After Article 370 Abrogation, Now The Lockdown Has Left The Artists Of Kashmir Out Of Jobs

Eleven months have passed since the abrogation of Article 370, the 55-year-old Kashmiri theatre artist Bashir Ahmad Lone has not earned a single penny since August 5 last year.

¡°It has been a pathetic condition for the artist community in the valley. Nobody has been given any work since then,¡± says Lone, who acted in Bollywood films like Haider, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, and Kesari.

Not feeling safe after seeing the artist situation in the valley, Lone says he is a tailor as well. ¡°I stitch the clothes of my clients these days to earn my livelihood, otherwise I along with family would have come on the road,¡± added Lone, who hails from a remote village of Dooru Shahabad in South Kashmir¡¯s Anantnag district.

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He says since August 5 last year, no film units have visited Kashmir. ¡°Those who had planned to shoot here cancelled it fearing the political uncertainty and unrest,¡± said Lone. He was finalized for four projects that were to be shot in different locales of Kashmir.

He said, ¡°I have no other option but to join back the tailoring work as it was tough to feed my family¡±.

Lone has three children and a wife at home. ¡°Both my sons are well-educated but jobless. I am the only breadwinner in the family,¡± he said.

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The 46-year-old actor Ashraf Nagoo said after stripping of Article 370 in the valley, the government turned a blind eye towards the plights of artists. ¡°We are living on almighty¡¯s mercy and no one is paying any attention towards our sufferings,¡± says Nagoo who worked in Bollywood film Idgah opposite Shabana Azmi and web series Siyaasat.

¡°Government must understand how important artists are to Kashmir. They represent its culture, tradition, and language but they have been neglected completely,¡± says Mir Aijaz Ahmad, a theatre actor since 1985, who acted in Bollywood film Saat Khoon Maaf.

Defunct Doordarshan adds more worries

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Hassan Javaid, a veteran actor said that many artists in Kashmir have been suffering since 2010, when local Doordarshan channel shut its doors for them. ¡°They didn¡¯t give us work afterward for which it has been primarily set by the government. They owe our dues worth crores of rupees and not clearing it despite repeated reminders,¡± he said.

Narrating more distressing experience that he has come across, the 65-year-old writer Sheikh Mohd Hanief said he wrote twenty-six episodes of a Kashmiri serial for Doordarshan. ¡°But till date none of them have been shot. It is a mockery of a writer¡¯s talent,¡± he said.

Gulzar Ahmad Ganai, valley¡¯s renowned folk music artist said, ¡°The condition of the artists is so bad that many of them are selling the ornaments of their wives to feed their families¡±.

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¡°We took the matter with J&K government and met several officials from the ministry of culture who assured all help but to date, nothing has been done. If the situation continues to be the same, we will hold a protest against the government,¡± says Gulzar Ahmad Bhat, Chairman All J&K Folk Association.

The young Kashmiri singer Mehmeet Syed pitches hope on government. ¡°Only they can help the ailing artists' community to revive back,¡± she said.

Mushtaaque Ali Ahmad Khan, a local filmmaker, said the artists were being exploited in the valley. ¡°The shooting of Bollywood films has not been much beneficial for artists in Kashmir. They have the entire main artist from Mumbai and the junior artists in valley are taken just to fill the screen space for which they paid between Rs 1,000 to 5,000 per day,¡± he said.

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Rakesh Kumar, Deputy Secretary to the Department of Culture J&K said that they have already received a representation from the artist community in Kashmir. ¡°It is under consideration and we will soon forward it to the higher authorities who will take a call on it,¡± he said.

Bollywood¡¯s post-August plans in Kashmir

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Several top actors including Sanjay Dutt, Alia Bhatt, and Sidharth Malhotra were scheduled to shoot in Kashmir for their upcoming projects after August 5 last year but the abrogation of Article 370 has put Bollywood¡¯s plans to shoot in Kashmir on hold. ¡°The recce for the films was also done and everything was scheduled,¡± said Khawar Jamsheed, line producer for the Bollywood films in Kashmir.

Mohd Abdullah of Hami Asto Productions said, ¡°Two to three Bollywood films and one Telugu movie were slated to arrive in August but later the situation led to all the cancellations¡±.

The fate of the artists of the valley lies in a dark tunnel with no light towards the end of it for now.