No Fathers in Kashmir: After eight-month-long CBFC tussle, Ashvin Kumar's film to release on 5 April

After an eight-month-long struggle, Oscar-nominated director Ashvin Kumar’s No Fathers in Kashmir will finally release on 5 April in India. The makers also released a new poster from the film, which features the picture of two grinning teenagers on the shattered screen of a mobile phone. The film was recently granted an U/A certificate by the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT).

Release date finalised: 5 April 2019... Ashvin Kumar, Soni Razdan, Anshuman Jha, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Zara Webb... First look poster of #NoFathersInKashmir... Directed by Ashvin Kumar. pic.twitter.com/Dx9icdcpO8

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) March 14, 2019

Speaking about the release and poster launch, director Ashvin Kumar said, “It is a film made for young people all over India to connect with young people all over Kashmir, about the euphoria and hopefulness of being young - an A certificate would keep both these audiences away from each other. Now I am confident kids will come out with their hearts beating for Kashmir.” The tussle between the makers and of No Fathers in Kashmir and the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) began in July 2018.  The board passed the film with an Adults (A) certificate in October. The decision was challenged by the makers as they felt it needed to reach a wider audience. They moved to FCAT in November, and filed an appeal with the tribunal. Following the appeal, two hearings took place in December and January. The film was six screenings and seven hearings in a span of eight months. Kumar has previously helmed short film Little Terrorist and has won two National Awards for his films on Kashmir— Inshallah Football and Inshallah Kashmir. No Fathers in Kashmir is the third part of his Kashmir trilogy. Besides writing and directing the film, Kumar also plays a pivotal part in the film. The cast also includes Soni Razdan, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Anshuman Jha and Maya Sarao. No Fathers in Kashmir traces a teenage British Kashmiri, Noor, who visits the valley in search of her father, where she meets Majid. The boy takes her to a forbidden area near the Indo-Pak border fraught with danger.