TANISHA SAXENA
Once the director and creator of Kashmir Files: Unreported, Vivek Agnihotri went to Kashmir for shooting and wondered why his taxi driver wore big and weird red shoes. So he asked him from where did he buy the shoes? The driver said that he bought them from foreign. Agnihotri thought that being a taxi driver, he must have visited either Dubai or Bangkok. He asked the driver, Bangkok? The driver said, India!
Agnihotri takes pause and asks the viewers where this thought process emerged that Kashmir is not a part of India and the people living there deserve separate rights.
This is somewhere in the middle of episode two of The Kashmir Files: Unreported, a docuseries by Vivek Agnihotri tracing the trauma of Kashmiri pandits exodus in the 1990s. In March 2022, his film Kashmir Files was released, which was deemed as deeply Islamophobic and dishonest. After more than one and a half years, the director is back with an explanation. At times, in truth, the filmmakers overplay the traumatic events. In the case of Kashmir Files Unreported too the filmmaker has overdone some things. The seven-episodes series interweaves interviews with historians, Kashmiri pandits, and experts. All this pack with Vivek Agnihotri and Pallavi Joshi’s narration for the “unpacking” of the trauma.
Each episode begins with a more than a minute content warning, followed by another alert that the web series compromises stock footage for representational purposes to enhance the visual storytelling experience. Honestly, there’s nothing like visual storytelling in the series! In fact, Agnihotri has used some footage from his “fictional” Kashmir Files film. What is authentic storytelling? Each episode is of about 35 minutes, largely forcing us to believe whatever the narrators are telling. The introduction also cautions that the channel does not claim accuracy and/or factuality. Then to believe whatever the narrators narrate is totally an individual’s call. It is deeply problematic in the series to take note of the barrage of information that Agnihotri and Joshi give us. They look more like a presenter of crime fiction on television.
The first episode begins with the duo (Vivek Agnihotri and Pallavi Joshi) visiting a Kashmiri pandit who then recounts the horrific times when he was barely four or five years old. Visiting the traumatic events in life is never a smooth ride, and this really makes us uncomfortable. The testimonies try to cement the deeply flawed narration, but the narration is slapped time and again, cutting the emotional accounts of the Kashmiri pandits. We wonder why this selective focus? The show covers several aspects of Kashmir’s history such as its accession with India, article 370, and the political turmoil of the region.
The series incorporates interviews of experts including Col Tej Kumar Tikoo, author of Kashmir: Its Aborigines and their Exodus and President of All India Kashmiri Samaj, columnist, and 1971 war veteran; Shesh Paul Vaid, former DGP J&K, Dr. Surinder Kaul, co-founder of the Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora. Col Tej Kumar Tikoo shed light on the fact that how Jawaharlal Nehru was actually manipulated by Lord Mountbatten. He also stated why India went to the United Nations organization taking the matter of Kashmir. Was that our biggest mistake? There is also commentary made regarding the conception of article 370 and finally its abrogation. The series talks about the rise of Kashmiriyat, the secular nature of the valley, but eventually asks what is this Kashmiriyat. The commentators comment on the role of leaders like Jinnah, Nehru, and lord Mountbatten. We are reminded of how much of Kashmir has been “snatched” from us, highlighting parts like P.O.K (Pakistan of Kashmir), Gilgit-Baltistan, Shaksgam and even Aksai Chin.
In one of the episodes, a Kashmiri pandit breaks down, telling how he killed his own unborn second child because there was uncertainty everywhere in Kashmir. He sees himself as a culprit behind this and can never forget it. The account of the Kashmiri pandit is spine-chilling and makes our heart bleed. But the biggest problem in the series is forceful presentation by Agnihotri and Joshi, who interrupt the flow out of nowhere! The impact suddenly subsidises, and we are forced to listen to them. A docuseries doesn’t need to be infused with such lengthy narration.
The first episode in fact doesn’t serve any purpose, as it talks about things that we already know. The length of the episodes become unbearable as it lacks visual storytelling as well as packaging. In parts, the series is extremely biased and lack authenticity. At times, it feels we are sitting in a history class where we are forced to be bored. The filmmakers should have known that there are intellectuals everywhere and our opinions are just opinions unless proven with facts. The guests/commentators can have a biased opinion, and it reflects in most parts of the series. We have read Kashmiri’s history in textbooks in schools and universities, and we are already aware of all the factual information at least. In such a scenario, the purpose of Kashmir Files Unreported seems inappropriate and unnecessary. The trauma speaks itself and it does every time we hear heartbreaking stories from Kashmiri pandits. But the packaging of the series is deeply flawed. While the series raises important questions it lacks believability in a larger perspective.
Creator: Vivek Agnihotri and Pallavi Joshi
Director: Vivek Agnihotri
Rating: 1.5/5
