Every creative expression has the right to live, and to get discussed. Don’t muzzle it
The ongoing controversy over Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files is highly uncalled for; it’s against basic civility. We are witnessing a strange phenomenon in a country that claims to be democratic, secular and pluralistic. Goons affiliated to certain political and religious outfits are threatening cinema hall proprietors and management to screen, or to take off, the movie based on the suffering of Kashmiri Pandits who were forced to flee their native State as part of ethnic cleansing in January 1990. Their slaughter and unending trauma in the name of religion are open secrets; now they are forced to live as refugees in their own motherland. Their houses, land and business establishments were taken over by extremists while the State Government facilitated such a takeover by bringing in legislation suited to the oppressors, like the Roshni Act. It is natural for any person with artistic and literary talents to compose poems, stories and novels based on the ‘Great Exodus’. That’s how Agnihotri made a movie without any big stars or famous technicians. The end result, according to people who have watched it, is a great work which would remain etched in their hearts for decades.
But this is not the first time a movie is politicised because of its content. We saw right-wing activists demonstrating across the country when Deepa Mehta released her trilogy, Fire, Earth and Water, because these apparently projected Indian society in poor light. In fact, movies, dramas, novels, stories and poems are mirrors that reflect the true image of their society and no purpose will be served by blacking out the truth. Way back in the 1980s, when Doordarshan telecast Tamas, a TV serial based on Bhisham Sahni’s novel of the same name, Hindu fundamentalist outfits protested in front of all Doordarshan Kendras across the country. Did it help our country in any way? The truth, however unpalatable, must be told as it helps us understand the real history. If the stories behind the destruction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya and Kashi Vishwanath Temple remained deficient in light, we would only be cheating ourselves. But how can today’s Islamic community be held responsible for the despicable acts of its forefathers? Similar scenarios were witnessed around Kamal Haasan-starrer Vishwaroopam and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus Padmaavat. All forms of creativity, whether written, verbal or visual, are and ought to be above caste, community, religion or region.