The Kashmir Files: Anupam Kher, Vivek Agnihotri aren’t bothered about Bollywood’s silence; here is why

The Kashmir Files has certainly gone down as filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s best film so far. The hard-hitting movie shows the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in the valley that took place in the 1990s. The internet is full of rave reviews for the film from the audience and critics alike. Political leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appreciated the film. At the same time, there are tonnes of reaction videos of Kashmiri Pandits after they watched the film; videos that will certainly melt your heart. The film is all over the place and has become a point of discussion, once again highlighting the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits. However, despite the film’s huge success, very little appreciation has come for it from Bollywood.

The film industry which often cross-promotes films and puts out words of appreciation for actors and filmmakers after a film’s release has rather maintained a deadly silence since the release of The Kashmir Files. Only a number of people from the film fraternity have gone out supporting the film.

However, Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri and Anupam Kher have revealed that they are not bothered about Bollywood since the movie. The actor-director duo reportedly said that the movie is not about Bollywood, rather is about real people and their tragedy.

Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, recalling one dialogue of his actor wife Pallavi Joshi from the film – “Hukumat kisiki bhi ho, system toh humara hai” -- said that “the movie is based on a true incident”. “It is not about Bollywood but about real people and their tragedies, which is why people are talking,” said Agnihotri.

Similar sentiments were shared by Anupam Kher who portrays the lead character in this film. The Kashmir Files is a truly special film for him for he is also a Kashmiri Pandit. Speaking on Bollywood’s silence over the movie, the ace actor said that “it doesn't matter if someone comments on it or not”.

Meanwhile, celebrities such as Akshay Kumar, Yami Gautam filmmaker Aditya Dhar, Suniel Shetty and Ritesh Deshmukh have appreciated the film. In fact, the biggest appreciation came from Kangana Ranaut who praised Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri for The Kashmir Files saying that his film has washed all the sins of Bollywood.

The Kashmir Files has been made tax-free in at least eight Bharatiya Janata Party-led state governments, namely – Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Tripura, Goa and Uttar Pradesh. In Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced a half-day leave for all government employees willing to watch the film.