Indian film, The Kashmir Files has emerged as the most successful Hindi film this year at the domestic ticket windows. Directed by Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, the film revolves around the genocide and exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990. Made at an estimated budget of $2.6 million, the film has already scored $22.01 million at the box office in India within ten days of the release.

After a small opening of $0.46 million on day one of the release, the film collections jumped to $3.5 million by the end of the first weekend in domestic markets alone. The Kashmir Files earned $12.7 million in the first week and had a brilliant show over the second weekend as well. The total figure for the movie, stands at $22.01 million in ten days of the film’s release. At least eight states in India have declared the film tax-free.

Akshay Kumar’s latest film Bachchhan Paandey hit theatres on the day of Indian festival, Holi on March 18 , and collections for The Kashmir Files surpassed those of Kumar’s film at the box office. Bachchhan Paandey made an opening collection of $1.6 million while The Kashmir Files collected $2.5 million on the same day. It was the eighth day, and the second Friday for The Kashmir Files.

The Kashmir Files opened in mere 630 screens across India on March 11, but that number rose to 4000 by the time the film completed its first week in theatres. Due to the positive feedback, the number of screens now stands at par with a normal release for any film riding on the stardom of top Hindi film actors.

Outside India, The Kashmir Files opened in nine countries across 100 screens on March 11 and is now being screened across 350 screens in 25 countries. According to the makers of The Kashmir Files, the film has grossed $1.5 million in the first week of the release outside India. The figure excluded territories such as the Middle East, Singapore & New Zealand. In North America, the film grossed $1 million, and in UK, it grossed $0.16 million. The movie has grossed $ 0.262 million in Australia.

Tracing the events building up to the genocide and exodus of Kashmiri Pandits, the film also showcases the horrific killings and torture that took place in the Indian valley of Kashmir in 1990. However, it does not dwell upon the sufferings alone. The Kashmir Files narrates the story from the perspective of Kashmiri Pandits who suffered the plight and the film blames the “system, the mainstream media and politicians” for choosing to “hide the truth” about the exodus. It makes no attempt to offer any balance or counter-narrative for the political views or worldviews being emphasized in the process.

Nonetheless, the film is well written and offers an engaging experience to the audience. It is being hailed as a brave film, because it shows what very few Hindi films have shown over the past 30 years. But, the film is also criticized because many leaders in the ruling party of India, including the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, have endorsed and promoted it.

Anupam Kher plays the role of a witness of the horrific killings, an old man who lost his son in the killings and later fought for justice. The director’s wife, actor Pallavi Joshi essays the role of a college professor who works principally against the central government of the country and aims at shifting the blame of the killings, away from the Islamist forces. Veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty plays the role of a top administrative officer who also witnessed the massacre and could do nothing to stop it despite his intentions of doing so. The actors have packed in brilliant performances and the narrative is such that each member of the audience will most likely feel emotional at some point through the film. Kher and Darshan Kumaar deserve special mention for their performances. Kumaar made his debut with Priyanka Chopra-starrer Mary Kom and was seen in a negative role in the popular Amazon Prime web series, The Family Man, before The Kashmir Files.

Watch the trailer of ‘The Kashmir Files’

The ideology and politics being propagated in any film is, of course, the personal choice and right of the filmmaker. It is a given that films made by any politically aware person would reflect their ideology. While The Kashmir Files does that, it is also a film on real life incidents and does not bring any sort of fact distortion in the name of creative liberty.

Nonetheless, it could have been a better watch had the film delved more into the politics behind the 1989 militancy outbreak that led to the exodus of 1990 in Kashmir. Instead, the film harps on the current mood of the majority population in India, and highlights most of the dialogues and politics that have flooded social media over the past five years. Even the blame on media and intellectuals focuses on what happened in 2016, rather than spelling out how things unfolded in 1989 and 1990.