Darshan Kumar may have been part of several acclaimed and challenging projects like Mary Kom, NH10, Sarbjit, and The Family Man series, but the actor says his latest film The Kashmir Files has given him the toughest role of his career. Darshan, who plays a conflicted Kashmiri youth trying to find out the truth behind his parents and brother’s deaths in Vivek Agnihotri’s directorial, says he almost went into depression while shooting for the film.
The Kashmir Files is a story based on video interviews of the first generation victims of the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990. The film also stars Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi, and Puneet Issar.
“I watched a lot of videos that were available in the public domain to get into the skin of my character, Krishna Pandit,” Darshan tells News18. “I had to live each and every incident that happened with Krishna Pandit and his family. It was very painful. I almost slipped into depression. I was always low. I tried to be in the character all the time even when I was at the hotel and resting. I have not had proper sleep any night while I was shooting for this movie. I had to do meditation for three weeks after finishing the film because I wanted to come out of that. So, it took a toll on me. But I think all of it has now paid off with the audience giving standing ovations to the film nationwide,” Darshan adds.
Darshan recalls how he was left shaken after Vivek Agnihotri narrated the script of The Kashmir Files to him. “I remember I got a call from casting director Taran Bajaj who said Vivek sir is very interested to cast you in his film. Then I met Pallavi ma’am at her office and she showed me the videos of real victims. They had traveled all over the world and documented the first-hand accounts of the victims whose mothers got raped or family members were killed brutally. It shook me inside out. I couldn’t utter a single word after watching those videos.”
He continues, “Later, they gave me the script and while reading it, I could feel the same pain that I saw in those videos because Vivek sir depicted all those incidents so incredibly in the screenplay that I was spellbound. Whatever we are showing in the film, it’s all in the public domain and I feel so guilty not knowing about it. We only knew that Kashmiri Pandits left Kashmir because they were not comfortable staying there. We didn’t know the reality. This film is showing the reality and that’s why we have been getting such an amazing response.”
Before The Kashmir Files, the actor had made headlines for his intense portrayal of Major Sameer of Pakistan in The Family Man series. In the show, Darshan’s character plans multiple attacks on Indian soil as a part of Mission Zulfiqar. The actor had received a lot of hate messages for his role in the spy-thriller series.
Talking about the dichotomy between Major Sameer and Krishna Pandit, Darshan says, “When I play any character I don’t see it as positive or negative. I just see them as humans who have emotions and a certain target in life. I try to focus on that. We always believe whatever we are doing is the right thing. So, that’s what I did with Major Sameer. We were supposed to show his back story but we didn’t. His father got killed during the war between India and Pakistan so he had his motto (to seek revenge) and that’s what he believed and did.”
“As Darshan, I can judge Major Sameer that he is not a good guy because he is doing brutal things but while performing him I should be convinced, and then only will the audience be convinced. That’s what I did for Krishna Pandit in The Kashmir Files. I try to be real all the time and emote. I always think I’m the lead and I’m operating everything (laughs). Krishna is a very jittery guy filled with complex thoughts and Major Sameer has a different kind of confidence because he’s done thousand wrong things. Krishna is just like us young people who are confused and being fed with different narratives. Although we do try to find the truth, it’s always hidden. I think Krishna Pandit was the most difficult role for me as an actor,” Darshan concludes.
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