Vivek Agnihotri says he had reservations about making The Kashmir Files- “If we fail, no one will ever attempt to make a film on this topic for the next 100 years”

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By Bollywood Hungama News Network -

March 18, 2022 - 7:30 PM IST

Vivek Agnihotri's directorial The Kashmir Files had released on March 11 on limited screens across India. The film which was made on a small budget also did not have massive promotions. However, the positive word-of-mouth publicity of the film attracted the audience to watch the film in theatres. Within a week of its release, the screen count for the film also increased by 8 times. The film has also collected nearly Rs. 100 crore in one week. The film that narrates the story of the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits during the Kashmir Insurgency stars Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, Darshan Kumaar, Pallavi Joshi, among others.

Vivek Agnihotri says he had reservations about making The Kashmir Files- “If we fail, no one will ever attempt to make a film on this topic for the next 100 years”

Recently, at a press conference celebrating the success of the film Vivek Agnihotri and his wife Pallavi Joshi who also portrayed a pivotal role in the film spoke about The Kashmir Files. Speaking about the journey of making the film, Vivek shared, “We had started work on the film much before the release of The Tashkent Files. I met a Kashmiri Pandit in the US who asked me ‘why don't you make a documentary on us?’ I thought that documentaries are hardly watched by people and secondly making a film on Kashmir is like putting your life at risk. So I asked him how do I go about it. So he said, ‘If you are saying this then there is no hope for us’. And when I was coming back from America, I thought about it and came back and spoke to my wife Pallavi. Pallavi's role in the film is huge. It is said that Shiv is incomplete without Shakti and that Shakti is consciousness. Shakti is not Goddess Durga here but consciousness.”

“So I told Pallavi, this path is filled with thorns, our lives will be at risk and our credibility will also be discredited. But the biggest issue I had was that if we fail in this, no one will ever attempt to make a film on this topic for the next 100 years. So a massive credit goes to Pallavi. Pallavi researched on the topic for 4 years and interviewed several people, understood their pain and struggle which I then translated into a script,” he added.

ALSO READ: Vivek Agnihotri on the success of The Kashmir Files- “If you have even a little respect for me, do not associate the success of the film with me”