After doing some impressive work in making documentaries and ad commercials, Shubh Mukherjee has returned to fictional filmmaking after 13 years with his film ‘Kahwa‘. Set in Kashmir, the film sheds light on an important true event in the city’s recent landscape and after creating waves internationally at several film festivals, the filmmaker recently revealed the trailer of Kahwa for the Indian audience starting Gunjan Utreja.
When asked about the reason behind releasing the trailer around Independence Day, Shubh says, “This film talks about an important place for all of us, Kashmir. It’s always been very volatile and on the radar for disrupted peace. It’s always looked through the lens of either of the two different ideologies- pro India or anti-India. As we will are celebrating India’s independence, it’s very important to understand the importance of freedom in a state like Kashmir. That’s what they have always fought for in their mind, their sense of freedom which they feel they hadn’t got. Independence is supposed to be celebrated by each citizen and it’s about doing it together. Kahwa celebrates the thought of togetherness, humanity and peace against war.
Kahwa is set against the backdrop of the aftermath of the encounter of militant Burhan Wani in Kashmir. His death led to the longest single spelling curfew in the state. In Kashmir, the relationship between the army and civilians has always been rocky, with the latter looking at the former as the ones trying to subdue them, while the army has looked at the civilians with suspicion. Kahwa uses this difference to spread a message of hope and positivity as it shows a tale of a tea seller and an army guy in Kashmir, who bond over conversations over tea.
The film has done rounds of film festivals globally, including Los Angeles, Istanbul, Chennai, London and also the Cannes Film Festival, and talking about the appreciation Kahwa has received from global audience, Shubh says it gave them an insight into a place they hadn’t known much about. “Those people aren’t aware about what happens in places like Kashmir, and through Kahwa, they got to know something new,” he says.
