Decoding The Kashmir Files: Meet the Real vs Reel characters of the movie

The Kashmir Files, a movie about the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s, has recently gained a lot of attention. The film is set to be released on the ZEE5 streaming platform on May 13. Because Vivek Agnihotri’s film is based on true events, practically every character is based on real people. We’ve compiled a list of real-life characters who appear in the film.

Girija Tickoo as Sharda Pandit

In The Kashmir Files Sharda Pandit was based on a real-life character, Girija Tickoo, a lady who worked as a librarian at a university, was killed. She went to get her paycheck on that fateful day and then boarded a bus to return home. The extremists boarded the bus and hauled her out, throwing her into a cab. Following that, she is molested and gang-raped. The militants then used a mechanical saw to chop her in half.

BK Ganjoo

According to the movie, BK Ganjoo was a Kashmiri Pandit. He was hiding in his residence and was brutally killed in his own home. His neighbours provided the terrorist information about his movements. Ganjoo was kidnapped and pumped full of gunshots before being left to bleed on the rice. Later, the terrorist demanded that his wife eat the blood-soaked rice and feed it to her children.

Himanshu Ganjoo as Krishna Pandit

Himanshu Ganjoo plays Krishna Pandit in real life. His maternal grandmother informed him that his parents had died in an accident. He came to terms with the narrative of his maternal grandmother. However, he learned the truth about his parent’s tragic death after many years from a newspaper clipping in her sister’s book. He left India, and told Vivek Agnihotri, the director of The Kashmir Files, and open up about the tragic incident.

Bitta Karate as Farooq Malik Bitta

Journalist Vishnu Ram is shown in the movie interrogating a terrorist named Bitta, who confessed to killing 25 Kashmiri Pandits. Farooq Ahmed Dar nicknamed Bitta Karate, a real-life terrorist who killed roughly 20 people and caused terror in the Valley. He was the leader and chairman of the JKLF and was born in Kashmir in January 1973.

Radhika Menon As JNU Professor

Radhika Menon’s character is based on Nivedita Menon. She is a JNU professor who also works as a writer. Menon instructs JNU students in political theory and comparative politics. Nivedita Menon was accused of preaching “anti-national” pro-Kashmir slogans. She also encourages the students to speak up for those who are unable to speak out against the crimes committed against them. 

Kashmiri Pandit as Pushkar Nath Pandit

Hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri Pandits were forced to leave the Valley in 1990, and Pushkar Nath represents their cause. Anupam mentioned in an interview that he used his father’s name to represent Kashmir Pandits when describing his character. His character portrays the events that happened in the valley, as well as the hardships that Kashmiri Pandits faced during the mass exodus.