political crisis," he was quoted as saying.