Those who are well versed with Kashmir will certainly be reminded of Basharat Peer’s memoir Curfewed Night and Vishal Bharadwaj’s film Haider. What makes ‘No Fathers in Kashmir’ different is not easy to explain. A lot of scenes and even the sub-narrative is almost similar to that of Haider. Ashvin, however, has taken pains to bring nuance to the storytelling on Kashmir.

Ashvin has woven the narrative around the disappeared persons of Kashmir and encapsulated the torture, illegal detention, encounters, large presence of troops, cordon and search operations and frisking, blending it well with the main plot of the movie. The film is sensitive in its portrayal of the dilemmas, pains, and struggles of the families whose members never returned home. The half-widows and their plight are similar despite the difference in their social and education status.

The film, however, is less than perfect.