Yahaan by Shoojit Sircar

My Rating: *****

"Yahaan" would be very high on my must watch movies list. It is a love story set in Kashmir valley of an army officer and a Kashmiri girl. The story revolves around terrorism and tension in the valley and the shattered and disturbed lives of people living there. It shows the constant fear that eats the people and kills their free spirit and soul.

The movie leaves a lingering taste of bitter sweet love and the tragedies and triumphs in life. It ignites hope and strengthens your belief in love.

It is the simple pleasure of life that people in the valley strive for that touch your heart. The magnanimity of the muslim family to adopt the orphaned hindu girl that gives hope that all is not lost. The courage of an army officer to threaten to tell on his senior if he continues the atrocities on the innocent in the valley that inspires you. It is the simple outlook of the girl and her grandmother to chase happiness to the end that makes you smile. The childlike fervour and excitement the girl has while in love that makes you relive your dreams and your close-to-heart moments. The tenacity of the girl to fight for the army officer and prove his innocence and her courage to not give up to the temptation to have him go scot free in return for her disowning their relationship. Her courage and determination to dream of a better future and happier days in the Kashmir valley moves you and you fall in love with her instantly.

I highly recommend it. A few cynics might find it a little far fetched and too easy a solution to the Kashmir problem but I would say that its an attempt to dream of a better tomorrow for the people there and that effort is worth appreciating.