Mission clicks in Jammu, Chopra misses mark

The Jammuites saw Dutt as a nationalist, while Kashmiris looked upon him as one among the several thousand policemen responsible for giving birth to militancy in the Valley. The latter felt Hrithik was right in picking up the gun to avenge his innocent parents’ death.

“Only a Kashmiri can understand the problem of Kashmir,” said Imran Rouf, who belongs to the Valley. “And Vidhu, being one, has shown this. Kashmiris were not militants by birth, as normally projected by the Indian media and pseudo-nationalists. It is these killings that make one a terrorist.”

The division was apparent inside the hall. A section of the audience, obviously hailing from Jammu, remained silent as Hrithik swung blows at Dutt. But the moment Dutt retaliated, this section broke out in thunderous applause. Noting the response, a student from Srinagar, Yasmin, remarked: “If the movie is screened in Kashmir, Sanjay will receive brickbats.”

The Mani Ratnam film on militancy in Kashmir, Roja, which took a sympathetic look at terrorists, had seen a similar enthusiastic response in the Valley. Despite a ban on movies by militants, people had clandestinely got cassettes from outside and watched the movie.

But Chopra must be delighted on one count. In the much-hyped battle at the box-office between his film and Yash Chopra’s Mohabbatein, his effort is a clear winner here. All the rush in Jammu, for now, is for Mission Kashmir.