Why is #BoycottShikara trending on Twitter?

[Rahul5362]

By FPJ Web Desk

Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Shikara chronicles the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in the '90s through the fictional story of Shiv Kumar Dhar and his wife Shanti

Another film, another call for boycott. The latest movie to become a topic of discussion is the Vidhu Vinod Chopra movie ‘Shikara’, which had been described as 'A love letter from Kashmir'.

The movie in question talks about the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits before the turn of the century and draws inspiration from Rahul Pandita's book, 'Our Moon Has Blood Clots'.

For the uninitiated, Rahul Pandita is one of the most well-known faces in journalism whose career has seen him report on Kashmir and Naxalism – two of India’s most talked about issues.

Some people have criticised the movie of downplaying the role of Islamic terrorism and whitewashing the issue. Others have pointed out that it’s not a documentary but a movie.

The film, according to a tweet by Agnihotri, is slated for an Independence Day release. Agnihotri incidentally is known for box office duds like Chocolate, Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal and Buddha in a Traffic Jam, while Vidhu Vinod Chopra has seen hits like PK, the Munna Bhai series, Sanju and 3 Idiots.

It gets a tad bit more confusing however because Shikara is simultaneously being praised for "presenting the tragedy of Hindu Kashmiris" and criticised for "writing apologies for Islamists".

Incidentally, avant-garde director Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri is also making a movie on the "unreported story of the most tragic and gut-wrenching genocide of Kashmiri Hindus."

We live in a time where films, perhaps inadvertently at times, have become right and left wing, with different segments of society swearing allegiance to different movies. Take the Chhapaak and Tanhaji debacle, where two movies released on the same day, were boycotted and praised by segments of society and even made tax free in specific states.

It gets a tad bit more confusing however because Shikara is simultaneously being praised for "presenting the tragedy of Hindu Kashmiris" and criticised for "writing apologies for Islamists".

But perhaps, as Agnihotri added rather cryptically in another tweet, "Art, literature and cinema dies the moment you make it secular."

Even as many on social media praised 'Shikara', not all are happy.

The woman alleged that Chopra commercialised the entire issue of Kashmiri Pandit exodus of 1990s and did not portray the actual suffering of the community including the genocide, mass rapes and mass murders committed by Islamic radical groups in his film.

"Ye aapka commercialism aapko mubarakh ho (Congratulations on your commercialism) As a Kashmiri Pandit, I disown your film, I disown it," said the visibly distraught viewer.

Another film, another call for boycott. The latest movie to become a topic of discussion is the Vidhu Vinod Chopra movie ‘Shikara’, which had been described as 'A love letter from Kashmir'.

The movie in question talks about the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits before the turn of the century and draws inspiration from Rahul Pandita's book, 'Our Moon Has Blood Clots'.

For the uninitiated, Rahul Pandita is one of the most well-known faces in journalism whose career has seen him report on Kashmir and Naxalism – two of India’s most talked about issues.

Some people have criticised the movie of downplaying the role of Islamic terrorism and whitewashing the issue. Others have pointed out that it’s not a documentary but a movie.

The film, according to a tweet by Agnihotri, is slated for an Independence Day release. Agnihotri incidentally is known for box office duds like Chocolate, Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal and Buddha in a Traffic Jam, while Vidhu Vinod Chopra has seen hits like PK, the Munna Bhai series, Sanju and 3 Idiots.

It gets a tad bit more confusing however because Shikara is simultaneously being praised for "presenting the tragedy of Hindu Kashmiris" and criticised for "writing apologies for Islamists".

Incidentally, avant-garde director Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri is also making a movie on the "unreported story of the most tragic and gut-wrenching genocide of Kashmiri Hindus."

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After 'The Tashkent Files', Vivek Agnihotri’s next titled 'The Kashmir Files' starring Anupam Kher
We live in a time where films, perhaps inadvertently at times, have become right and left wing, with different segments of society swearing allegiance to different movies. Take the Chhapaak and Tanhaji debacle, where two movies released on the same day, were boycotted and praised by segments of society and even made tax free in specific states.

It gets a tad bit more confusing however because Shikara is simultaneously being praised for "presenting the tragedy of Hindu Kashmiris" and criticised for "writing apologies for Islamists".

But perhaps, as Agnihotri added rather cryptically in another tweet, "Art, literature and cinema dies the moment you make it secular."

Even as many on social media praised 'Shikara', not all are happy.


Gabbbar
@GabbbarSingh
Looks like Vidhu Vinod Chopra fucked up. Haven't seen such livid reaction from a movie viewer, clearly shows the pain they went through. #Shikara

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The woman alleged that Chopra commercialised the entire issue of Kashmiri Pandit exodus of 1990s and did not portray the actual suffering of the community including the genocide, mass rapes and mass murders committed by Islamic radical groups in his film.

"Ye aapka commercialism aapko mubarakh ho (Congratulations on your commercialism) As a Kashmiri Pandit, I disown your film, I disown it," said the visibly distraught viewer.

ALSO READ
Watch: Kashmiri Pandit woman breaks down after watching 'Shikara', lashes out at Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Watch: Kashmiri Pandit woman breaks down after watching 'Shikara', lashes out at Vidhu Vinod Chopra
She further alleged that Chopra polarised the sufferings faced by the community, to which Chopra replied that he will work on a sequel of the film for the woman.

Trying to calm the situation down, the director also said that "truth has two faces" and people have different perspectives on the same issues.

Not everyone however was convinced.

https://www.freepressjournal.in/indi...ing-on-twitter