ENTERTAINMENT
The Kashmir story retold
The release and successful run of Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider, the most controversial film of 2014, shows that like audiences, the political establishment can be tolerant, if it wants to be
Lada Guruden Singh

As Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider, one of filmmaker’s best works and certainly most political yet, gets ready for its international festival circuit tour having ended its run at the boxoffice in India, its peaceful release and screening across the country reiterates the fact that Indian DNA is largely accepting and tolerant. For a film that boldly spoke about the "chutzpah" of Kashmir— of it being caught between India and Pakistan and seeking ‘Azadi’, it was a miracle that the protests (and furious counter debates) largely limited themselves to social media and editorial columns.

Yes, there was much heartburn among some associations of Kashmiri Pandits for not according a voice to the plight of the displaced migrants, the fact is that the film is about a Muslim family, has a Muslim protagonist and was set in mid-1995, much after most Kashmiri Pandits were compelled to leave their motherland. The film’s run at the boxoffice, especially in the Delhi-East Punjab circuit, which should have been severely hit given the concentration of the Kashmiri community in the region, revealed that we may be waking up to the idea of treating art for what it is. Just.

Current and former armymen, too, displayed much restraint about the film and some came out to support it as well despite the fact that the Indian Army does come off poorly in the film. But in doing so, these Generals displayed a large heart! So, did Haider weaken the fact that Army was at the forefront of Kashmir floods? Did Delhi establishment fidget or worse the international community issue new statements about the suspected human rights violations in Kashmir? The answer is negative.

There are really no winners in the Kashmir’s story. Everyone has suffered — be it Hindus, Muslims, and even the Armymen, who guard and protect the country. Each side has a story to tell and each story is relevant, just as the story of Kashmir — the land — the barren witness to all that has gone wrong and become rotten about the state. Yet, a work of art must be appreciated or criticised for its creative value and nothing else.

Of course, we cannot separate art from his/her creator’s political thought as Vishal Bhardwaj put out in his one of his interviews that he cannot be anti-human but the freedom of expression allows us the right and immunity to create as we please. The Indian censor board saw the film in this light and allowed it to reach to the masses. Incidentally, Pakistan Censor Board didn’t. That should tell us about the stark difference between the authorities at the two ends. It’s not that Haider hasn’t been taken note of by the establishment. The babus must have given the film puts across views on Kashmir like no other but the best way to critique is not to protest but engage and it would be fair to suggest to those crying hoarse to come out with their stories on Kashmir and elsewhere.

Haider’s release is also a huge change from the times when just a mention of Mumbai as Bombay in Ayan Mukherjee’s Wake Up Sid had MNS up in arms or when Shiv Sena threatened the release of Karan Johar’s My Name is Khan because Shah Rukh was okay with the idea of Pakistani cricketers playing in the IPL.

While Haider’s critics suspect that the reason why protests didn’t spill to the streets is because the displaced Kashmiri Pandits do not have the voice of vote, and that could be partly true, the more appreciable aspect is that the film wasn’t pre-emptively banned.

With regards to this, Subhash Kapoor’s Jolly LLB that released last year to much critical and popular acclaim, faced a battery of lawsuits against it by lawyers in Meerut, Delhi, et al. Yet the cases were dismissed and one of the observations made by a judicial bench was: If you have issues with the film, don’t watch it!

This doesn’t mean there won’t be protests and death threats and all the drama that comes with any film based on certain aspects of religion, politics or history (Jodhaa Akbar is a fine example as it faced mighty protests in Rajasthan at the time of its release and still managed to run) but Haider’s release and successful run shows that like audiences, the political establishment can be tolerant, if it wants to be.

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