'The Kashmir Files' actor Darshan Kumar slipped into depression while playing the role of 'Krishna Pandit'

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Bollywood actor Darshan Kumar is known for films like NH10, Sarbjit, Mary Kom and The Family Man series. He did some fantastic roles in the past and the latest in Vivek Agnihotri’s film The Kashmir Files. In the film, he played the role of a conflicted Kashmiri youth named Krishna Pandit, trying to discover the reality behind his parent and brother’s deaths. 

In an interview, Darshan Kumar talked about how his role in the film 'The Kashmir Files' was the most challenging role of his career. The actor revealed that he almost went into depression while shooting for the film.

The film features Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumaar, Pallavi Joshi and Chinmay Mandlekar. Directed by Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri's ‘The Kashmir Files’ is based on brutal and barbarian killings and rapes of innocent people based on extreme religious terrorism.

According to social media reviews, the video is heartbreaking to see. It tells the narrative of Kashmiri Pandits who were slaughtered and forced to flee their homeland by Islamic extremists.

The film was made based on video interviews of the first generation victims of the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990. With the data in hand, the filmmaker prepared to face the consequences, but he remains open to the citizen's point of view. 

“I had to live every incident that happened with Krishna Pandit and his family. It was very painful. I almost slipped into depression. I was always low. I tried to be in character all the time, even when I was at the hotel and resting. I had not had a proper sleep any night while I was shooting for this movie. After completing the film, I had to do meditation for three weeks because I wanted to come out of that. So, it took a toll on me. But I think all of it has now paid off with the audience giving standing ovations to the film nationwide," Darshan adds. 

Darshan also remembers the day when Vivek Agnihotri narrated the script of The Kashmir Files to him. “I remember I got a call from casting director Taran Bajaj who said Vivek sir is very interested in casting you in his film. Then I met Pallavi ma’am at her office, and she showed me the videos of real victims. They had travelled the world and recorded the first-hand accounts of the victims whose mothers got raped or whose family members were killed brutally. It shook me inside out. I couldn’t utter a single word after watching those videos."

Darshan also said, “Later, they (Vivek and Pallavi) gave me the script and while reading it, I could feel the same pain that I saw in those videos because Vivek sir showed all those incidents so incredibly in the script that I was spellbound. Whatever we are showing in the film is all in the public domain, and I feel so guilty not understanding it. We only knew that Kashmiri Pandits left the houses in  Kashmir because they were uncomfortable staying there. We didn’t know the reality. This film is showing the reality and that’s why we have been getting such an amazing response."