Vinod Chopra Heckled & Challenged By Kashmiri Pandit Woman

Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s  Shikara which recreates  the horrific exodus  of Kashmiri Pandits  from their homes  in 1990, has raised the  hackles  of many from the community who  feel betrayed by the  soft stance Chopra has  chosen to take  in his  film.

In a video that has gone  viral, a Kasmiri Hindu woman, identified as Divya Razdan  can be seen breaking down after the screening of Shikara, accusing the  director on camera of  commercializing the pain and  anger  of  the Kashmiri Pandits who  according to her, suffered unbearable  pain .

“Ye aapka commercialism aapko mubarakh ho (to hell  with  your commercialism).As a KashmiriPandit, I disown your film, I disown it,” the woman is seen screaming at  the filmmaker  who responds feebly and  unconvincingly.

If the  truth be told, many Kashmiri Pandits feel Vinod Chopra has severely toned-down the genocide  the community suffered  in 30  years  ago  for the sake  of a universally palatable cinematic narrative.

Members  of the film fraternity who are closely  attached to  Kashmir and have  been witness to  the rise of militancy and bloodshed  in  the Valley secretly feel Vinod Chopra has sold out the community  for  the sake  of  a boxoffice  success.

“He probably wanted to keep it  nice clean and wholesome to ensure success. He hasn’t had a  hit as a director for a  very long time. His last directorial was Eklavya, and that came 13 years ago. I can understand  his need  to  make  a hit film. But the  genocide of Kashmiri Pandits is not a subject open to such compromises. You can’t make a film about  the Nazi  holocaust and ask audiences  to forgive Hitler.Some  wounds are beyond healing. What  happened to  KashmiriHindus is  one those pains that no amount of time passage can remedy. Vinod can forgive and move on. We can’t,” says a  prominent  member  of  the Kashmiri Pandit from Bollywood.
Filmmaker and the  entertainment  industry’s spokesperson Ashoke Pandit feels Vinod  Chopra’s message of  peace to be ill-placed. “Kashmiri Pandit filmmaker  and industry spokesperson  Ashoke Pandit says, “The genocide and ethnic cleansing  of Kashmiri Hindus can never be forgotten by them. It’s one of the biggest human tragedies of the world. This tragedy cannot be compared to a fight between two friends.This shows the immaturity of a filmmaker while addressing such an important issue.We are hurt and the pain of being rootless still continues . I can understand the pressures of pseudo-liberals around him. The truth cannot be hidden.”