The Kashmir Files 2022

The film weaves two timelines into one expansive narrative: the present day in 2020 and a brutal, memory-suffocating flashback to 1989–1990 in Kashmir, where a community’s fear and endurance are put to the test.

In the late 1989–1990 period, Kashmir becomes a boiling ground of violence as Islamic militants storm into towns and banish Kashmiri Pandits from the valley. They unleash chilling slogans like the ones that echo through the turmoil:

convert (to Islam), leave or die

with god’s grace whole Kashmiri Pandit community will leave valley

Pushkar Nath Pandit, Anupam Kher, a devoted teacher, watches with mounting dread as his son Karan is marked by the militants as an Indian spy. Desperate to shield his child, Pushkar turns to his friend, Prakash Belawadi, a civil servant, for protection. The film follows the perilous journey that takes them from their home to safe havens as the violence intensifies. The tension is palpable as those in power respond with suspensions and narrow choices, and Brahma Dutt, Prakash Belawadi, the civil servant, becomes entangled in a fight to secure a safer future for the Pandit families.

The militant commander Farooq Malik Bitta, Chinmay Mandlekar, who is a former student of Pushkar, appears as a chilling figure of intimidation. In a brutal sequence that reveals the merciless logic of the attackers, Bitta’s men invade Pushkar’s home. Karan hides in a rice container but is discovered and fatally shot. Pushkar and his daughter-in-law Sharda Pandit, Bhasha Sumbli, plead for mercy. In a particularly harrowing moment, Bitta forces Sharda to ingest rice soaked in Karan’s blood in exchange for their lives. The hospital becomes a battleground as militants seize control and forbid treatment for non-Muslims, leaving Karan to die from his injuries.

In a bid to preserve life and dignity, Pushkar and his family seek refuge with their journalist friend Vishnu Ram, Atul Srivastava, who helps them find safety with Kaul, a Hindu poet who offers shelter to Pandits. Yet the brutality follows them: militants disguised as Indian Army personnel arrive in Nadimarg to seize Pandits. Sharda resists as they abduct her elder son Shiva and her, culminating in a mass grave where Kaul and his son are found dead, their bodies hanging from trees. With heavy hearts, the Pandits who remain are compelled to flee once more, and Pushkar must become the messenger of the horror he has witnessed.

The refugees eventually settle in Jammu, living on meager rations and crowded conditions. Brahma earns a position as an advisor to the newly appointed Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, while Pushkar presses for the removal of Article 370 and for resettlement. Brahma secures Sharda a government job in Nadimarg, and the family seeks a measure of safety by moving there. But the specter of violence never fully dissipates; one night, militants again target Pandits in Nadimarg, rounding up residents. Sharda resists once more, and the attackers murder her elder son and others in a brutal massacre. These events become part of the collective memory Brahma calls a genocide, a term that lingers in the minds of those who survived and later recount the atrocities to others.

fast-forward to 2020, and Krishna Pandit, Darshan Kumaar, Pushkar’s younger son, grows up under the care of his father, who has kept the truth of the past close. Krishna is a student at ANU, influenced by professor Radhika Menon, Pallavi Joshi, a fierce advocate for Kashmiri separatism. The political climate around Kashmir deeply colors Krishna’s worldview, challenging the memory of his family’s losses. Krishna’s perspective evolves as he becomes entangled in the ongoing debate about who bears responsibility for the region’s decades-long conflict, and his own sense of identity is tested by the competing narratives around Kashmir.

When Krishna runs for university president, he follows Menon’s guidance and becomes a voice for the history of Kashmir. The debate becomes a personal reckoning as Krishna discovers the files of newspaper cuttings compiled by Pushkar, which detail the vicious acts committed by militants dressed as Indian Army soldiers. The revelation confronts him with the painful truth his family endured and the broader question of accountability for the violence that displaced countless Pandits. He confronts this history directly, seeking to present it to those who have not lived through it.

Krishna’s journey leads him back to Delhi, where he delivers a pivotal speech at the ANU campus as part of his presidential bid. He elaborates on Kashmir’s history and the sufferings of his family and other Kashmiri Hindu victims, drawing on the evidence Pushkar had gathered. The moment is fraught with tension, as professor Menon and her students react with a mix of skepticism and anger, while others begin to listen with newfound curiosity. The speech becomes a turning point, challenging easy assumptions and inviting a more nuanced conversation about the past and its lingering impact. In the end, Krishna’s words resonate with some students, while others remain resistant, illustrating the ongoing struggle to reconcile memory with present-day political realities.

This deeply human story, anchored by the performances of Pushkar Nath Pandit, Anupam Kher, and Krishna Pandit, Darshan Kumaar, navigates the complex terrain of atrocity, memory, and resilience. It explores how families endure, how communities negotiate forgiveness and accountability, and how younger generations confront a history that is not easily contained or understood. The film presents a sober, thought-provoking portrait of a region scarred by violence, while also offering a glimmer of hope that dialogue, memory, and truth-seeking can foster understanding and healing in a difficult, divided landscape.