What's going on in Kashmir, really? A Mumbai-based filmmaker, who is living out of a suitcase in Srinagar, shoots the ground realities for an ongoing web series
Stills from the web series, Live From Kashmir
Tufts of clouds, gazing at their reflection in the Dal Lake, are dispersed by a lone flower-seller rowing through its still waters. An azaan resonates in the background as the camera pans across closed shops with signages that read, 'We want freedom'. The empty streets of Srinagar bear a forlorn look. It's the 66th day of curfew, imposed in the Valley last year to curb the widespread protests following the encounter of 22-year-old Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.
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In another part of the city, CRPF forces gear up to quell protestors, and in the firing that ensues, shaky visuals cover the screen as the person filming the scene flees to save his life. Raw, edgy and showcasing ground reality from the frontlines, these visuals form part of the first episode of Live From Kashmir, a social documentary web series launched last October.
Stills from the web series, Live From Kashmir
Let's go live
So far, six episodes have been uploaded on the YouTube channel of Video Daddy, a city-based production house of filmmakers, photographers and writers from across India, on a mission to produce engaging and intelligent social video content. Since last August, five members of the collective have been living in the Valley — shooting, editing and uploading the episodes using one of the few working Internet connections in Srinagar, supporting 1,000 routers. One of them is 40-year-old filmmaker Sreejith Karanavar. This evening, he will host a talk on the beleaguered state at a Bandra institute.
"Last year, Sumit (Verma, collective's founder) and I were keen to produce content on a topical subject. It was also the time of uprising post Burhan Wani's death. So, we decided to head to Kashmir," says Karanavar, a graduate from Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in Kolkata, whose tryst with Kashmir began back in 2010, when he worked with DD Kashmir for a few months. "We had ventured out with the idea of making a documentary feature, but ended up with a web series owing to the immediacy of the situation," he adds.
Stills from the web series, Live From Kashmir
From locals' POV
Part-travelogue, part-youthful adventure, the episodes showcase diverse perspectives from the Valley, including voices of separatists demanding cessation and an anonymous CRPF officer who narrates massacre tales during Sheikh Abdullah's regime — all interspersed with archival footage of Pandit Nehru's speeches as well as Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's walk-out from the UN Security Council back in 1971.
They also focus on the state's youth. The one titled Games Of Power features a group of four Kashmiri musicians who've opened a school to educate kids in the face of the militarisation of the state. "While we started out with the idea of showcasing a humanitarian POV, we'll head back next week to capture the cultural imperialism that has taken over Kashmir, where youngsters are forced to live a certain way due to the political turmoil," he adds.
Filmmaker Sreejith Karanavar
Freedom of press
According to Karanavar, Kashmir lacks media intervention; this is evident in the three episodes dedicated to media's role in coverage post Wani's death. He will share his views this evening since the session is part of World Press Freedom Day celebrations. "I will talk about the importance of having a journalistic ethic, which is largely missing in the Kashmir reportage. It's the job of the media to explain to people across the country what is really happening there. Today, unless you go to Kashmir, you will not realise how grave the situation is."
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