Kashmiri Pandits recall horrors of the exodus in 1990
Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri's film "The Kashmir Files" has left the audience shaken after it showed the brutal reality of the exodus of the Kashmiri Hindus in 1990. The film is based on true events and stars a talented ensemble including Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumaar, Mithun Chakraborty and others. The story is based on video interviews of the first generation victims of the Genocide of the Kashmiri Pandit Community in 1990. While a lot has been said about the exodus of 1990, the true reality of the events has been brought to the 70mm screen for the first time with "The Kashmir Files".
Vivek Agnihotri tried his best to incorporate the plight of as many Kashmiri Hindus as he could in the film, however, there are still many who are waiting to be heard. In an exclusive interaction with India TV, Kashmiri Pandits recalled the horrors of the exodus in 1990.
An emotional Bansilal Ji recollected the morning of August 1990 when he found a letter written in Urdu at his door early in the morning. It read - Evacuate the house by this evening and run away and if you do not run, hand over your women to us or be the target of bullets. He revealed that he was terrified and went to the SHO for help. But he advised them to leave. He said, "We, along with a few other families, left for Jammu the next day. What we saw on the fourth-fifth day was horrifying. Our neighbours were shot brutally. We saw people getting shot with our own eyes."
Another Kashmiri Pandit, who was an on-site worker at a mine, revealed that people were brutally tortured and abused during the Kashmir Insurgency. He revealed that nails were engraved in Kashmiri Pandits' heads, eyes were removed from their sockets, skin was peeled, they were shot in front of their children and women were exploited shamelessly. He added that even the police was involved.
While there have been books written on the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus or people who have expressed grief about the same, this is the first time with "The Kashmir Files" that a film has been made showcasing the raw realities of that time. Kashmiri Pandits also believe that while the other side has been shown and heard many times, they have not been heard enough.
They claimed that they needed to be heard, they needed to share their side of the story so that the new India also knows what they went through and understand their horrors. In this, The Kashmir Files proved to be helpful.
Meanwhile, The Kashmir Files' was released on March 11 and stars actors Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumaar, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi. On the first day of its release, the film minted Rs. 3.55 crore. In just three days, the film has garnered Rs 27.15 Cr.
