'Article 370' director Aditya Suhas Jambhale: As a filmmaker, I want to have an opinion

Yami Gautam

Director Aditya Suhas Jambhale's first two short films were set in Konkan, a region he knew intimately. Amritsar Junction (2020), set against the backdrop of the Partition, was born from his desire to prove to himself that he can do a Punjabi film. "I wanted to prove that I can handle complex stories that are not familiar to me," he explains. Did this sentiment lead the Goan filmmaker to make Article 370, which examines the 2019 revocation of the special status that was granted to Jammu & Kashmir? Jambhale says the genesis of the Yami Gautam-starrer took place when he was shooting his supernatural film, Baramulla.

"Aditya [Dhar, producer] trusted me because the story of Baramulla was sensitive, and I was able to shoot prolifically in Kashmir. I had always thought of Kashmir as an outsider, but during Baramulla's shoot, I stayed there for four months. In the last three years, the tourism in the region has changed. Businesses are booming. It was never a location for Bollywood, but now 20 productions are on," shares the director.

Assured by producer Aditya Dhar's faith in him, the National Award-winning filmmaker says he played on the front foot as he shot Article 370 in Kashmir. "We shot a scene with Yami in Downtown [Srinagar], where no shoot happened previously. The police and the CRPF [Central Reserve Police Force] were there; the locals also made us feel secure," he states.

Many view the abrogation of Article 370 as a major win for the current government. One cannot overlook how the movie, centred on this subject, is having a timely release in the election year. Can such a film then have a balanced point of view? "Article 370 deals with the local Kashmiri feeling. On ground, it has impacted the life of a person selling things on a shikara on Dal Lake," asserts Jambhale.

"As far as the election year is concerned, there are two things - we have the right intent. We believe that the covert operation was fascinating, and [they pulled it off] without losing lives. How the most militarised zone was normalised is a powerful story. It reiterates that India is one. People tell us that it's for the sake of elections, and we tell them, ‘Go, watch the film.' Secondly, as a filmmaker, I want to have an opinion. I support the decision of Article 370 being made redundant, and creating one India. Unless I believe in it, I cannot make it."