Harud = Autumn dir. by Aamir Bashir ; written by Aamir Bashir, Mahmood Farooqui, Shanker Raman

According to the newspaper Greater Kashmir, Kashmir witnessed the reopening of cinemas after over three decades. It is the occasion to review a film by Kashmiri film director Aamir Bashir, who started his film career as an actor. He played in Netflix’s first Indian original series, Sacred Games — before making his first film ‘Harud’ (Autumn in Kashmiri) in 2010. Kashmir is a contentious subject in Modi’s India as the population is largely Muslim and the region is under the constant surveillance of a large contingent of soldiers. Srinagar feels like an occupied city and foreign journalists need an authorization by the Ministry of Home Affairs to visit Kashmir, and they are seldomly given it. The G20 event in May 2023 was the first time in the past few years foreign journalists had been allowed to visit Srinagar, but access was extremely restricted according to the BBC. This film conveys the oppressive atmosphere the Muslim population lives under. The main character Rafiq tries to survive in a family that mourns the disappearance of his older brother, a photographer. He kills his days aimlessly until the fateful moment he finds his brother’s camera that still contains a film. He will uncover some hidden truths. Beautifully filmed, in a region that Indians often describe as paradise on earth for its natural beauty, this movie shows its dark political underbelly.

Available in the Media Centre - Available online (video streaming)