Second official trailer of Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 'Shikara' out
The makers of Shikara have dropped the second trailer. The film is based on the infamous forced exodus of Hindus from the Kashmir Valley, that happened almost three decades back. While the first trailer introduced us to the characters and storyline, the new trailer takes us deeper into the gut-wrenching realities of the exodus. Take a look.
'Shikara' follows a couple in the backdrop of the exodus
As evident by the first trailer, that came out on January 7, Shikara - The Untold Story of Kashmiri Pandits follows the life and struggles of a married couple- Shanti (Sadia) and professor Shiv Kumar (Aadil Khan), as they deal with the atrocities of the violent exodus, over the course of 30 years. Both Sadia and Aadil will mark their debut with the film.
The trailer brings alive the violence that unfolded during exodus
The trailer opens in the year 1989, and right away cuts to a poster that reads "Leave in one month", evidently put by a terrorist group as a deadline for Hindus to leave the Valley. The 1.5-minute-long clip showcases a kidnapping, and glimpses of the violence that unfolded at the time of the biggest exodus in the history of Independent India.
The trailer also carries real footage from the exodus period
The trailer also carries raw footage from 1989-1990, including portions of a provocative television speech by late former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto and pictures of armed terrorists carrying out atrocities on Hindus, who were forced to flee to Jammu within months.
What happened during the infamous Kashmir exodus?
For the uninitiated, Hindus residing in Kashmir were forced to flee the area after being targeted by terrorist groups and Kashmiri insurgents such as the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) during 1989-1990. Reportedly, over 200 people were killed and thousands had to evacuate the Valley, during the said exodus. Most of the families were forced to shift to Jammu, Delhi-NCR, and other neighboring states.
'Shikara' to release on February 7
Shikara has been directed, produced, and edited by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The film marks Chopra's Bollywood directorial return after a gap of 13 years. His last Hindi film was Eklavya: The Royal Guard (2007). The screenplay of the movie is by Chopra, Rahul Pandita, and Abhijat Joshi, and music has been composed by AR Rahman. Shikara is set to release on February 7.
Nearly 4,000 refugees roped in to play parts in 'Shikara'
Notably, in order to lend more authenticity to the film, the makers reportedly roped in around 4,000 real-life refugees, residing in Jagti and other migrant camps in Jammu, to play different parts in the film.
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