The Kashmir Files

I watched The Kashmir Files last weekend. I honestly can't say I've ever watched a movie that was so emotionally grueling. Sadness, guilt, and anger all went through my mind. I could not move after the movie finished, and the general eerie silence of the other audience was notable. Despite knowing a little about the killings, torture, and rape faced by the Kashmiri Hindus, I was not prepared for how vividly the movie depicts the events. This is despite the director, Vivek Agnihothri, toning down the scale and brutality of violence out of deference and respect for the victims. As the movie emphasizes, it was not just an exodus but a genocide...a genocide that the political dispensation preceding the events did nothing to prevent while successive dispensations after denied the victims their #RightToJustice.

I believe he deserves massive support, for painstakingly interviewing hundreds of Kashmiri Hindu families and fully utilizing the reach of the visual medium, to factually show a largely aloof audience the genocide committed against the victims. It's sad that the usual suspects (leftist academics, closet Islamists, Bollywood establishment, etc.) tried to run a full-throttle campaign to discredit the movie and continue to victim shame. Genocide denial is a crime in many countries, but sadly not in India. However, the commercial success of this movie is a silver lining in my opinion. It may be a turning point for Hindu society showing that they are ready to accept long suppressed truths. This movie may also serve as an inspiration for other budding film makers to make movies on unpleasant eras of Indian history that the "establishment" do not find acceptable or politically correct enough. Please, watch #TheKashmirFiles and take your friends/family with you. I also recommend you all read this review of the movie and the events contained therein. https://www.news18.com/news/opinion/the-kashmir-files-has-left-genocide-deniers-nowhere-to-run-and-hide-4876286.html