Pallavi Joshi on Why Bollywood Took 32 Years to Talk About Kashmiri Pandit Genocide – Watch Exclusive Interview

Pallavi Joshi says the brutal truth of the Kashmiri Pandit genocide was never treated as a reality and was 'suppressed by the politics and the system of that time.' Watch the full conversation.

Pallavi Joshi interview on The Kashmir Files: Actor Pallavi Joshi is very clear of what has appealed to the audience when it comes to The Kashmir Files. The actor, who plays a pivotal role in the film directed by her husband Vivek Agnihotri, spoke to india.com about the story that needed to be told and why Bollywood took 32 years to speak ‘truth of the Kashmiri Pandits.’

The Kashmir Files shows the 1990 Kashmiri Pandit Genocide and comments on the political climate of the valley. As of its second Tuesday, the film has crossed Rs 180 crore net at the Box Office and continues to make many records. The success that the film has achieved is unprecedented and Pallavi says it’s not just an ‘entertaining’ film but it’s something that will force people to think and will provide a different narrative of the incident that is hardly known to people outside Delhi or Kashmir.

When asked about why the industry took 32 years to come out with a story of a genocide that happened not many years back, Pallavi said, “This is a reality that never came to us. It was suppressed by the politics, the media, the system of the times gone by. It wasn’t just suppressed to the level where they managed to find the voice later… they just did not get a voice ever. In the last 30 years, their story hasn’t travelled beyond India. I don’t think it has travelled beyond Jammu or Delhi. When we heard the story for the first time, my total reaction was of total disbelief.”

She added, “I just refused to believe that something like this has happened in my country and I am unaware of it because I take great pride in calling myself an aware citizen. I know what is happening around the country. How could something this brutal could just slip through my notice! It was only when the research started coming in that I realised ‘no, it’s my shortcoming. I never got to know this.’ There was this tremendous sense of guilt when we started listening to the tragedy. At the same time, there was a great sense of betrayal.”

The actor said she was aghast to know the brutal truth of the community and felt really motivated to bring this story on-screen when she finally got to know about it and researched it. “When we realised the gravity of what the Kashmiri Pandit community went through, we realised it was not a story of a community being thrown out of the valley. It was a story of the genocide and this needed to be told. Our country has faced genocide, not in the years gone by, not in the pages of history. It happened while we were living. I was a young woman standing on my feet, earning my own bread and butter and I didn’t know about this. How awful is that,” she said. Watch the full interview here:

The Kashmir Files is being appreciated for both its performances and story. India.com also spoke to its other cast members – Darshan Kumar and Bhasha Sumbli. Watch this space for their interview!