Set entirely in the scenic backdrop of Jammu and Kashmir, the film is based on the landmark revocation of Article 370
Our Bureau
Mumbai/Srinagar
Basking in the success of her latest release, action-packed political-thriller ‘Article 370’, actor Yami Gautam on Monday said the cast and the makers had ‘full faith’ in the film finding favour with the audience. Revealing that the makers were told that such films may not find too many takers, the pretty actor said, “We were told that this film may not find success at the box office as viewers do not appreciate such subjects.”
In the film that has opened to strong reviews and is drawing people to theatres on strong ‘word-of-mouth’, Yami plays intelligence officer Zooni Haksar. Set entirely in the scenic backdrop of Jammu and Kashmir, the film is based on the landmark revocation of Article 370, which guaranteed special constitutional privileges to the erstwhile state.
Helmed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale, the film also stars Priyamani, Arun Govil and Kiran Karmarkar in key roles.
In a bold move that few so coming, the Centre, on August 5, 2019, revoked Article 370, effectively stripping the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir of its special privileges and splitting the region into two Union Territories–Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
On the positive reviews and early box-office success of her latest release, Yami, during a free-wheeling conversation on Monday, said, “We had full faith in the film striking the right chords and finding favour with the audience. We knew once a viewer watches the film once, his views and opinions in the matter (revocation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir) would change. A common refrain in the congratulatory messages that I have been receiving since our film hit theatres is that the youth should watch it as there’s no propaganda in it.”
Filmmaker and Yami’s husband, Aditya Dhar, who produced this film, said, “We could only work hard for this film, which we did. We knew once the film arrived in theatres, we wouldn’t have any control over how it was received by the viewers. There wasn’t much we could do. We just submitted ourselves to the audience and hoped for the best. We knew it was the audience, and the audience alone, who could give our film its due. Our film had characters based on real-life people, who worked tirelessly for the abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir. The idea was to narrate their struggles in real life and bring it to viewers through the audio-visual medium. However, we never imagined our film getting such a response and receiving so much love from viewers. We are truly overwhelmed. To those who called our film agenda or propaganda, all we said was that they should watch the film before judging it or running it down. Abrogating Article 370 was the biggest-ever decision that an elected government at the Centre has taken since independence.”
Addressing an event during a recent visit to Jammu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a massive shoutout to the makers of ‘Article 370’ saying, “I have been told that a film titled ‘Article 370’ is being released this week. It’s good that movies are being made on such issues. Apart from entertaining viewers, it will also raise general awareness on the events that led us to take this decision.”
Responding to PM Modi’s remark, Yami took to Instagram and posted, “It is an absolute honour to watch PM @narendramodi Ji talk about #Article370Movie. My team and I really hope that we all exceed your expectations in bringing this incredible story to the screen! “
According to the makers, the film has already minted Rs 34.71 crore gross worldwide in three days.
Meanwhile, director Aditya Suhas Jambhale shared his experience of working with Yami Gautam, Priyamani and producer Aditya Dhar in ‘Article 370’. He also opened up about the kind of response the movie is getting from the audience. He said, “Yami is a fabulous actor and to work with her was a great experience. She is very studious in her approach. Priyamani is amazing.”
Speaking about how it was to work with Aditya, he added, “He has been a great producer and has given me complete freedom. He forced nothing on me.”
On the kind of response this movie is getting, he shared, “The way people are reacting and audience are reacting is beyond words. Every day they share videos and get messages from all over the world. I think when we started working on this project we knew that people would have the similar response and every Hindustani would react to it.”
