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Before and aftermath of Article 370: K.Shankar, Director of the film asserts-“The developments in and around Jammu and Kashmir state before the revoking of Article 370 and subsequently have been taken into consideration for making this film. Likewise, the dedication, commitment, and valor of the Indian Army in safeguarding the motherland and combating terrorist activities including those of the separatists are also dealt with in the film”.
Atrocities on Hindu Pundits: “The atrocities committed on the Hindu Pundits in the Himalayan region have also been taken into consideration while preparing the script with cinematic touches. I happened to visit Kashmir earlier but had never thought of coming with a film on the state. But after hearing about the incidents that took place there I was disturbed a lot. So, before the end of the first lockdown, I completed the script”, reveals K.Shankar.
No takers for the script: Although he went on knocking on the doors of the Producers’ holding his script there were no takers. Everyone patted saying that the script was very good but dodged themselves to commit while assuring of considering it later. K. Shankar agrees-“I knew what they all felt in their minds but none of them came forward to divulge the same”.
At last, found a Producer: However, says K.Shankar-“I happened to meet Ramesh, father of Parat Gowada, who eventually also happens to be my friend. He was of the firm opinion that the film can reach the audience only if the best actors can be roped in. He came forward to invest in the film after going through the script and thanks to him for reposing confidence with me relying on my script”.
Real-life incidents: He exclaims-“I have tried my best to give justice to my script as many real-life incidents have been incorporated into the film. The injustice, torture, and uncivilized behavior unleashed against the Kashmiri Pundits, several instances among the families of men in uniform along with facts and figures have been portrayed”.
Jayram Krishna offers help: Jayaram Krishna, who took part in the Kargil war during the tenure of AB Vajpayee, was quite resourceful in providing significant inputs related to militant activities and military operations across the borders. His leads on the conditions that prevailed during the wartime helped a lot to Director K.Shankar, in visualizing the flow of the script.
S Shivaram’s last picture: Dwelling with the star cast, he informs-“Shashikumar, Shruthi, late S.Shivaram, Padmashree Dr Doddarangegowda, Ganeshrao Kesarikar have been cast in the major roles. As I was particular to have Shruthi in the role of soldier’s wife, had to wait for more than four and a half months to coincide with her dates. In fact, it was the last film of S.Shivaram”.
Trouble from day one: In a way, it was no smooth sailing for the shooting schedules. The film has been shot in two schedules for 60 days while the first and last shots were at the same venue in Kashmir. On the very first day of the shooting schedule and for the very first shot itself, the crew faced rough weather from a handful of youths seeing the clapboard depicting Article 370. They even went to the extent of assaulting the Assistant Director and manhandling the Director. Thanks to the intervention of Jayaram Krishna and another serving military officer, the unfriendly situation changed for the better completely.
Film for all ages: K. Shankar signed off with hoping-“The film on patriotism has been made keeping people of all ages in mind. We are planning to release it on 08 December pan India and are eager to have the blessings of the movie buffs within the state and across the country”.
The tragic tale of Kashmiri Pundits: RK Mattoo, who hails from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, during the release of the film’s teaser narrated the harrowing tormentation undergone by fellow Kashmiri Pundits during the seventh exodus in 1990-“I am born and brought up in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. After the exodus of Pundits from Kashmir, for 32 years we have been staying in Bengaluru. I am the President of Kashmiri Hindu Samiti as well as the Chairman of Kashmiri Hindu Cultural Trust. At the outset, we are grateful to the people of Karnataka, as soon after the exodus of 1990 we landed in Bengaluru; the people treated us very well. To date, the weather is very good; people are very warm, political parties, governments irrespective of the parties, looked into our problems…
…Suffering for ages: The problem is we have been suffering for ages. In fact, this is our seventh exodus and before that six times, we have been thrown out by the foreign invaders, basically the Muslim invaders who came from Central Asia. I am a witness to it apart from having suffered…
…A separate constitution, flag: We were suffering because of Articles 370 and 35 A, introduced by our Central government. These articles became a barrier in the way of Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of the country. We had our own separate constitution, flag, and our own everything. Nothing which was applicable in the rest of India was applicable in J & K. There were attempts by Pakistan and our enemies to convert J&K into a Muslim-dominated state so that it can accede to Pakistan as an Islamic state…
…Pundits were only Nine percent: At the time of partition, Kashmiri Pundits were Nine percent in numbers and subsequently reduced to Four percent and 2.1 percent in 1990 when the final blow was put on us. They thought that Kashmir will be liberated as Pundits who held the national flag high are on the verge of elimination from the valley…
…850 Pundits butchered: Finally, they started killing us. Selective killing started and 800-850 people including who’s who there or major people were killed. There were rapes, people were cut into pieces and finally we had no other go but to leave the place. We left everything behind and ran for our lives. We are displaced people who left our jobs, property and everything behind to survive. We thought it would soon last but has continued for 32 years…
…Murderers roaming free: The paradoxical thing is that the people who killed us are roaming free on the streets of Kashmir. So, in the last 32 years, not a single person was prosecuted. Why he was not prosecuted because we were not there to file a complaint or testify. When they started the case, they said there are no witnesses and the person who has lodged a complaint is not available. So they closed all the cases, and the culprits are still wandering free”, he lamented.
-Manohar Yadavatti
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