In a matter of pride to Hindus in India, Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s upcoming movie ‘The Kashmir Files’ which is based on the true events of the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir, was held high at the Times Square in New York for two continuous days citing the occasion of 73rd Republic Day.
The Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora that works for the Kashmiri Hindus all around the globe, had volunteered to celebrate the 73rd Republic Day in Manhattan by coordinating the display of banners of ‘The Kashmiri Files’ at the world’s most expensive outdoor advertising site.
Director Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, extremely honored, said that it was a matter of pride for his team as ‘The Kashmir Files’ was advertised at the Times Square. He also shared the video on Twitter and thanked the Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora for their support.
HISTORIC.#TheKashmirFiles at Times Square, Manhattan.
— Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) January 27, 2022
A matter of honour & pride as for the first time any film has been advertised at the world’s most expensive site by the fans & supporters led by @kp_global pic.twitter.com/cte7vsJ1jd
The New York Co-ordinator of Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora, Mohan Wanchoo meanwhile stated that the movie represents true picture of what happened to Kashmiri Hindus 32 years ago. “The Kashmiri Hindus were tortured, slaughtered, raped and murdered just because they were Hindus”, he added.
On the auspicious occasion of our 73rd Republic day GKPD is proud to share this clip from Time Square,NY. To have #TheKashmirFiles ad displayed for 2 days at Times Square is a huge achievement for our volunteer team. @PMOIndia @OfficeOfLGJandK @vivekagnihotri @i_ambuddha pic.twitter.com/2wYn38BtNY
— Global KP Diaspora (GKPD) (@kp_global) January 26, 2022
The movie reportedly takes the audiences back to year 1989 when an unprecedented insurgency began in Kashmir and a vast majority of Hindus were forced to leave the valley. According to the reports, approximately 100,000 of an estimated Kashmiri Pandit population of 140,000 left the valley between February and March 1990. More of them left in the following years so that, by 2011, only around 3,000 families remained in the valley.
‘The Kashmir Files’ stars Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, Pallavi Joshi, Chinmay Mandlekar, Puneet Issar among the prime cast. The ‘Sardar Udham’ actor, Darshan Kumar also shared the video of banners at Times Square and thanked the Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora for their coordination. “A dream come true moment seeing your poster on those amazing billboards”, he tweeted.
HISTORIC. #TheKashmirFiles at Times Square,Manhattan.A dream come true moment seeing Yur poster on those amazing billboards❤️n a matter of honour & pride as for d first time any film has been advertised at the world’s most expensive site by the fans & supporters led by @kp_global pic.twitter.com/MgX59TLZEh
— Darshan Kumaar (@DarshanKumaar) January 27, 2022
However, this is not the first Indian movie that has grabbed the attention at Times Square, New York. Earlier, Salman Khan’s ‘Tubelight’, Akshay Kumar’s ‘Atrangi Re’ were advertised on the electronic billboards in New York City. Also, in November 2021, music director Ilaiyaraaja had made it to the Times Square as a part of his collaboration with Spotify.
It is worth noting that a major commercial intersection ‘The Times Square’ of New York is an entertainment centre and a tourist destination, also referred to the heart of the world. The hoardings at Times Square can’t be ignored for it being the busiest pedestrian areas. Reports mention that approximately 330,000 people pass through Times Square daily.
The film ‘The Kashmiri Files’ was scheduled for it’s theatrically worldwide on 26 January 2022, coinciding with India’s 73rd Republic Day, but was postponed due to Covid-19 pandemic, especially the spread of the Omicron variant.
