‘Mission Kashmir’: A Love Letter to Kashmiriyat
The Vidhu Vinod Chopra film’s message of harmony feels like a relic of the past, which he had once hoped would define its future.
When Vidhu Vinod Chopra thought up the story to Mission Kashmir around 1998, he was in Kashmir, watching a boat slowly move across the peaceful, beautiful Dal Lake. He imagined what happens when violence intrudes without notice. When an explosion mars the quietude? That very visual would become his opening scene in his 2000 film, which turns 25 today. “This land of gods has turned bloody,” a song croons. “Why are the houses burning? Why are people wandering?” As the poet Amir Khusrau’s line goes about Kashmir, “Gar firdaus bar ru-yi zamin ast, hamin asto, hamin asto, hamin ast.” If there is heaven on earth, it is this, it is this. And it is heaven that can quickly become hell.
The biggest Indian film of 2000 featured a newcomer who could do it all: dance, charm, act, fight. But Hrithik Roshan’s Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai wasn’t his only box office hit that year. Almost exactly nine months later, a far quieter film, Mission Kashmir, became the third-highest grossing of the year, proving that Roshan seemed to have a knack for selecting story-driven projects. The film — co-written by director Vidhu Vinod Chopra and literary giants Suketu Mehta and Vikram Chandra — about the longstanding conflict in Kashmir was equal parts fantasy, realism, and idealism. “This isn’t a journey into the future. It’s a journey into the past in search of the future,” director Vidhu Vinod Chopra said. Its sharp story, beautiful music, and exploration of communal harmony remain relevant to this day, urging us to reexamine what’s gone wrong and perhaps offer a window into a more optimistic tomorrow.