Baramulla

2016 का साल। कश्मीर का बारामूला कस्बा। वही बारामूला जिसे वराहमूल और वर्मूल भी कहा गया। एक फंक्शन में तमाशा दिखा रहे जादूगर के बक्से से स्थानीय एम.एल.ए. का बच्चा ’गायब’ हो जाता है। तफ्तीश के लिए डी.एस.पी. रिदवान की वहां पोस्टिंग होती है। कुछ और बच्चे भी ’गायब’ हो रहे हैं। रिदवान को उन आतंकियों पर शक है जो बच्चों को पत्थरबाज बना रहे हैं। उधर जिस पुराने मकान में रिदवान और उनका परिवार रह रहा है वहां भी कुछ अजीब हरकतें हो रही हैं। कोई साया है जो उनके बेटे के संग खेलता है। बेटी को लगता है कि इस घर में कोई कुत्ता भी है। एक दिन रिदवान की बेटी भी ’गायब’ हो जाती है। कौन है इसके पीछे? क्या राज़ है इस घर का? बच्चे ’गायब’ क्यों हो रहे हैं, कैसे हो रहे हैं, कौन कर रहा है, कहां हैं वे बच्चे…?

There is something called an Aditya Dhar film. The emphasis might feel odd, given that he has directed only one feature till now, and the second is waiting in the wings. But the projects he has been involved in the capacity of a writer and producer, most notably Article 370 (2024), bear the distinct stamp of his filmmaking. Tenets of this include compelling set pieces, imposing artistry, and bigoted politics. In Baramulla, the latest film he has bankrolled, all these are heightened to greater, more dangerous heights.

Horrors of the land, horrors of the mind and horrors of the past coalesce in Baramulla. The result is an intriguing concoction which may often feel unique, but also one that makes for an uneven ride. Set against the potent backdrop of Kashmir — as is evident from its unequivocal title — Baramulla explores the historically ravaged land where the terror of the present and the trauma of the past co-exist on an everyday basis, one often seeping into the other.

There’s something sinister going on in Baramulla, with young children disappearing without a trace. DSP Ridwaan Sayyed (Manav Kaul) is dispatched to the picturesque Kashmir town to investigate, and when he arrives at the house allotted to him, along with wife Gulnaar, and children Noorie (Arista Mehta), and Ayaan (Rohaan Singh), he is pitchforked into a situation he’s never handled before.

Kashmir valley and insurgency in the state have both served as themes for numerous films in Indian cinema. The beauty of the valley and the unfortunate political climate of the state have always been a topic of discussion and heated debate across India, thus serving as the perfect premise for films. Netflix’s latest film Baramulla, featuring Manav Kaul and Bhasha Sumbli in the lead, sets the story deep into the valley, but instead of romanticising about Kashmir, it depicts the grim reality of the place, riddled with curfews, terrorism and more. Directed byAditya Suhas Jambhale, who also serves as a co-writer with Aditya Dhar and Monal Thaakar, Baramulla keeps terrorism as just one of the subplots, while the main plot revolves around a case of missing children, which DSP Ridwaan Sayyed is appointed to solve.

कश्मीर की वादी जितनी हसीन है, अपने दामन में उसने उतने ही जख्म भी समेटे हुए हैं। फिर वो आतंकवाद का साया हो, मासूम बच्चों का पत्थरबाज बनना या फिर बरसों पहले हुआ कश्मीरी पंडितों का पलायन। ‘बारामूला’ कश्मीर के इन्हीं जख्मों पर मरहम लगाती एक संवेदनशील फिल्म है। कश्मीर पर ही ‘आर्टिकल 370’ बनाने वाले निर्माता आदित्य धर और निर्देशक आदित्य सुहास जांबले की जोड़ी की यह सुपरनैचरल क्राइम थ्रिलर, घाटी में बच्चों का ब्रेनवॉश करके आतंक के रास्ते पर धकेलने के मुद्दे से शुरू होकर 90 के दशक में कश्मीरी पंडितों के साथ हुई ज्यादती से जुड़ती है।

Baramulla opens with a striking single shot: a solitary flower bud in the snow attracts the attention of a child named Shoaib. It’s the sort of shot that usually ends with the sound of a bullet and the image of blood splattered across the whiteness. It is Kashmir after all. But the camera floats above the valley as the spell breaks and he trudges into the background. Minutes later, he disappears during a local magic show. Hard-nosed DSP Ridwaan Sayyed (Manav Kaul) is summoned to this town to crack the case and locate Shoaib, the son of a former MLA. Ridwaan’s track is rooted in the normal — more kids disappear from the same school, and the film shows a band of militants (led by a faceless mastermind named “Bhaijaan”) behind these kidnappings.