Article 370: Pakistan's Response to the Kashmir Lockdown
Mariyam Nafees is a Pakistani actor who made her debut in Hum TV’s drama 'Diyar-e-Dil' as Zarminey. Mariyam has played the lead role in a new short film ‘Article 370’ directed by Ibrahim Baloch and produced by Madiha Majeed.
The film is a brave and much needed reality check, which focuses on the tragic lockdown situation which occurred in Kashmir exactly a year ago and attempts to detail how horrific it can truly be. It was released today, extraordinarily on fifth August known as Kashmir Lockdown Day, or 'Youm-e-Istehsal'. The film will be accessible on the SeePrime channel on Youtube. The length of the film is around 17 minutes, where the synopsis reveals it concerns sacrifices people are made to make without perhaps realising the choices they are bound to make.
The narrative highlights one decision that made a huge difference. Its essentially story of a young Kahsmiri woman, Gul-e-Rana (Mariyam Nafees), who is torn between her life's gravest choice and it mirrors the life of Kashmiri Muslims while capturing the reality. The young lady is anticipating bringing a new life into this war-torn environment, and holds on in blind faith for her significant other, Miru, to get back after India illegally occupies Kashmir. Her greatest gift transformed into a revile.
Director, Ibrahim Baloch, wanted to release the film, ‘Article 370,’ to mark the one year anniversary of India stripping the autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir. He dissected the circumstance a year ago and went over accounts from women in Kashmir and in Srinagar who conceived an offspring during the lockdown forced by the Indian organization. Mariyam Nafees, who played the lead role, stated that she was deeply inspired by the story as it depicts the harsh reality and sufferings of a family.
The film is loaded with intensified emotion and feelings, all the while being extremely sensitive in nature. Nafees accepts risque ventures like these are not attempted time and again. The surveys of the film are extraordinary up until now and it is strongly suggested.
Talking to Arab News, Baloch said he wanted to release the film, ‘Article 370,’ on the first anniversary of India’s unilateral decision to integrate the internationally recognized disputed Himalayan territory with the rest of the country.
“I started following the situation in Kashmir after India announced its decision and realized that it was primarily debated from a political perspective,” he said on Tuesday. “I was more interested in the human side of the issue. So after doing some research, I came across stories of Kashmiri women in Srinagar who gave birth during the lockdown imposed by the Indian administration.”
Article 370 of India's constitution guaranteed exceptional status to Jammu and Kashmir, giving a similarity of independence to the district. In any case, India renounced the arrangement a year ago, giving Baloch an incentive to begin chipping away and unearthing a story depicting the mainly Muslim-populated part of the territory under India's illegal occupation.
Shot in the area of Kashmir controlled by Pakistan and called 'Azad Kashmir', Article 370 spotlights on the life of Gul-e-Rana, a wedded Kashmiri lady. “This film depicts the reality and current situation of Jammu and Kashmir,” she said. “The twenty-minute visuals in the movie that show the suffering of a family in the region are full of human emotions. Projects like these are not undertaken too often.”
“Gul-e-Rana is a pregnant woman who goes through a tough situation while waiting for her husband during the lockdown,” Baloch said.
“I am confident that this film will resonate with people across the world since it projects a human story. Our aim was not to take sides but to highlight the plight of the people by telling their tales passionately.”
The film has gathered a lot of attention and people have high hopes for the inspirational project. They are keen and interested to watch this movie and seeing the shift of dynamic in Pakistani cinema to such a powerful topic and genre is a fantastic and monumental leap towards revolution of the industry and world of cinema as well.
The movie is available on See Prime which is a great incentive to see Pakistan branching out and evolving with not only real world topics and ideas, but technologically advancing in its stance!
Watch the film below: