Karan Johar says The Kashmir Files is no longer a film but a movement: ‘You have to watch it to learn from it’

Filmmaker Karan Johar has heaped praises on the recent release The Kashmir Files calling it a ‘movement’. The filmmaker added that the film should be a lesson for aspiring filmmakers in how to handle content. The Kashmir Files is directed by Vivek Agnihotri and released to critical acclaim on March 11. The film has been a box office success too, raking in over ₹250 crore. Also read: Abhishek Bachchan praises The Kashmir Files, says, ‘not met anyone who found it bad’; Vivek Agnihotri thanks him

The Kashmir Files is about the exodus and killings of Kashmiri Pandits in the Kashmir valley in the early 1990s. The film stars Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi, and Darshan Kumaar, who are supported by an ensemble cast. Made on a budget of just around ₹15 crore, the film has overperformed at the box office, surpassing all trade expectations. Its box office numbers in India have been better than several bigger films like 83, Gangubai Kathiawadi, and Sooryavanshi.

In a conversation about cinema and writing, Karan told Galatta Plus, “The Kashmir Files is not made on the budget like a lot of other movies. But it is probably going to be cost-to-profit the biggest hit of Indian cinema. I read on Box Office India and they said that such a movement hasn’t happened since Jai Santoshi Maa, since 1975.”

The filmmaker went on to talk about the film’s connect with the masses and added that aspiring filmmakers should take lessons from it. “You have got to acknowledge there is something that is connecting with this nation and academically you have to watch it. You have to watch it to absorb, to learn from it that look, there is this movement that has happened. It’s no longer a film, it’s a movement,” he said.

The film has received praise from several Bollywood celebs, including Kangana Ranaut and Abhishek Bachchan. It has also been endorsed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who both called it an ‘important film’.