On "#TheKashmirFiles" (1).

Adapted from a Facebook post.

Before and after the amendments to Article 370, I did a fair bit of reading on Kashmir including documents on the portal Kashmir and books by Shri Jagmohan, AG Noorani and Rahul Pandita. So in that sense I "knew".

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 the sheer power of the cinematic medium to give expression to facts, it has to be #TheKashmirFiles.

The confidence of the makers of the 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 up to it. That shows their faith in their research.

The use of Kashmir's cold to convey a constant sense of foreboding showcases the maker's brilliance. The movie's impact would have been incomplete and not as effective without the background and not as effective without the background score of Rohit Sharma. Clearly, everyone associated with the project understood their responsibility.

Coming to the structure of the movie, Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri's decision to opt for a non-linear style of narration where the story moves constantly between the past and the present couldn't have been more effective to showcase the "continuing' nature of the genocide through its denial.

The way the movie brings together Kashmir, student politics, education, Marxist negation of documented facts and its extra-warm relations with Islamists is a testament to the work Vivek Agnihotri has put in over the years. In that sense, this movie is the culmination of his previous efforts.

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.

The absolute need for memorialisation of history is brilliantly captured in the scenes between Anupam Kher and his grandson played by Darshan Kumar. Failureto memorialise leads to movement away from the roots and denial of the lived experience, reinforcing the importance of history education.

The naming of the characters from Pushkar Nath Pandit to Sharda Pandit to Bitta and Radhika Menon anduse of these fused characters to represent multiple real personalities is a testament to Team Vivek Agnihotri's deep emotional and intellectual investment in the movie.

The movie is not a mere collage of known events. Even that would have been an achievement given of the current state of Bollywood. But the movie goes much beyond that and invests in multiple layers in every scene, from faith to loss of home to hope to realisation of apathy and finally the denial.

The only way Vivek Agnihotri could have 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.

If watching the movie has such a deep impact, I can't imagine what making it and playing the characters would have 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. And I certainly can't imagine what the victims of the genocide went through.

There were portions of the movie to which my entire being reacted despite all the training I have put myself through over the years to restrain and hold back my emotions as a person and as a lawyer. Some dear friends have often called me a robot, but this movie shattered the robotic barrier.

This movie is as real and as authentic as it gets and I think deep gratitude and congratulations are in order for the super talented cast of the movie. On this front, one has to start with Anupam Kher for being, not playing, Pushkar Nath Pandit.

This has to count as Anupam Kher's finest work ever. Even if he manages to do a betterjob in any other movie, which I doubt is possible, nothing is ever going to come close to this role. It seems as if his life journey prepared him for this job.

For once, I don't have the words to capture the layers and nuances of Anupam Kher's performance except to say that his character spoke to me like an elder from my own family. He has channeled his heritage and the pain of his people, our people, through his performance. To me, his Karmic account has been settled.

Next is the performance by Bhasha Sumbli. Aptly named Sharda in the movie, she represents not just the trauma suffered by the women of the Kashmiri Pandit community but the genocide of all that Sharda stands for - spirituality, knowledge, family, language, script - civilisation.

.........to be continued.

Tailpiece.

The 19th Remembrance Day of our pet Dobermann, Bruno. He had passed into the mist of time around a quarter past 6 in the morning on this day, 19 years back while we were staying at 9/97, Arjan Vihar, Delhi Cantt. Our maid confirms that his grave has a natural canopy with abundant flowers behind block 9. Kittu's capers do remind us about him. 

Got up a trifle late at a half past 6. Went through the chores and the both of us were ready for the Rajah team that had come to collect Lekha's blood samples. The chores and was ready by a quarter to 10.

Latha had substituted for Suma, who'd to spend time with her sister-in-law at the hospital as her bystander.

Helped Lekha in watering the plants and washed down the Chevy.