Directed and Produced by: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Starring: Aadil Khan, Sadia
Running Time: 120 minutes
Genre: Drama, History, Romance
5.5
/10
Shikara is
the story of more than 400,000 Kashmiri Pandits who were forced to flee out of the Kashmir
Valley in January 1990. It's one of the largest exoduses in human history. It's been around 30 years and yet they are
unable to return to their homes and are living in refugee camps.
The actual objective
of the film is to portray the pain of Kashmiri Pandits but what actually the
film offers is a love story of a couple (Kashmiri Pandit). The film focuses on this
couple's journey from 1987-2018.
The first
half of the film introduces us to our lead actors, the wonders and beauty of Kashmir
Valley and Kashmiri Culture. We witness the traditional Kashmiri style wedding
with local musical instruments and dance. Director beautifully crafted the couple's
relationship and love. The second half covers the forceful migration and life
of Kashmiri Pandits in refugee camps.
The movie
is so invested in showing the love story that it almost deviates from reality. I know the director didn't want to spread hatred and hence have shown the only nominal amount of violence. I agree, by showing violence, the situation is
not going to change, it will become worse. The film gives a message of
communal harmony but for this, it chooses to escape from reality and never
dare to show the real horrors of the exodus.
But a film,
which is specifically about the subject, needs to tell us a little more of what
caused the harmony to turn into so much hatred? Even film does not dare to tell
the actual culprits who were responsible for all the religious tension. The
film tries to avoid mention of political involvement which dominates the valley
even today. We see a scene of Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto raising
slogans and provoking Muslims on TV, but nothing goes deeper.
For both
the lead actors, it's their debut film and they have delivered a mind-blowing
pitch-perfect performance. We fall in love with them. They have sparking chemistry.
Cinematography and Costume design is
fabulous. Songs are not memorable but support the plot. The camera work is commendable.
Today everyone
in the world is talking about the Kashmir in a way that they care so much for the
people but no one dared to say a single word when in 1990, hundreds of thousands
of Kashmiri Pandits were killed brutally. It is a historically established fact
that the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits was a communal act. Does this film support
that fact? Not directly at least. If you want to witness a beautiful unconditional
love which becomes more and more strong as the years pass, this movie is for
you. If you want to feel the pain of all those people and want to know the
reality of the situation in and after 1990, there is nothing for you in this
movie. The movie is too far from reality.
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