‘Article 370’ Film: Yami Gautam, Priya Mani Receive Praise for Stellar Performances

“I’ve heard on TV yesterday that a movie titled ‘Article 370’ is coming, but I have no idea what the plot is about. Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated as much earlier this week at a rally in Jammu. “Good, it will be useful for people to get correct information,” After listening to him, if you were expecting to see this Yami Gautam movie with a notebook and pen in hand to take notes, you’re going to be disappointed. When the movie starts, the creators declare that the film is “inspired,” and as it’s not a “documentary,” some artistic license has been taken in narrating the sequence of events.

‘Article 370’, directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale, is a well-made film that will try your patience due to its 2 hours and 40 minutes of running time. The first half, which is squandered on establishing the plot, might have been easily cut by the director. The movie crawls more slowly than a tortoise, but in the second part it awakens and sprints, more quickly than a hare, to the finish line with well-paced drama and predictable turns.

If the team feels like they won, it’s all because to the actors’ performances. Priya Mani and Yami Gautam, the two women in charge and those who do the majority of the work, have an influence. The prime mover in getting Kashmir’s special status revoked is Priya Mani, a joint secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office.

As is typical with most heroes in Bollywood action films, Yami, the woman with a terrible history, is a ‘arrogant’ officer on duty. Its name, Zooni, also makes you think of Kajol from “Fanaa,” who struggled with love for her nation. The story begins because of Zooni, a Kashmiri Pandit in “Article 370,” and her intense love for the region. It becomes humorous though, how she constantly manages to deliver the final blow and fire the final bullet, establishing herself as the unstoppable star.

The film, which is set between 2015 and 2019, is structured into six chapters similar to any History or Civic book. It attempts to tell the terrifying story of Kashmir’s repeated betrayals by politicians and bureaucrats. To maintain their hold on power, they have permitted radicalization and are still brainwashing the youth to support ‘Azaadi’ and act as stone pelters. Even though the film’s creators refer to it as “inspired,” you can’t help but notice how the two leaders of Kashmir have been represented as Mehbooba Mufti and Farooq Abdullah, but in a more disturbing way.

Giving credit where credit is due, the filmmakers refrained from doing what is most obviously done in these films these days, which is to criticize Pakistan or Muslims. Furthermore, there are no overtly desh bhakti tunes or corny dialogues to demonstrate one’s patriotism. The picture has a great production value, something that producer Aditya Dhar accomplished in “Uri” (2019). ‘Article 370’ is not jingoistic, but it is geared toward promoting the BJP government in the run-up to the general elections.

The only politicians in the movie who appear to have heart are Arun Govil and Kiran Karmarkar, who play Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, respectively, in amateurish ways. As the opening, given by Ajay Devgn, attempts to hold the first prime minister accountable for the “blunder” in Kashmir, Jawaharlal Nehru has also not been spared.

You may want to research the real history of the Kashmiri movement for autonomy because of some of the film’s unpersuasive assumptions about it. It seems that the Prime Minister intended for “Article 370” to be “helpful for people to get correct information.