Noor Mohammad

Bhavnani is baffled by the development. “I don’t see the logic,” she says. “The state wanting to vet your script and decide whether you’re showing them in a good or bad light goes against all forms of artistic freedom, which is all that filmmakers really want.” Her decision to shoot the film in Kashmir stems from her need to capture its ethereal landscape, which she says lends itself to her narrative. “My characters have nothing to do with Kashmir or Kashmiris. I’m simply keen to use the Valley as a location. And to be honest, the state could really do with more tourism at this point. The pandemic has worsened an already 
bad economy.” 

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Director Aijaz Khan who made Hamid, a cinematic adaptation of the play Phone No. 786 by Mohammed Amin Bhat, seconds Bhavnani’s opinion. “When we have a Censor Board to vet  commercial films after they have been completed, why do we need to get the script evaluated at the start just to get permission to shoot? There’s no need for state intervention at this stage. I think it’s not fair at all,” Khan, whose 2018 film about seven-year-old Hamid went on to win a National Award in 2019. It’s the story of a boy, whose carpenter father disappears. After he learns that 786 is God’s number, he decides to dial so that God can connect him with his father. 

In 2017, Shyam Kishore shot a documentary in Pahalgam with his Kashmiri Pandit  actor friends, Ashwath Bhatt and Amit Wanchoo

Khan was mulling on filming a trilogy on Kashmir, but is now rethinking his decision.  Bhavnani believes the move will sting indie filmmakers more than their commercial counterparts because they have a host of other hurdles to surmount, including arranging finances and finding a platform to release their films. 

What’s welcome, however, says Khan, is the introduction of the single window clearance mechanism by the KFDC, which will ensure filmmakers don’t need to run from pillar to post to secure permissions. “This, I think, is wonderful because I remember how much my crew and I had to run around while shooting Hamid. We had to figure out with the local line producers whether a certain area is safe to shoot. Before shooting in Badarkot, Tangmarg, we checked whether any riots had taken place, because the situation can worsen quite quickly there. The other good thing they’ve done is made provisions for resources and equipment for outdoor filming.”

Shyam Kishore and Mushtaaque Ali Ahmed

According to filmmaker Shyam Kishore, it’s documentary filmmakers who will be the worst hit. “Docus are rooted in reality and you want to get as close to facts as possible, whether past or present, so this policy could make it harder for non-fiction storytellers.” 

In 2017, Kishore shot a documentary in Pahalgam with his Kashmiri Pandit  actor friends, Ashwath Bhatt and Amit Wanchoo. “The story is about two Kashmiri Pandits, Bhatt and Wanchoo—one who was part of the mass exodus of the community in 1990, and the other who chose to stay back in the Valley.” He also points to certain “grey areas’ in the newly-introduced policies such as the mention of grants being provided for films produced to patronise One Nation, Best Nation (Ek Bharat Shresth Bharat), on the website. 

Hamid, a 2018 film by Aijaz Khan, is about seven-year-old Hamid. It went on to win a National Award in 2019. It’s the story of a boy, whose carpenter father disappears. After he learns that 786 is God’s number, he decides to dial so that God can connect him with his father

This statement is open to interpretation, he thinks. “Does this mean you need to pander to the government’s ideology? And what if your idea of ek Bharat is different from theirs? It’s tricky.” 

Aijaz Khan

He says some restrictions such as making certain locations out of bounds for filmmakers, are understandable and even necessary to maintain the sanctity of the place. “The  KFDC has created an exhaustive list of shooting locations accessible to filmmakers. I’ve seen the websites of both the UP and Jharkhand governments, which also have a similar film policy, and they are not as thorough and detailed. The KFDC also assures a revert within the shortest time [two to four weeks after submitting the complete application on the Single Window Portal].” The Government of Jammu and Kashmir will now promote the establishment of film studios and processing laboratories until a fully active film city is established in the state, and encourage owners to reopen closed cinemas. 

Sapna Moti Bhavnani

Mushtaaque Ali Ahmed is one of the leading filmmakers and festivals directors from the Valley. Supportive of the new policy,  he feels vetting is a minor quibble if you look at the overall picture. “What I feel is that they [the authorities] want Kashmir to be portrayed in a positive way and not as a state battling unrest. Therefore, the idea is to eliminate any idea that perpetuates this at the very outset.” He, however, admits that filmmakers will need to be mindful of the subjects they take on. 

“Yes, controversial subjects such as militancy or extra-judicial killings might be tough subjects to tackle now.”