Some movie genres in Bollywood require a good amount of research and thought process and to weave a fictional story on the reality of a place like Kashmir and to do it to the ambit of precision requires some great competence. "YAHAAN" is one such movie made on the Kashmir incident. It also marked the directorial debut of "SHOOJIT SIRCAR" and his flair to deal with such a sensitive subject in a mature way. The film focuses on Kashmir, and it's beauty can be summed up by Emperor Jahangir's famous lines: "Gar firdaus bar-rue zamin ast, hamin asto, hamin asto, hamin ast (If there's a heaven on earth, it's here, it's here, it's here.)" which now is suffering from fear, turmoil, violence, chaos and bloodshed in the name of a separate state of Kashmir. Amidst all this is the love story of Captain Aman played by "JIMMY SHERGILL" and Ada played by "MINISSHA LAMBA." Talking about Jimmy Shergill, he is a really amazing actor and in this film also he does full justice to the character of an Army officer. Minissha Lamba is fine on the basis of her debut and her casting is appropriate as the premise of the film was such that it required a new face.
The scenes of bombing and attacks in the valley look as real as they can get and the entire credit for this goes to the cinematographer. Kudos to him for a job well executed. Coming to the other aspects of the film which I like, included the supporting cast as without them the portrayal of such a jittery situation would be impossible. A special mention to "YASHPAL SHARMA" who shines as Ada's brother Shakil Ahmed and delivers a performance worth remembering. What more can be asked for when above all this the lyrics are penned by non-other-than "GULZAR". All songs have tremendous potential but my personal favourite is "Naam Ada Likhna". Mentioning all the merits of the film will sound like an exaggeration to many and may spoil its beauty. However, I would recommend all of you to watch "YAHAAN" if you haven't already seen it. It feels more relatable taking into account today's frame of reference as just the times have changed but the gloom of Kashmiris being the same.
I would give 10/10 to "YAHAAN" as such movies come once in a while and have a great impact over the coming generations as well.
