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No Fathers in Kashmir backdrop

No Fathers in Kashmir

5 April 2019EnglishorigUrdu1h 48m
Drama
out of 10
Mixedlukewarm or divided
Monk Score · 4 scored reviews · 2 not rated

A well-meaning look at Kashmir's half-widows, let down by heavy-handed storytelling.

Verdict tier Mixed, lukewarm or divided, on a scale of Unfavorable, Mixed, Recommended, Exceptional.

  • Praised: Humanistic portrayal of Kashmir's conflict
  • Criticised: Muddled execution and heavy-handed messaging

Audience

User score 3.0 out of 10 from 1 rating, not enough ratings for a verdict yet
Read 1 audience review ↓

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Critic consensus

What 6 critics are saying

Critical reception for No Fathers in Kashmir is mixed, with reviewers acknowledging its relevance and willingness to engage with an underrepresented subject — the plight of half-widows and half-orphans in the Kashmir conflict. Critics appreciated that the film offers a dissenting perspective and uses a coming-of-age framework to make the conflict accessible to unfamiliar audiences. However, several reviewers felt the execution fell short of the film's ambitions, with complaints of muddled storytelling and an inability to fully balance humaneness with political urgency, resulting in what some called on-the-nose activist filmmaking.

How the 4 scores spread

2 not-rated reviews aren't plotted

Positive / mixed / negative reviews

Positive = 6.5/10 and up · negative = below 5/10

AI-generated summary of 6 critic reviews · may contain errors

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From the papers

Critic reviews (6)

Top critics first, then by score · not-rated last · updated

  1. Top critic

    Indian Express

    Film review ·

    A fresh entrant helps No Fathers In Kashmir to ask questions in order to make the film relevant to audiences unfamiliar with the conflict.

  2. Times Of India

    Film review ·

    This film is not a light watch – it's a poignant tale that leaves you thinking about the half-widows and half-orphans, and many such untold stories.

  3. Deccan Chronicle

    Film review ·

    Kumar tells his story through a coming-of-age story between two teens — Noor (Zara Webb) and Majid (Shivam Raina) — in an atmosphere of all-pervading gloom where even any semblance of hope becomes everyone's supreme aim.

  4. Film Companion

    Film review ·

    A Decent Kashmir Premise Undone By Its Desire To Be Heard...No Fathers In Kashmir is scripted smartly but the execution is a bit muddled, almost as if the director decides to compromise his awareness in favour of on-the-nose activist filmmaking

  5. Huffingtonpost.in

    Film review ·

    In a cinema-scape cluttered with quasi-propaganda movies that unabashedly celebrate the military, 'No Fathers in Kashmir' offers a dissenting perspective.

  6. The Hindu

    Film review ·

    In trying to bring in humaneness and politics in equal measure on screen, Ashvin Kumar's film stops short of being a searing account of a tragedy

From our readers

Audience reviews (1)

1 rating · user score 3.0

  1. Shashwat SisodiaNov 2019
    3/10

    'No Fathers in Kashmir' is an unabashedly political film which creates tense surroundings and fills it with further, turbulent scriptwriting. These things do make it a very bold film. But the style of direction and tge cinematography of Kashmir are regressive and the performances by Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Shivam Raina are far from convincing, making it a contrived little feature where there is little to convince us.

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