72 Hoorain: Untouched, heavenly virgins, 72 of them; go, have a blast!

That is what the title of this film means. It is derived from the preaching of some misguided Muslim religious leaders, who brain-wash impressionable Kashmiri youth into becoming terrorists, and set-off bomb-blasts, in the hope that 72 hoorain will be waiting for them in the hereafter. It is not a documentary, but claims to be inspired by true incidents. The makers describe it as a tale that delves into the depths of the human psyche and explores the twisted paths taken by Fidayeens (the volunteers who enlist for terrorist attacks). On the 28^th of June, a rainy morning, the organisers chose to release the film’s trailer at The Club, D. N. Nagar, Andheri, Mumbai. Present on the occasion were fire-brand Kashmiri Pandit cause activist, Ashok Pandit, who is the co-producer of then film, the producers, Gulab Singh Tanwar, Kiran Dagar and Anirudh Tanwar, and director Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan.

On the day, for a considerable amount of time, Ashoke Pandit held centre-stage. He was extremely bitter that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has ordered two cuts in the trailer, the argument being that the film has received two national awards, and has been duly censored, so the CBFC has no right to order any cuts. Because of the cuts, he could not send copies to the cinema halls where the trailer was to be shown, and where it is scheduled for release this week. He said he will ask his friend, Prasoon Joshi (Chairman, CBFC), why did this happen and who is responsible for ordering these cuts.

Labelling the decision as regressive and detrimental to the artistic spirit, Ashoke Pandit, said, "We are extremely hurt and disturbed because of CBFC's unfair decision of rejecting the trailer without any strong reason. This action raises a big concern about creative freedom and realistic film-making. We will not take this lightly and will knock the doors of high court too, if needed. Further, we will also be requesting the Information and Broadcasting ministry, under which the CBFC operates, to intervene and question the authority at CBFC for rejecting the trailer. We have not inserted a single frame that is not in the film, so should we be asked to remove anything from the trailer?" The director of the movie, Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan, added, “The movie only states facts, and certainly does not target any religion, or hurt religious sentiments." Meanwhile, the trailer of 72 Hoorain has been creating ripples over social media.

A four-year-old film, 72 Hoorain had its world premiere in the Indian Panorama category at the 2019 International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa. There, it also won the ICFT-UNESCO GANDHI Medal, Special Mention. Director Chauhan earned the National Film Award for Best Direction for the same film, in 2021. The delay in release, according to Pandit, was because it is a completely independent production, with no institutional finance for production or distribution. On behalf of the producers, Tanwar gave an impassioned speech, saying that he had been looking for such a subject for quite some time, and when Sanjay narrated it to him, he came on board immediately. He was advised that he is setting his money afire by backing such a project, but he said he was prepared to see a part of his wealth burn, or float on water, come what may.

72 Hoorain’s hard-hitting trailer was shown on the occasion, and gave an indication of the shape of things to come. Brutalities, explosions and body parts, contrasted with the apparition-like visage of a religious fanatic, who lulls his followers into a long-term trance, under which they perform terrorist attacks, with the 72 hoorain as the reward for their act of ‘martyrdom’. And almost all through, we hear Pawan Raj Malhotra (the Raj is a recent addition) crying hoarse about the cause, and boasting about his ‘achievements.’ This must be the loudest he has performed and will match any standard for loudness on screen.

A question was raised by a media-person, that there has been a spate of films about so-called, “Kashmiri Muslim terrorism”. There must be another side to it too. Why isn’t anybody making films about other forms of terrorism or the perspective from the other side, of Kashmiri Muslims? Ashoke Pandit responded with, “Who is stopping anybody from making such films? Let them make any kind of film, get it censored and have it shown. In fact, I am dead against the media referring to Hindus as the majority community and Muslims as the minority community. Let us name them as Hindus and Muslims.”

Replying to a question from this writer, Sanjay said that films based on reality do not need much research. However, he and his team did research in character development.

Asked which two cuts had the CBFC ordered, Pandit revealed, “One shot of the chopped foot (in mid-close-up, horizontal, facing the camera) and another about a quote from the Qur’an.”

Nobody brought up the fact that a trailer is a completely re-edited, shortened version of the film. In their entirety, and in context, certain scenes would have a particular meaning. Cut to small bits and bytes, and juxtaposed against different scenes, preceding and following, these shots might have a totally different impact. It is possible that the CBFC had this perspective in mind. But the producers are well within their rights to protest and contest the cuts.

72 Hoorain also stars Aamir Bashir, Saru Maini, Namrata Dixit, Ashok Pathak, Mukesh Agrohari, Narottam Bain and Vijay Sanap. It is written by Anil Pandey.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gH3NG2VIug