Shikara (2020 film)
| Shikara | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Vidhu Vinod Chopra |
| Screenplay by | Vidhu Vinod Chopra Rahul Pandita Abhijat Joshi |
| Story by | Vidhu Vinod Chopra |
| Produced by | Vidhu Vinod Chopra |
| Starring | Aadil Khan Sadia Khateeb |
| Cinematography | Rangarajan Ramabadran |
| Edited by | Vidhu Vinod Chopra Shikhar Misra |
| Music by | Songs: Sandesh Shandilya Abhay Sopori Rohit Kulkarni Score: A. R. Rahman Qutub-E-Kripa |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Fox Star Studios |
Release date |
|
Running time | 120 minutes[2] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Box office | est. ₹8.15 crore[3] |
Shikara is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film produced and directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The film is based on the love story of a Kashmiri Pandit couple at the peak of insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir during the 1990s and the subsequent exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir Valley.[4][5][6] The film was released on 7 February 2020.[1]
Plot[edit]
 | This article needs an improved plot summary. (March 2021) |
The film is based on the kashmiri pandit exodus of 1990. The story revolved around the love story of Shanti (Sadia Khateeb[7]) and Shiv Dhar, who are Kashmiri Pandits in the backdrop of the Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir.[1] The book Our Moon Has Blood Clots by Rahul Pandita has inspired many parts of the movie.[8]
The movie starts with an aged Shiv writing a letter to the President of the United States of America (POTUS) explaining to him the situation of Kashmiri Pandits who are living like refugees in their own country. It turns out that he has written several letters since the year 1990. His most recent letter received a response from POTUS and inviting him over to a presidential suite in Delhi. He along with Shanti leaves for Delhi. In their palatial room they see a movie DVD - "love in kashmir". They recall how they had met in Kashmir. With the help of his friend Lateef Lone (an aspiring cricketer) proposes to Shanti and they get married in traditional kashmiri pandit wedding. They soon build a huge mansion with the help of Lateef's father. The entire community including Hindus and Muslims live together in Harmony. Lateef's father, a politician who is out for a rally is fatally injured. It is stated that the police attacked him on the behest of the current central government. (However, no where in the movie any evidence of this situation is presented). Lateef cannot bear the loss of his father and crosses the border to Lahore to get trained as a militant. This incident changes the peaceful valley. Shiv notices a lot of students from his class missing. Shanti is also made to cover her head and remove her bindi by a group of people during a bus ride. It is there she finds out that there are direct buses from Laal chowk to Islamabad and Lahore. She even witnesses a shoot out that kills 6 police officers trying to stop young men from boarding these buses to militancy. Shiv is kidnapped by a few of his missing students and taken to meet Lateef who is now leading a group of militants against the Kashmiri Pandits. He warns Shiv to leave the valley before it is too late and he is only doing so since they were friends in the past. Shiv still believes that the Kashimiri Pandits are safe and all these changes are temporary. However, he had misjudged the situation. A hit-list is released warning all Hindu Kashmiri Pandits to leave Kashmir valley in a month. Soon Kashimiri Pandit houses are burnt down. Shiv and Shanti, along with the rest of their family manage to escape to Jammu. The couple that once resided in a huge mansion is now reduced to living in tents. They see rich and affluent Kashmiri Pandits struggling to get something as simple as tomatoes. It is at this moment Shiv starts using a typewriter gifted to him by his cousin who is killed by militants to write letters to the POTUS (George Bush at that time). It is seen that over the years the refugees have started building a life for themselves. Shiv, who has completed his PHD chooses to continue living in refugee camps to teach refugee children. His wife is very supporting and despite PTSD they seem to settle in. One night, Shiv and Shanti are called upon by the Indian Army to meet with a now captured terrorist Lateef in Kashmir Valley. Shiv talks to Lateef, but Lateef dies soon after. Shiv and Shanti also visit their old home which has now been taken over by their once trusted neighbor. Shiv and Shanti are shocked to see how their neighbor, who they treated like family, has changed everything they had built together. Back in refugee towers, a small event of happiness comes their way. One of their neighbor's daughter is getting married. Shanti is overjoyed hoping to see a Kashimiri Pandit wedding. However, the wedding is nothing like what she imagined. There is a dj, bright lights, loud music etc. The despair of losing not just her home but also her culture is evident on her face and she soon collapses. It turns out that she is suffering from a neurological issue and needs surgery. It is before the surgery that the couple received a call from the POTUS and went to live in the presidential suite. It is then that Shiv reveals to Shanti that it was him who booked the hotel and the postman got confused by the term "presidential suite" assuming that the president had invited them over. It was their 30th wedding anniversary and he wanted to fulfill her long pending dream of seeing the Taj Mahal. Shanti asks him how he managed to pay for the suite which costs around 1.25 lakhs. Shiv tells her that he sold their house for her surgery and used some of the money to fulfill her dream. Shanti is dejected but doesn't say anything. Later Shiv takes her on a boat ride to Taj Mahal (just like their wedding night where he had taken her to Shikara). Shanti passes away in his arms on the boat.
