1. This is my promised thread on @vivekagnihotri ji's #TheKashmirFiles. Before & after d amendments to Article 370,I did a fair bit of reading on Kashmir including documents on the portal iKashmir, and books by Shri Jagmohan and @rahulpandita. So in that sense I "knew".
2. But nothing, I repeat nothing, could have prepared me for the visceral impact of #TheKashmirFiles. As a hardcore movie buff, if there is a movie in my memory that captures d sheer power of d cinematic medium to give expression to facts, it has to be #TheKashmirFiles.
3. The confidence of the makers of this movie is evident right from the word go. As opposed to the usual escapist and evasive disclaimers, this movie's disclaimer does not distance the makers from the movie. Instead,they own upto it.That shows how their faith in their research.
4. The use of Kashmir's cold to convey a constant sense of foreboding showcases d maker's brilliance.The movie's impact wuda been incomplete & not as effective without d background score of Rohit Sharma.Clearly,everyone associated with the project understood their responsibility.
5. Coming to the structure of d movie,@vivekagnihotri ji's decision to opt for a non-linear style of narration where d story movies constantly between the past & the present couldn't have been more effective to showcase the *continuing* nature of the genocide through its denial.
6.The way d movie brings together Kashmir,student politics,education,Marxist negation of documented facts & its extra-warm relations wid Islamists is a testament to the work @vivekagnihotri has put in over d years. In that sense,this movie is culmination of his previous efforts.
Correction in Tweet 5- *story moves
7. Now to the characters. Every character represents a certain generation of Kashmir and their respective vantage points. Effectively three generations have been captured in the movie, telling us that three generations of Kashmiri Pandits have suffered in *independent* Bharat.
8.The absolute need for memorialisation of history is brilliantly captured in d scenes between @AnupamPKher & his grandson played by @DarshanKumaar.Failure to memorialise leads to movement away from d roots & *denial* of d lived experience,reinforcing d importance of history edu.
9. The naming of the characters, from Pushkar Nath Pandit to Sharda Pandit to Bitta and Radhika Menon, and the use of these fused characters to represent multiple real personalities is a testament to Team @vivekagnihotri's deep emotional and intellectual investment in the movie.
10.The movie is not a mere collage of known events. Even that wuda been an achievement given d current state of Bollywood.But d movie goes much beyond that & invests in multiple layers in every scene,from faith to loss of home to hope to realisation of apathy & finally d denial.
11. The only way @vivekagnihotri cuda given effect to his vision was through a cast that lived the characters of the movie with the knowledge that this was history being depicted. I think everyone who was part of this movie consciously embraced the trauma and chose to channel it.
12. If watching d movie has such a deep impact, I can't begin to imagine what making it & playing d characters wuda done to those involved. Either they have allowed the experience to do its job whatever the consequence, or they would have had to practice detached attachment.
13.There were portions of d movie to which my entire being reacted despite all d training I have put myself thru over d years to restrain & hold back my emotions as a person & as a lawyer.Some dear friends have often called me a *robot*,but this movie shattered d robotic barrier.
14. This movie is as real and as authentic as it gets & I think deep gratitude are in order for d super talented cast of the movie. On this front, one *has* to start with @AnupamPKher ji. Sir, please accept my pranams and dhanyawaad for being, not playing, Pushkar Nath Pandit.
15.This *has* to count as @AnupamPKher ji's finest work ever.Even if he manages to do a better job in any other movie,which I doubt is possible,nothing is ever going to come close to this role.He was born for this role. It seems as if his life journey prepared him for this role.
16.For once,I don't have d words to capture @AnupamPKher ji's performance except to say tht his character spoke to me like an elder from my own family.He has channeled his heritage & d pain of his ppl,*our ppl*,thru this performance. To me,his Karmic account has been settled.
