Explained: 5 Reasons Why 'The Kashmir Files' is a blockbuster

A   film made at an estimated  budget  of  Rs 15 crores has  already accrued box office earnings  of Rs 190-plus.What makes The Kashmir Files one of  the  biggest hits of all times? Subhash  K  Jha  probes.

1. It tells the  naked truth. For  32 years the  truth was hidden away from  Indians. The  plight  of 5 lakh  Kashmiri Pandits  who were rendered  homeless  overnight was  a story waiting to be  told. What  baffles is, why had no  filmmaker  thought  of  bringing the  truth out? If nothing else , it makes for a damn good  celluloid experience. Imagine what one  of  the  great directors could have done with this epic story.  But no. They were  busy making films about gangsters and politicians.
2. It does not sugarcoat  the  nightmarish truth.  Once Vivek Agnihotri decided to  make the  film he went into  rigorous research  on  individual  cases of massacre , torture, humiliation and eviction in Kashmir. Apparently  every incident of horrific  atrocity shown  in The Kashmir  Files is a hundred percent true. Even  the sequence  of the  Kashmir Pandit woman split by  a welding machine actually happened.
3. The USP of The Kashmir Files is  not entertainment. It is the recreation of reality no matter how  harsh and unpalatable  it may be. The audience for The Kashmir Files is not  cramming theatres for  time pass. Popcorn sales are almost nil during the screenings. Audiences watch the  events  unfold  with the hushed reverence  of  a religious  gathering for   a  sacred ‘dread’ ceremony.
4. The Kashmir Files comes as an antidote to the  trashy excesses  of Bollywood and its  supposed A-listers. Actors charge  as much as 150 crores  while the budget  for the rest  of  the  project is  squeezed  into whatever  the producers  can afford after paying the male superstar. It  is  a monstrous  extravagance. The Kashmir  Files has  broken superstars’ stronghold  on the  projects  funds.
5. Content is king and that’s true.  The Kashmir  Files proves it. If  there is a  solid story to be told and it’s told with  conviction audiences  will go. Marquee names, gimmicks and stunts like naming  a film after the  biggest  superstar ever  of Indian cinema, won’t  work.

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.