Movie Review
Film- Shikara
Directors-Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Genre- Drama/ Romance
Shikara is the story of a couple Shiv Kumar Dhar and Shanti. This is a story that captures their journey as lovers to that of a married couple for 30 years. It is a story that takes us to the Kashmir as it was in the year 1990 when the the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits took place. Aadil Khan and Sadia as the lead couple perform brilliantly as the couple who long to go back to their homeland.
The film ends with a scene where Shiv Kumar who has gone back to Kashmir and teaches the children there, is approached by a group of Muslim children at his house. They keep staring at him and when he asks them why they are staring, one of them, Salman, replies that they had never seen a Kashmiri Pandit before.This one line stays with us and we cant help feeling empathy for the Kashmiri Pandits who were displaced ruthlessly from their own homeland and nothing was done about it.
Another scene that stayed with me was the one where the couple attend a wedding of their Kashmiri Pandit relatives and they see how they the old traditional songs and dances have made way for the modern song and dance numbers. This takes Sadia back to memories of her wedding where the atmosphere was so different.The scene in a bus where some men ask Sadia to cover her head with a veil is also filled with fear. She removes the bindi on her forehead and alights from the bus to see that terrorists have shot down four policemen at the bus stand. There are many such poignant moments, specially ones at the refugee camp where they live in pitiable conditions and also when they return to their old house in Kashmir for a while. Even the scene when Shiv Dar's friend is shot is heart breaking.
Film- Shikara
Directors-Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Genre- Drama/ Romance
Shikara is the story of a couple Shiv Kumar Dhar and Shanti. This is a story that captures their journey as lovers to that of a married couple for 30 years. It is a story that takes us to the Kashmir as it was in the year 1990 when the the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits took place. Aadil Khan and Sadia as the lead couple perform brilliantly as the couple who long to go back to their homeland.
The film ends with a scene where Shiv Kumar who has gone back to Kashmir and teaches the children there, is approached by a group of Muslim children at his house. They keep staring at him and when he asks them why they are staring, one of them, Salman, replies that they had never seen a Kashmiri Pandit before.This one line stays with us and we cant help feeling empathy for the Kashmiri Pandits who were displaced ruthlessly from their own homeland and nothing was done about it.
Another scene that stayed with me was the one where the couple attend a wedding of their Kashmiri Pandit relatives and they see how they the old traditional songs and dances have made way for the modern song and dance numbers. This takes Sadia back to memories of her wedding where the atmosphere was so different.The scene in a bus where some men ask Sadia to cover her head with a veil is also filled with fear. She removes the bindi on her forehead and alights from the bus to see that terrorists have shot down four policemen at the bus stand. There are many such poignant moments, specially ones at the refugee camp where they live in pitiable conditions and also when they return to their old house in Kashmir for a while. Even the scene when Shiv Dar's friend is shot is heart breaking.
This movie was simply amazing. It's a heart wrenching tale about love and pain. The pain of the 400,000 Kashmiri Pandits who were thrown out of their own homeland is well depicted. It's the story that tells us how they became refugees in their own country. I could not stop my tears from flowing. This is a must watch for every Indian. We must realize the pain of our Kashmiri Pandits. We failed them as a country.
The story of two lovers in the times of terror in the valley has been beautifully portrayed. The anguish of the Pandits is heart breaking. All the songs are melodious with soft, soothing music. The lyrics and poetry is soulful. Not a single recognizable face in the characters, yet each one portrayed their role brilliantly. The lead pair especially, completely floored me with their range of emotions.
They love song of Kashmir shown towards the end of the film takes us to the present day Kashmir where we can see the houses of the Kashmiri Pandits lying abandoned and in ruins.They are still waiting for their rightful owners.It is saddening to revisit the Kashmir that I visited about ten years ago. Even then, I was pained to see the situation.This movie has a personal connect with the Director Vidhu Vinod Chopra as his family was also one among the thousands who were thrown out due to the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley in the year 1990.
Please watch this movie and encourage others too to watch it. It is not entertaining but it is an eye opener. We should feel empathy for what they had to go through. I am sure this movie does not portray the many hardships they had to go through as refugees longing to be in their own homes once again. We did not do any thing for them then. The Government failed them. We did not make any uproar to give them back their rightful place in Kashmir back. We failed them. They are still waiting to go back home, their home in Kashmir. Hopefully the time will come when the Kashmiri Pandits can go back to their land, Kashmir which is, was and always will be a part of India.
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