‘Am I Next’: J&K artists set new benchmark in Bollywood

SRINAGAR:  A new crop of Jammu and Kashmir artists is setting a new benchmark in Bollywood.

‘Am I Next’, a highly acclaimed movie on teenage rape, has set social media on fire. 

From writer to producer and from actor to technical crew, the majority of the artists in the movie are from Jammu and Kashmir. The movie, which is streaming on Zee5, has won 8 international awards already.  

The movie has been written by Rahat Kazmi and Kritika Rampal, both from Jammu. Hailing from Poonch, Rahat Kazmi of ‘Lines and ‘Lihaaf’ fame has also produced and directed the movie.

The main character has been played by Anushka Sen. Her mother’s role has been played by Neelu Dogra, who is also from Jammu. Pankaj Khajuria, Satish Bhat, Mir Sarwar, and others from Jammu and Kashmir played key roles in the movie.

“Kritika Rampal came to me with a story, When I read the story, it gave me goosebumps. I told her that we will make a movie on this subject. We jointly wrote a screenplay for the movie. It is based on a real story. This film was entirely shot in Jammu. Most of the actors in the movie are from Jammu,” Rahat told The Kashmir Monitor.

Before its release on Zee5 on Friday, the film won 8 international awards. These include `Best Film – Social Cause Award’ at the Indian Film Festival of Boston, `Best Feature Film’ at the Sweden Film Awards, `Outstanding Achievement Award – Narrative Feature at the World Film Carnival, Singapore, and an `Honorable Mention’ at the New York Movie Awards

“It has won 8 international awards already. We are overwhelmed by the reactions from the audience. It is trending on social media. The movie has touched the hearts of many people,” said Rahat.The movie is a real-life story of a teenage girl who is raped and impregnated. “It is about her struggle to terminate the pregnancy. Doctors refuse the termination because of different reasons. She then knocks on the courts’ doors. How each day of trial brings a heap of woes for her because there is a medical issue involved in late termination. It has everything that keeps the audience glued,” said Rahat.