While the trailer for Oscar-nominated and two-time National Awardee filmmaker Ashvin Kumar's film No Fathers In Kashmir (NFIK) released today he told DNA he hoped the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) would finally clear his film which has been stuck since July last year. “My film has gone back and forth between the CBFC and the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) thrice. Everytime the FCAT orders the CBFC to issue me a certificate they seem to find new issues with the film to stall its clearing. I hope they neow adhere to the last order. I'm baffled a film about empathy, compassion and the human spirit is having to face this problem,” lamented Kumar.
NFIK is a tale of two teenagers in love as they try to uncover the secret behind the lost fathers of Kashmir. Speaking of about the long drawn struggle by NFIK to find release Veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt was livid as he spoke of “the strange times we live in.” Citing the terror attack in Christchurch, New Zealand where 50 people were killed in an attack put out live on social media he said: “Its quite an irony that when hateful narratives are given the bandwidth and space that a filmmaker who wants to give peace and love a chance by showing you the ugly face of hatred upfront is being sought to be silenced.”
Kumar also felt that mere chest thumping patriotism will not help resolve the Kashmir issue. “We need to find a human connect. When we come out of Kashmir there are any number of people who talk about its geo-strategic signifcance or beautiful tourist spots. But what about the people from that land. Why have we not been able to relate and talk to them people-to-people?” he pleaded.
Actor Soni Razdan who plays the mother of a disappeared son spoke of how she had read the script before she was cast. “I am half Kashmiri and have always loved reconnecting with my roots in the valley. So the moment Ashvin asked me, I said yes. We need more films in this genre which counter the politics of hate and exclusion by bringing out the common human factor across the polarisations.”
