‘Saffron Kingdom’- a haunting response to “Kashmir File”

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By Syed Ali Mujtaba, Edited By Adam Rizvi, The India Observer, TIO:‘Saffron Kingdom’ is a movie that was made in America by the Kashmiri diaspora in response to the “Kashmir File” of 2022. The brief of the ‘Kashmir file’ was to malign the Kashmiri Muslims as terrorists who committed atrocities to cleanse the Hindus from the Kashmir valley.

 The ‘Saffron Kingdoms’ tries to show how the Indian military forces are committing atrocities on the helpless Kashmiri Muslims in the name of counter terrorism.

The story of ‘Saffron Kingdom’ is inspired by the incident of July 2003, when a noted Kashmiri singer, Ghulam Nabi Sheikh, mysteriously disappeared while traveling with his daughter on a train from Jammu to Delhi. The deceased’s family alleged that it was a case of enforced disappearance and killing by the Punjab Police, which claimed that the singer had accidentally fallen off the train and died.

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Twenty-two years later, Arfat Sheikh, son of Ghulam Nabi Sheikh, who was 16 years old then, and now lives in Atlanta, America, has come up with the movie “Safron Kingdom.”  Through this movie, he tries to tell the story of the Kashmiri Muslims’ collective pain, trauma, and sufferings from the Indian occupational forces, that has made life hell for the ordinary Kashmiri Muslims.

 Actually, ‘Saffron Kingdom turns Vivek Agnihotri’s version in “Kashmir file” upside down, who, through his squinted glasses, tries to show how Muslim terrorists defiled the Kashmiri Hindus’ identity in the saffron valley.

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In contrast, the ‘Saffron Kingdom’ follows a Kashmiri-American family’s story of trauma and displacement. The narrative centers on Masrat, a woman who flees Kashmir with her son Rizwan after her husband is abducted by the Indian army and disappears in custody. The film explores their life as they rebuild themselves in Atlanta while processing the trauma of insurgency, forced displacement, and the revocation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.

The film explores identity, justice amidst political turmoil through the family’s struggle. The film also invokes the poignant memory of Gawkadal massacre of 1990 and weaves together a painful kaleidoscope of abuse, harassment, detentions, disappearances, and murders by Indian armed forces amidst the veil of bloody turmoil.

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‘Saffron Kingdom’ is a cinematic testament to exile, memory, resistance, and resilience – a Kashmiri story that refuses to forget and also refuses to surrender to saffron rule. The movie beautifully encapsulates the rich heritage of Kashmir, symbolized by its renowned saffron cultivation, and also challenges the politicized narratives often imposed on the region.

The title ‘Saffron’ is a play on words that is widely grown in Kashmir and is also a symbol for the Saffron party – the BJP.

Shot primarily in Atlanta, ‘Saffron Kingdom’ has a diverse cast, none of whom are speakers of the Kashmiri language. The Kashmiri diaspora refused to be part of the films because of the Indian retribution on their families living in the Kashmir Valley. Nevertheless, the assorted star cast is successful in highlighting the resilience of the Kashmiri people while exploring the intergenerational impact of the armed conflict.

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No wonder ‘Saffron Kingdom’ is receiving packed audiences in America and elsewhere. Audiences are connecting well with the collective trauma of the Kashmiri people under the BJP’s rule.

 ‘Saffron Kingdom’ has already garnered rave reviews. It has gained attention by winning Best Feature at the LA Film & Documentary Awards and competing at the 2025 Chicago Filmmakers Awards.

Saffron Kingdom was selected for the Rome International Film Festival 2024, ARRF Berlin International Film Festival, and Florida South Asia Film Festival. It was a semi-finalist at the Melbourne Independent Film Festival and the Chicago Filmmaker’s Awards. It was a winner at the Wake Forest Film Festival and nominated at the London Director Awards.

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The tail piece is that if we recall, the BJP government in 2023 had made the screening of the “Kashmir file” a tax-free movie. It also made it mandatory for the Indian Military Jawans to watch.  ‘Kashmir File’ was shown to the government officials and their ancillaries in all the BJP-ruled states.  The RSS volunteers had booked cinema halls to show this movie to their like-minded supporters. ‘Kashmir File’ was made a must-watch for every Indian to instill the feeling of nationalism by ‘othering’ the Kashmiri Muslims as terrorists.

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In contrast, the ‘Saffron Kingdom’ may not get any reception in India. The government may certainly ban the screening of this movie in India. However, movie enthusiasts can still watch this movie through its pirated version to know what’s going on in the Saffron Kingdom.

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Curated by Humra Kidwai

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