Shiv takes Shanti's ashes to Kashmir like he had promised her and decides to stay in his parent's old house. He starts teaching young boys there hoping that they don't turn into terrorists like his best friend did.
Cast[edit]
- Aadil Khan as Shiv Kumar Dhar
- Sadia Khateeb as Shanti Dhar
- Zamir Ashai as Khursheed Hassan Lone
- Zain Khan Durrani as Lateef Lone
- Priyanshu Chatterjee as Naveen
- Vinay Raina as Shiv's Father
- Bhavana Chauhan as Arti
- Ashwin Dhar as Mohanlal
- Farid Azad Khan as Rehmana
- Saghar Sehrai as Haji Sahab
- Mushtaq Kak as Masood Sahab
- Anjana Sood as Shiv's mother
- Faiyaz Dilbar as Shanti's father
- Shahid Lateef as Yunus
- Ajay Kaul as Manoharlal Kaul
- Sandeep Verma as Registration Officer
- Rahul Kilam as Raina's Son
- Ravi Braroo as Raina Sahab
- Rahul Pandita (from jagti known as badshah bhai) as Direction director
Production[edit]
In March 2018, it was reported that a film was shot under the title "Love and Letters" in Kashmir by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. In an interview later, he mentioned that almost entirely film was shot in Kashmir. Initially in Summer, then in autumn and again in Winter. Only refugee camps were recreated in Mumbai and some sequences in Agra, but this part of story is brief. Shots in Kashmir included several places such as the Lalit Hotel in Srinagar, on shikaras in the middle of a lake, on the backwaters of the Dal, in a desolate Hindu house, near Hazratbal and many more.[9]
Some scenes were reported to be shot in Wandhama near Ganderbal, where one of the biggest massacre in the Valley, 23 Kashmiri Hindus — four children, nine women and ten men were massacred in 1998.[10]
Casting[edit]
Lead characters of Kashmiri birth, Aadil Khan and Sadia were cast to lend authenticity. Several Kashmiri Pandits were selected for principal cast. Also, to make refugee camps as similar as possible to the real ones 30 years ago (19 January 1990), actual refugees were cast. Approximately 4,000 out of 400,000 refugees, who are currently inhabitants of Jagti Nagrota Migrant Camp and other refugee camps agreed to take part. They were women, children and older people. Refugee camp scenes were shot for several days and nights in Bhagwati Nagar, Jammu.[11]
Release[edit]
The film was released on 7 February 2020.[1] It was released digitally on April 4, 2020 on Amazon Prime Video in India.[12]
This film was criticized and even boycotted by some people for focusing on the "romantic love story" rather than the forced exodus of Kashmiri Hindus.[13]
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
The Times of India gave the movie 3 out of 5 stars, and called it largely a one-sided story which does cater to the cinematic appeal of certain movie-goers.[2] Jyoti Kanyal of India Today also gives the movie 3 out of 5 stars and writes that the story "beautifully combines real incidents and a fictional love story".[14] Both TOI and India Today praise debutantes Sadia and Aadil Khan.[14][2] Newslaundry reviews the film as a successful love story but a failed political drama.[15] The Hindu gives a more critical review, saying that "Chopra buries politics under the garb of ‘love and hope’" and ends up making the movie simplistic.[16] Livemint also comments on the 'simplification of politics behind the exodus' in the movie.[17] Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in also writes a similar review, weak in history, strong in love.[18] Firstpost also gave the movie 3 out of 5 stars.[8] According to The Wire (India),'Shikara' is a poetically told tale that someone loses its way. Tanul Thakur wrote, "It’s a promise both personal and communal: of a husband to his wife, of a community to an individual. It’s shared by family and friends and neighbours – of different faiths, different grievances. They’re still people though, bound together by common joys: of cricket, cinema, life. Then there’s the place and time, Kashmir in the late 1980s, a land wondrously beautiful, a period politically tragic."[19]
Music[edit]
| Shikara | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Sandesh Shandilya, Abhay Sopori and Rohit Kulkarni | |||||
| Released | 6 February 2020[20] | ||||
| Recorded | 2019 | ||||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | ||||
| Length | 24:07 | ||||
| Language | Hindi | ||||
| Label | Zee Music Company | ||||
| |||||
The film score was composed by A. R. Rahman and his apprentice group Qutub-E-Kripa. This marked Rahman's first collaboration with Vidhu Vinod Chopra, 26 years after Rahman declined an offer by Chopra in 1994.[21]
