I cried after every scene was shot, not as an actor but as a Kashmiri Pandit: Anupam Kher

The truth is being finally told.

NewsBharati    23-Feb-2022 14:36:30 PM
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- Niharika Pole Sarwate 

Recently the trailer of “The Kashmir Files” came and shook our Nation from inside. One scene was framed in my mind where Anupam Kher cried his heart out. You just can not forget that. And those tears were real. Recently at Arth Festival, the entire team of The Kashmir Files came, and there, senior actor Anupam Kher, who played an important role in this film, shared his feelings and experience about the same. He said, “I cried after performing every scene of this film not as an actor but as a Kashmiri Pandit” you can sense that pain in his voice.


The Kashmir Files


In this film, Anupam Kher is playing the character of Pushkar Nath Pandit, And the coincidence is that Anupam Kher himself is a Kashmiri Pandit and his real father’s name is also Pushkar Nath. In this interview, he shared about his father. He said, “My father was the simplest Kashmiri Hindu. He represented the true Kashmiri pandit.”

I am not proud of the fact that this film is extremely near to reality :

About the 19 January Massacre and the film he said, “When I read the script of The Kashmir Files, I felt it is extremely near to the reality. And I am certainly not proud of the fact that it is near to the reality, I am sad that we took 32 years to talk about this reality.” 32 years is a long span. We see on mob lynching incidents like Akhlaq, the entire Bollywood industry came together, all talked about Asifa with holding placards in their hands but it took 32 years to talk about the reality of the biggest genocide “Kashmiri Pandit Massacre” Anupam Kher’s words are representing the feeling of all the Hindu’s and Pandit’s especially from the Kashmir who lost their everything in this genocide.



This is not just a film, this is the truth finally being told :

Whenever we talk about 19 January lot many things comes in front of my eyes. I cried as a Kashmiri Pandit after every scene was shot. After every scene, Vivek hugged me tight because he felt my pain. This is more than just a performance, this is more than just a film. This is a truth that is finally being told.

It was a conspiracy to not let this truth come forward :

When the anchor asked Mr. Anupam Kher why this truth never made the headlines as the other important incidents did, he replied- “ It is not because we did not use the weapons to fight. Because that is not in our DNA, It is we think that “Vidya” and “Shiksha” can solve the problems, but it did not make headlines, because it was a conspiracy to not let this truth come forward. The supreme court, which tackles the small issues with deep intensity, even did not support the investigation of this genocide, which is sad. We all are responsible for this, the government, the journalists, and the public. We all should feel guilty and ashamed for the same.



The problem is, you are told that you are a “Hindutwavadi” and that stops you from making your point loud and clear:

“The problem is whenever anybody raised their point about this issue, or they made their statements they have been told that you belong to a certain category, you are a Hindutwavadi and that’s why you aren’t allowed to make your point loud and clear. And will make you feel like, No I believe in all religions, I am not the extremist and I shouldn’t talk about it. The truth has been hidden from you for ages and we tried to burst that brutal truth with utmost honesty.” He said.

Being a Kashmiri Pandit himself, and seeing his family, his uncle losing everything in this genocide Anupam Kher’s words felt like a sword. It was coming straight from the heart. Watch the entire video here.

As he rightly said the TRUTH is finally being told. And we will witness it on the 11th of March 2022. Let’s wait and hope for the best.

- Niharika Pole Sarwate 
The Kashmir Files Kashmir Vivek Agnihotri Kashmiri Pandit 19 January 1990 Kashmiri Pandit Genocide Anupam Kher Arth Festival