Those who say I commercialised pain of Kashmiri pandits are donkeys: 'Shikara' director

Director Vidhu Vinod Chopra slammed those alleging that he "commercialised the pain of Kashmiri pandits" with his film 'Shikara' and termed them donkeys.

"'3 Idiots' earned 33 crores on first day and we knew the first day of Shikara will be 30 lakh. I make a film in the memory of my mother for 30 lakh collection on first day and some people say I commercialised the pain of Kashmiri Pandits. These people are donkeys," said Chopra at an event on Tuesday.

Earlier on the day of the release of the film, a woman belonging to the Kashmiri Pandit community broke down and lashed out at Chopra after watching the film at a theatre here where he had come to get a firsthand public review of the film.

The woman alleged that Chopra commercialised the entire issue of the exodus of the community which took place in 1990 and did not portray the actual suffering of the community including the genocide, mass rapes and mass murders committed by Islamic radical groups in his film.

This further stirred a debate on the credibility of the portrayal of the sensitive issue in the flick.

The period-drama 'Shikara' which is a love story that revolves around the true event of the mass exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits from the valley was released across the country on Friday, February 7.