Wikipedia gets it wrong again, and there is nothing Vivek Agnihotri can do about it

If Wikipedia is to be believed — and it’s sickening and frightening how this self-help quick fix cocky rack of righteous knowledge is taken as the gospel truth by billions across the world—then The Kashmir Files , the film that has drastically revised decades-old mindsets on the savage slaying of Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s, is nothing but a flickering fiction, a pack of lies, a web of deceit. We could turn around and say the same about Wikipedia’s dubious authenticity, its arrogant show of I-know-best knowledge for a civilization looking for instant knowledge. Wikipedia is Karma Cola with more fizz than substance. What comes out of customized encyclopedic sources need not always be true. In fact, the number of times I’ve caught Wikipedia on the foot would make for an interesting encyclopaedia. Its comments on The Kashmir Files rake up the ache and take the cake. According to Wiki Darling, and I quote, “The film presents a fictional storyline… centered around an exodus of Kashmiri Hindus in the disputed region of Kashmir…. It depicts the early 1990s exodus….to be a genocide,…. a notion that is considered to be widely inaccurate.”

Wiki Darling then goes on to concede grudgingly that The Kashmir Files is a commercial success, “seemingly benefitting from promotion by India’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party …. but the storyline attracting criticism for attempting to recast established history …and propagating Islamophobia.” Now, let us pause Wise Wiki’s welter of quick wisdom and ask them: where did you get these “facts” on The Kashmir Files from? Certainly not from any source that knows anything about the film business. The 340-odd crores that the film has earned worldwide couldn’t possibly be manipulated by any governmental machinery. At the most, the BJP run states can encourage potential moviegoers to see the film by providing free tickets. Even that is a long shot. Prime Minister Modi and his close allies have better things to do than to promote a film which they may feel to be beneficial to them in the next elections. And even if we presume that the ruling government is soft on The Kashmir Files, how do we explain its success in non-BJP states? How do we account for its phenomenal reach across the world? Simultaneously opening up wounds of and debates on a race that nearly got wiped by bestial acts of terrorism? How do we explain to Indians who hadn’t been inside a movie theatre for 40-50 braving Covid and inflation to see The Kashmir Files in movie theatres? When Wikipedia makes irresponsible comments it shows an arrogant misuse of the power that it has over impressionable minds across the globe. When Wiki declares, “Across the country, BJP legislators have bought out screens for audiences to watch the movie for free” it shows a blatant disregard for basic common sense: you can buy shows in theatres, but you can’t buy the audience and force it to watch the film. But then Wikipedia prides itself on being what they feel to be the definition of truly democratic. To them, this means that any Ram Rahim or Richard can go and “edit” the facts on the page as per his political leanings. Today it is The Kashmir Files. Tomorrow it may be Nehru’s Discovery Of India or that book which Mr Ambedkar wrote, that Wikipedia declares to be “drama”. Welcome to the era of mutating history and gamely facts. 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.