Zee Studios, the production and distribution house for Vivek Agnihotri’s ‘The Kashmir Files’ which is set to release on 11 March 2022 has denied allegations of ‘sabotage’ after netizens raised questions regarding low media and outdoor publicity for the film.
Ahead of the release of the film, several netizens had taken to social media to express concerns that while mainstream media has dismissed the film because it talks about the Islamic terrorism in the Kashmir region and the brutal exodus of Kashmiri Hindus, the producers of the film also do not appear too keen to put money into the marketing of the film so that it reaches a broader audience.
Just got to know from some people who are in know of things that someone inside Zee group is making sure that Kashmir Files is getting reduced to less than 200 screens. If it’s true then it is not only sad but completely against values of the group founders.
— Rahul Kaushik (@kaushkrahul) March 7, 2022
Netizens had alleged that Zee Group, one of the producers of the film, were reducing the release of the film to less than 200 screens, thereby reducing the reach of the film.
I have been told the left liberal cabal which has been whitewashing the genocide of Kashmiri Hindus by radical Islamists want to limit the release of #KashmirFiles .
— Varun Sharma (@LogicalHindu_) March 7, 2022
Shariq Patel of Zee is making sure that the screen count is reduced to less than 200 screens.
Some felt that this was being done so that the whitewashing of the atrocities inflicted by the Islamic terrorists backed by Pakistan in the valley can continue.
OpIndia reached out to Shariq Patel of Zee Studios on the concerns raised by netizens. While he was reluctant to react, a Zee Studios spokesperson said, “Zee Studios believes in the power of untold stories such as ‘The Kashmir Files’ and fully realises its box office potential. Drawing from our past experiences from films such as ‘Tashkent Files’; we expect the film to have a long run at the theatres. Our current release plan will reflect that belief with over 500 screens worldwide and approximately 2000 shows a day.”
The Kashmir Files has been getting tremendous feedback from Kashmiri Hindus who have lived through the exodus and genocide, many of whom feel that this has been the first-ever true depiction of what the community went through over three decades back. Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, while speaking to audience at the special screening of the film in Delhi had said that while the film is cinematic representation, not a single death or atrocity was fictional. Even some of the situations where the terrorist Yasin Malik was seen cosying up with politicians and activists were real and evidence of the same can be found via a simple Google search even now.
Speaking to OpIndia, a Kashmiri Hindu, whose family spent years in the camps in Jammu said, “not only were the crimes against us whitewashed and watered down but it took someone over 30 years to say the truth as is.”
The film has run into legal troubles where petitions were filed to stall its release. However, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday dismissed the same, paving way for the release of the film on Friday. As of now, The Kashmir Files is topping the list of most anticipated Indian movies and shows on IMDb.