17. Next is the performance by @bhashasumbli ji. Aptly named *Sharda* in the movie, she represents not just d trauma suffered by d women of d Kashmiri Pandit community, but d genocide of all that Sharda stands for - spirituality,knowledge,family,language, script- Civilisation.
18. From being forced to eat rice soaked in d blood of her husband to the prescient passing image of the *saw mill* when she drops her son Shiva at the school, you know all thru the movie what she is going to be put thru & U brace yourself for it.And even that doesn't prepare U.
19. The literal and metaphorical vivisection of a society that worships Ma Sharda couldn't have been depicted better and it stays with you. It stays as it must. Take a bow @bhashasumbli ji 🙏🏾
20. @mithunda_off da's understated performance as a helpless bureaucrat who tries, in vain, to warn the apathetic dispensation at the Centre and the genocidal dispensation in the State showcases his depth as a performer. Truly this actor is giving his best in his second innings.
21. Apart from *mainstream* commercial cinema, I have watched @mithunda_off's performance as Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and as the Goenka-esque editor in Guru. But his role as Brahma Dutt in #TheKashmirFiles is truly a stand out performance.
22. Pallavi Joshi's performance as Prof. Radhika Menon is an amalgamation of multiple usual suspects from the Marxist establishment.The performance was so effective that most people found it difficult to unsee d vile Radhika Menon after d special screening. What more can one say!
23. @DarshanKumaar's speech at d Delhi-based Marxist college campus captures his transformation from denial to acceptance of d truth & his decision to become its vocal ambassador.That speech is his standout moment. May his role inspire real-life transformations on campuses!
24. Chinmay Mandlekar delivers a chilling performance as Bitta. From being a ruthless terrorist to the *Kashmiri Gandhi* who wants peace and justice, Mandlekar does complete justice to the reptilian nature of this character.
25. As for the rest of the cast, Puneet Issar, Prakash Belawadi and others provide the perfect supporting foil through their representation of the role of the State establishment and media during the *genocide*, not exodus, of Kashmiri Pandits.
26. What's poignant throughout the movie is that d characters keep chanting Om Namah Shivay, even when their end is near. The punarsthapana of the Shiva Linga by the third generation of Pandits after the amendment to Article 370 represents Civilisational hope and resurgence.
27. Going by the reactions to the movie from movie goers across the country, the movie has stupendously done what it presumably intended to- Inform Bharat of the Kashmiri Pandit experience and awaken it to its implications for the rest of the Bharatiya Civilisation.
28. The makers of the movie have done their job putting their reputations, careers and lives on the line. It is now for us to do ours and vocally support this movie and similar efforts.Resist efforts to blockade this movie. We have a right to know d truth and this is inalienable.
29. This generation finally has the good fortune of seeing this Civilisation's history being captured on the big screen by gutsy and brilliant film makers such as @vivekagnihotri. It's time to push the Overton Window further in favour of Dharma and Desha.
30. If you believe that you don't have the guts to watch this movie,effectively you have lost the right to opine on this Civilisation.If you can't even watch,you can't be expected to stand up for the Civilisation when the time comes. So grow a spine, watch, internalise & channel.
31. Kashmiri Pandits deserve to have our attention, finally. This was long due. We owe it to them and the land of Rishi Kashyapa, Adi Shankara and all our spiritual giants and heroes to watch this movie and spread the word.Let this movie start discussions,conversations & debates.
32. To quote my friend @UnSubtleDesi, if at all there was any flagging of focus and commitment to the cause of this Civilisation, this movie has served as the perfect "top-up" for me at the right time. Thank you Team @vivekagnihotri. Om Namah Shivay. Vande Mataram. Over and out.
33. Correction in Tweet 14 - *deep gratitude and congratulations are in order
34. P. S. - just one criticism or suggestion for @vivekagnihotri ji to consider. This movie shouldn't have had an intermission. No pop corn breaks for this one. I genuinely didn't want to see ppl having pop corn at this movie. But that's just my opinion.
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