2022 · Film
The Kashmir Files
Vivek Agnihotri's drama follows a Kashmiri Hindu student investigating his parents' deaths, cutting between 2020 and the 1989-1990 displacement of Kashmiri Hindus.
Reviewed by Movie Mandala, Sun, 18 Oct, 2026
Where to watch
IndiaAs of 18 October 2026, The Kashmir Files is streaming in India on ZEE5 with a subscription.
- Checked Sun, 18 Oct, 2026Open ↗
The story
The film moves between 1989–90 Kashmir, when militants drive Kashmiri Pandits out of the valley, and 2020. In the earlier timeline, teacher Pushkar Nath Pandit fears for his family as the violence grows. In the present, his grandson Krishna, a university student in Delhi raised by Pushkar, travels to Kashmir after his grandfather's death and meets Pushkar's old friends, who tell him about what happened to the Pandits.
Spoiler-free: only the set-up.
Who it suits
Intended for adult viewers who want to see a dramatised account of the early-1990s exodus of Kashmiri Hindus. It is A-certified (18+), runs 170 minutes and depicts violence. Its portrayal of history is politically contested, and critics and supporters disagree sharply.
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Genres:Drama
Curation to help you choose, not a review.
Background
Written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri, the film tells a fictional story set against the real 1990 exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from the Kashmir Valley. Zee Studios, Abhishek Agarwal Arts and I am Buddha Production produced it. It opened in cinemas on 11 March 2022 on about 630 screens, a count later expanded to around 4,000, and began streaming on ZEE5 on 13 May 2022. Bollywood Hungama estimated its worldwide gross at ₹340.92 crore, which made it the third-highest-grossing Hindi film of 2022.
The film's portrayal of events has been widely debated. Several state governments declared it tax-free, and Singapore's censors banned it, citing its portrayal of Muslims. At IFFI 2022, jury head Nadav Lapid criticised it in his closing speech, a remark that drew both support and criticism. Wikipedia notes that scholars dispute its framing of the exodus as a genocide. At the 69th National Film Awards it won the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration, and Pallavi Joshi won Best Supporting Actress.
The facts
- Language
- Hindi
- Hindi
- Hindi original
- Genre
- Drama
- Runtime
- 170 min
- Certificate
- A
- Director
- Vivek Agnihotri
- Cast
- Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, Pallavi Joshi
Questions people ask
- Where can I watch The Kashmir Files in India?
- As of 18 October 2026, The Kashmir Files is streaming in India on ZEE5 with a subscription.
- Is The Kashmir Files in Hindi?
- Yes. The Kashmir Files is a Hindi-language film.
- Is The Kashmir Files suitable for children?
- The Kashmir Files has a CBFC A certificate, which means it is restricted to adults aged 18 and above.
- How long is The Kashmir Files?
- The Kashmir Files runs for 2 hours 50 minutes (170 minutes).