Why has the BJP taken such great interest in the film?
Not to put too fine a point on it, a possible reason is its propaganda value.
Since the film shows the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits during their exodus from the Valley, Muslims are depicted in a poor light, observes Amulya Ganguli.
It is unlikely that the maker of the film, The Kashmir Files, will try his hands at revisiting the Gujarat riots of 2002 despite his interest in uncovering the truth about inter-communal violence.
One reason why he may shy away from such a venture is the improbability of securing official backing.
In the case of The Kashmir Files, the Bharatiya Janata Party government has been unstinted in its support.
The film has been made tax-free and a state administration has given half-a-day off to its employees to enable them to see the film and imbibe its message.
BJP bigwigs have also felicited the director and actors in full view of the television cameras to show that they stand four square behind the creative artists.
It is a rare honour which has not been granted to any other film. From this standpoint, The Kashmir Files occupies a unique position in the history of Indian politics and cinema.
Its high place in the official and political echelons is also evident from the fact that, reportedly, the film was passed by the Central Board of Film Censors without any cuts.
Not only that, the director himself is said to have sat with members of the board when the film was being shown -- another event which historians of both the film and political worlds are bound to note.
If anything, what these episodes demonstrate is the massive clout wielded by the makers of the film and the actors.
The heft could not have been the result of the film's artistic merit. Some other factor must have been at work,
Not surprisingly, one of its actors is a self-acknowled 'chamcha' of the prime minister, as he unabashedly told a television anchor. He plays a stellar role in the film.
Why has the BJP taken such great interest in the film?
Not to put too fine a point on it, a possible reason is its propaganda value.
Since the film shows the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits during their exodus from the Valley because of the threat to their lives and livelihood from Islamic terrorists, the Muslims are depicted in a poor light.
It is odd that the government did not endeavour to have the film shown a few month earlier so that it would have reinforced Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's 'abba jan', 'kabristan', '80 per cent vs 20 per cent' jibes against the Muslims.
However, since the BJP's anti-Muslim stance is an ongoing process -- vide the observation of a saffron legislator that that those opposing the ban of the hijab in Karnataka are terrorists -- it doesn't really matter to the party when the film is released since it will be only one of the instruments for keeping the communal pot boiling.
This reason will not apply to a depiction of the Gujarat riots. A nuanced portrayal of the horrifying events which made the Supreme Court decry the acts of a 'modern-day Nero' at the head of the administration will not be easy.
Nor will it advance the saffron agenda of showing the Muslims as the bad guys as in The Kashmir Files.
If India is far from being able to emulate Nelson Mandela's and Archbishop Desmond Tutu's example of relegating the black-and-white animosities of the apartheid era to the past, it is because of the presence of a political dispensation which thrives on fostering Hindu-Muslim divisions.
As long as these political compulsions remain, films like The Kashmir Files will receive the government's blessings.
Amulya Ganguli is a writer on current affairs.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
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