Films with: Kumar, Ashvin

Inshallah, football

"Inshallah football is a film about the difficulty of having a dream in an invisible war. It follows the journey of a young footballer, Basharat, caught between the dilemmas of a regular teenager and the extraordinary dilemmas of being born the son of an ex-militant in Kashmir. Basharat is the captain of the ISAT football team - a teenage football team playing at the highest level in the Kashmiri league. A typical teenager filled with angst, Basharat has learnt about survival on the streets of Kashmir, infamous for being the most militarized zone in the world. Basharat is also the first player of the team to be selected by Marcos, ISAT's Argentinean football coach, for a football scholarship to Brazil. However, due to his 'suspicious' background - of being born the son of a militant - he has been kicked around in between investigation agencies, the police, passport authorities and finally the law courts in a fruitless struggle to obtain a passport. A struggle that has already taken two precious years from his dream: becoming a professional footballer. Our story follows Basharat's journey, the dream Marcos injected in his blood, and his increasing curiosity about his father, Bashir, a former Hizbul Mujahideen. Through Basharat we discover Kashmir and the audacity it takes to dream of escape, release and freedom."--Smiley Films website.

DVD 9941

Inshallah, Kashmir living terror /

Testimonies of ordinary Kashmiris recount a brutal militancy and its terrible response from the Indian government. Both sides use violence and intimidation to advance their political aims, but it is the Indian Armed Forces who have committed human rights violations, some minor, others being called genocide. The film tells how freedom is conceded and replaced by fear, governance by institutionalized oppression and a paradise made desolate on the watch of India, a secular, democratic republic.

DVD 9942