The exodus of Kashmiri Hindus in the early 90s is one of those incidents that continue to remain a blot on the history of independent India. This is one event that has not been discussed in many films or television. This year, however, there are two filmmakers who will bring this incident to the big screen with their respective films. While Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s ‘The Kashmir Files’ is slated for an August release this year, Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s ‘Shikara: The Untold Story Of Kashmiri Pandits’ will hit the screens on 7 February, 2020.
The 2:34 minutes gives a good glimpse into the kind of narrative one can expect from the film. We see a young, happy couple dreaming of leading a blissful life together in the valley and then, we see lakhs of Hindus forced to leave the valley. The visuals make a solid impact and so does the background score (A. R. Rahman and Qutub – E – Kripa). This is not an easy subject to make a film on. The film is based on a very complex and sensitive issue and it would be interesting to see how a director of Chopra’s calibre has handled it. What is important to note here is that Vidhu is a Kashmiri Pandit himself.
Since ‘Parinda’, music has always been one of the highlights of the films directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The music (songs) of the film has been put together by Sandesh Shandilya and santoor player Abhay Sopori. The lyrics have been written by Irshad Kamil. The film and the soundtrack will be keenly awaited.