No Fathers In Kashmir review: Ashvin Kumar’s film dares to seek the truth at any cost

“We will never know why people do what they do, because we were not there,” said a wise old man in Kashmir. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ashvin Kumar has spent the last five years of his life in putting together this 107 minutes of celluloid narration called No Fathers In Kashmir, and battling to bring it to its correct culmination – the viewing by the public. He feels the world’s most secret war is waged in Kashmir, and that it’s time to start telling the truth about what life really is like in Kashmir. Many filmmakers have told stories built around and in Kashmir – they are highly sanitised versions of aspects not even remotely close to the harshness of the truths. The romantic Kashmir, that paradise on earth where our parents honeymooned no longer exists. And it can and should. A territorial war between two nations has sucked the soul out of what once truly was paradise, and crippled its people and their simple lives, leaving them maimed beyond just the physical. And all they still seek is to lead normal lives, without fear and hatred.

What No Fathers in Kashmir is all about: No Fathers in Kashmir, for the first time, tells the current-day story of Kashmir, through the eyes of two millennials who, in their search for the truth about their missing fathers, discover their first love, and heart-break, and the secrets that lie under the soil of their beautiful land – both literally and metaphorically.

It is a coming-of-age story about innocence, extreme youth, its resilience and in fact, is a hope that young audiences can know, and experience the realities of life in Kashmir as it is today. As much as the youth there are isolated from the rest of the youth of the country, the same situation exists in reverse too. Nobody tells the truth about Kashmir to our today’s youth, and they remain blissfully unaware. Ashvin believes that in the youth lies our hope for redemption, and that their questioning will help find the truth, build solutions, and eventually create a better tomorrow.

A child of privilege – Noor (Zara Webb) – comes to the valley with her mother Zainab (Natasha Mago) and her fiancé Wahid (Sudhir Dahiya), from London, in order to finish the paperwork on Noor’s missing biological father, so that Zainab can marry Wahid and move on in life. Staying with her grandparents (Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Soni Razdan), Noor meets Majid (Shivam Raina), a naïve, curious and endearing boy her own age, whose father is also missing. But the two are polar opposites. Majid has never questioned the loss in his life. The bright, eager and keen Noor is full of curiosity, and with great resourcefulness, quells her trepidation and fear as she gets drawn deeper into the issue of her father’s disappearance, unearthing a deep and dark secret in the process. What happens when she sets out to find his grave, what role does the army play in the events that transpire there, who is the mysterious and compelling Arshid (Ashvin Kumar), who switches from white to black to grey? What does he know and have to do with Noor’s father going missing? What is the truth and how is she to find out- that is what the film is about. In the real Kashmir, people are regularly picked up and never return home. The Indian army is both the friend and the enemy.

Yay: Both the young protagonists Noor and Majid have played their parts so naturally – they are truly representative of Ashvin’s HOPE. The veterans, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Soni Razdan are heartbreakingly stoic and emotional alternately, so much is said in their eyes, their shrugs, in the unspoken. Ashvin Kumar as Arshid Lone, is amazingly expressive with his kohl-lined eyes and his sometimes confident walk and sometimes weasely shuffle. You don’t know how far you can trust him. Peace-maker or rabble-rouser, he’s the deal-maker and the deal-breaker. Maya Sarao, as Majid’s mother is stunning in her brief role, as is the beautiful Natasha as Noor’s mother, trying to broker peace and a life beyond a dark sad past. Anshuman Jha as the army major gives a good performance despite looking too young for the part. So they all aced the performances.

The cinematography by Jean Marc Selva and Jean Marie Delorme is breathtaking. They have captured Kashmir and its still pristine beauty exquisitely. The sheer beauty of some of the shots leaves you agasp. The music allows listeners to hear some pure Kashmiri music, which the Hindi film-going audience has never had a taste of. (Bumbro is not a Kashmiri song, nor gives one a feel of Kashmiri music). The music had been created by composers Loïk Dury, Christophe ‘Disco’ Minck, delving into traditional Kashmiri poetry and sound. There is a generous smattering of Urdu and Kashmiri in the film, which is primarily in English. Majid’s speech and his idioms are a delight. And the boy’s portrayal of unaffected simplicity warms your heart.

The film’s story has already earned awards and development grant all in 2014, even as the journey had just begun. The costume designer Ritu Kumar, was completely on point. It couldn’t be otherwise. Eight films old, this is Ashvin’s first long feature, which he has written, directed, produced, and acted in.

The idealism of Ashvin Kumar – He is so ravaged by the truths and injustices he sees in life around him. One wonders what propels this man who is so driven, he continuously buzzes that restless energy off him. His search is always for the truth – every single time. His hope, his direction – is telling a story of and through young love, that will hopefully encourage and goad young audiences to seek to learn about their Kashmiri counterparts – that they will learn the truth about a conflict that has been shrouded by propaganda and misinformation, and one that has been poorly represented in mainstream Indian cinema. Ashvin believes that political change can only come through emotional engagement. This is what kept him at it, for half a decade, and even when at his lowest ebb in the making of this film.

Nay: Maybe Anshuman Jha’s extremely youthful looks do not carry enough gravitas to be playing an army major making major decisions. But you can’t fault his delivery of his role.

CineBlitz Verdict: No Fathers in Kashmir is as beautiful in its narrative and visuals, as it is chilling in its hard-hitting uncovering of the layered truths, and lies that are woven into the fabric of reality in Kashmir. This simply told tale touches one deep inside, where it matters.

Star Rating: 4 Stars