The Kashmir Files, with its phenomenal success at the box office, is being hailed worldwide for its truthful depiction of the Kashmiri Hindu genocide perpetrated by Islamic militancy in the 1990s. Darshan Kumar, who plays the role of Krishna Pandit in the film, has talked in length about the impact left by the film on him in an interview.
Darshan Kumar has revealed that he was flabbergasted after hearing the story of a Kashmiri Pandit woman being fed rice soaked in her husband’s blood. Being utterly disturbed, Darshan confessed that he didn’t have a sound sleep for nights after hearing the story. Here, he was referring to an actual incident showcased in the film which happened in 1990, when terrorists in the search of BK Ganjoo, a telecom engineer residing in the valley, shot him dead while he was hiding inside a rice drum at his home. After killing him, the terrorists reportedly forced his wife to eat the blood-soaked rice.
Darshan Kumar said that the role of Krishna Pandit was the most difficult role played by him on-screen by far. While portraying his character in the film, he mentioned how he almost went into depression during the shoot days. Talking about the profound impact the scenes had left on him, Darshan Kumar said, “Many times it happened that I started murmuring to myself. I thought I was going into depression. I used to get irritated over small things.”
When asked how he bagged the role, Darshan said that director Vivek Agnihotri asked him to watch an hour-long video on the tragedy of Hindus in the valley before reading the script. “I was stunned to see the video, I could not say anything,” Darshan added. Talking to Dainik Bhaskar, about the film’s climax scene which has won many hearts, Darshan said “When I read the script, I was very excited and even more nervous about the concluding monologue scene. While Agnihotri had decided to do the monologue in the climax in parts, I insisted to do the 13-page scene in a single take,”
Darshan said that he lived every moment in the film while being on the set. He talked about the difficulty he faced while getting out of the character after the shooting. After the success of the film, Darshan talked about how his life has changed. “I am getting calls from big producers afront. While things should now change for good, I should hopefully be able to play my characters the way I want,” he added.
Darshan Kumar made his silver-screen debut with the 2014 film Mary Kom opposite Priyanka Chopra. He is known for his roles in movies like NH10 and web series including The Family Man and Aashram.
