Vidhu Vinod Chopra is widely regarded as one of the best filmmakers working in Hindi cinema today. ‘Sazaye Maut’, ‘Khamosh’, ‘Parinda’, ‘Eklavya The Royal Guard’ – Chopra has made a bunch of films which are considered to be classics and the kind which can be viewed time and again to revel in their brilliance. Despite the acclaim that has come his way all these years, he has not been able to deliver a commercially successful film as a director. He has tasted a lot of success as a producer (‘Munnabhai M.B.B.S’, ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’, ‘3 Idiots’ etc.) but commercial success has eluded him as a director. Will that change with his new directorial venture ‘Shikara: The Untold Story Of Kashmiri Pandits’?
The film, initially titled ‘Love Letters From Kashmir’, is based on the exodus of Hindus based in the valleys of Kashmir which took place in the 90s. The promos (two trailer and two teasers) were nicely cut and have a glimpse of what one could escape from the film. The two leads (newcomers Aadil Khan and Sadia) looks very promising too. The music (Sandesh Shandilya, Abhay Rustum Sopori) is melodious and in sync with the theme and milieu of the film.
Despite the artistic merits, there is hardly any buzz surrounding the film. A large section of the audience is not aware that the film is releasing in theatres this Friday. This will result in the film getting a below par opening and struggling to attract audience over the weekend. The opening could be less than one crore. The word-of-mouth needs to be extremely positive for the film to put up respectable numbers over the weekend.