The film's songs are composed by Sandesh Shandilya, Abhay Sopori and Rohit Kulkarni with lyrics written by Irshad Kamil, Bashir Arif and Raqueeb Alam.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mar Jaayein Hum" | Irshad Kamil | Sandesh Shandilya | Papon, Shradha Mishra | 3:58 |
| 2. | "Ghar Bhara Sa Lage" | Irshad Kamil | Sandesh Shandilya | Papon, Shreya Ghoshal | 3:47 |
| 3. | "Shukrana Gul Khile" | Bashir Arif | Abhay Sopori | Munir Ahmad Mir | 2:36 |
| 4. | "Chattar Pattar" | Raqueeb Alam | Rohit Kulkarni | Mika Singh | 3:38 |
| 5. | "Teri Arzoo Mein" | Irshad Kamil | Sandesh Shandilya | Papon, Kaushiki Chakraborty | 4:07 |
| 6. | "Ae Wadi Shehzadi" | Irshad Kamil | Sandesh Shandilya | Papon | 3:35 |
| 7. | "Umr Guzri" | Irshad Kamil | Sandesh Shandilya | Aadil Khan | 2:26 |
| Total length: | 24:07 | ||||
Box office[edit]
Shikara earned ₹1.20 crore at the domestic box office on its opening day. On the second day, the film collected ₹1.85 crore. On the third day, the film collected ₹1.90 crore, taking total opening weekend collection to ₹4.95 crore. The lifetime collection of the film in net gross India was ₹8.15 crore.[3]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d "Vidhu Vinod Chopra's upcoming film 'Shikara - A love letter from Kashmir' is slated to release on THIS date - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
- ^ a b c Pallabi Dey Purkayastha (7 February 2020). Shikara Movie Review: Love that stands the test of time, war and conflict, retrieved 7 February 2020. The Times of India.
- ^ a b "Shikara Box Office". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- ^ "Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 'Shikara - A Love Letter From Kashmir's' trailer to be out on THIS day". The Times of India. 5 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
- ^ "Vidhu Vinod Chopra brings searing pain of Kashmiri Pandit exodus on film". India Today. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
- ^ "Vidhu Vinod Chopra Highlights 'Untold Story' of Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990". India Today. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
- ^ "Sadia Khateeb", Wikipedia, 9 August 2020, retrieved 21 September 2020
- ^ a b Sharma, Devansh (7 February 2020). "Shikara movie review: Vidhu Vinod Chopra's account of Kashmiri Pandit exodus is strikingly poetic but seldom urgent- Entertainment News, Firstpost". Firstpost. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
- ^ "If I were to live my life again, I would tell God: Please, let me be born in Kashmir". Condé Nast Traveller India. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
- ^ Raina, Anil RainaAnil; Mar 16, Mumbai Mirror | Updated; 2018; Ist, 02:30. "Vidhu Vinod Chopra returns to Kashmir for his next". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 18 January 2020.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- ^ "Vidhu Vinod Chopra On Shooting With Real Kashmiri Pandits In Shikara: "They're Real People & That's Why They're Not Performing"". Koimoi. 11 January 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
- ^ amazon prime video IN [@PrimeVideoIN] (4 April 2020). "watch the story of shiv & shanti come alive in shikhara! live now: amzn.to/Shikara" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Kashmiri Pandit woman lashes out at Vidhu Vinod Chopra at Shikara screening: I disown your film". India Today. 8 February 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ a b Kanyal, Jyoti (7 February 2020). "Shikara movie review: Vidhu Vinod Chopra's love letter from Kashmir". India Today. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
- ^ Rao, Niraja. "'Shikara' delivers an atmospheric love story, but fails as a political drama". 📢 Newslaundry. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ Rosario, Kennith (7 February 2020). "'Shikara' movie review: A simplistic and tepid weepy". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
- ^ Jhunjhunwala, Udita (7 February 2020). "Film review: 'Shikara' simplifies the politics behind the exodus". Livemint. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
- ^ Ramnath, Nandini. "'Shikara' movie review: The romance triumphs over the history lesson". Scroll.in. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
- ^ "Movie Review: 'Shikara' Is a Poetically Told Tale That Somewhere Loses its Way". Retrieved 7 February 2020.
- ^ "Shikara - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Jio Saavn.
- ^ "Vidhu Vinod Chopra Talks About His Ambitious Project 'Shikara'". Mumbai Live. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
External links[edit]
- Shikara at IMDb
- Shikara at Bollywood Hungama