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EYE ON BOLLYWOOD APRIL 24, 2026 | The Indian Eye 37

“LINE OF CONTROL”

At the press conference, Travis Hodgkins (TH), Chaita Vedullapalli (CV), and

Rashaana Shah (RS) took questions from several journalists and responded. Excerpts:

Gulabo Siddiqui (GS): What story with honesty and care. If the film ligion-agnostic and territory-agnostic. tential, political, social and economic
makes Line of Control different from sparks thoughtful dialogue and reflec- KAMRAN BASHIR: I noticed a bit realities. We cannot reduce film to story-
other films based on conflict? tion, then it’s doing what meaningful of exoticization. But I see the obvious telling only especially when dealing with
TH: What makes LOC unique is storytelling is meant to do. reasons. I see the point. a conflict area where nuances rule.
its focus not on the conflict, but on the FT: Travis, did you take any cine- RS: The film is intended for RS: Only a handful of films have
families affected by the conflict. Many matic liberties to interpret the novel in younger generation. A lot of them been made about contemporary
movies focus on the violence; we audio visual medium? rely on short-content format on so- Kashmir. Our film is a period piece
wanted to focus on how the violence TH: I hope I answered your ques- cial media for information and news set in 1993. But the political rele-
affects people and how they respond tion during the online Q&A. I’m hap- - spaces we know can be highly curat- vance, emotional immediacy is identi-
to it—even if they weren’t directly im- py to get on a call if you have more ed and manipulative. In today’s over- fiable with people who live in conflict
pacted by the violence. Many movies thoughts/questions about it. whelming flood of content, we need to zones. And I say this based on audi-
focus on the recruiting of young men FT: In India, Dhurandhar 1 and 2 make the experience feel distinctive ence reactions of our festival screen-
to fight in conflicts; we wanted to focus raked in huge money on the Box Office. and compelling to hold their attention ings in Jordan, Johannesburg, Nepal,
on the young man who was left behind Why don’t you guys have a theatrical re- for a full 120-minute film. Samaria, Alaska.
after all his friends had been recruit- lease in India? CV: That’s a fair observation, and I am not sure what you mean by
ed. As a corollary, we also wanted to CV - That’s a great comparison I appreciate you calling it out. For me, ‘reduce film to storytelling’. To me
focus on the choices parents make to it really reflects how audiences in In- it’s about balance. We’re meeting a conflicts, any conflict is a paradox. We
encourage or discourage their chil- dia are engaging strongly with films generation where they are visually en- as filmmakers rely on good literature
dren from being recruited and the on this theme. Theatrical release de- gaged, fast-moving but without losing and first-person documentations and
consequences of those choices. cisions, though, depend on timing, the emotional truth. If the style draws probing into the different perspec-
CV - What makes Line of Control distribution strategy, and positioning. them in, the responsibility is that the tives on the issue.
different is that it doesn’t center the We’ve been focused on building the story grounds them in something real CV: I agree with Rashaana.
spectacle of conflict it centers the in- film through festivals and global audi- and human. When you’re dealing with a place like
visible choices people make within ences first. India is incredibly import- KB: What was your attempt at ma- Kashmir, it’s incredibly complex and
it. Having grown up around conflict ant to us, and we’re exploring the right terializing a certain Kashmiriness in the layered politically, socially, and emo-
zones, what stood out to me is how way to bring it there thoughtfully and film? Was it just storytelling or more? tionally. As storytellers, the respon-
deeply the film captures friendship, meaningfully. What was the most intentional element, sibility is not to simplify, but to hold
family, and quiet resilience. It’s not just FT: More so the visual in the trailer something that was held in absolute pri- space for those nuances through lived
about what happens it’s about how peo- need to be enjoyed on Big screen. BE- macy for the bulk of the film? experiences. That was the intent of
ple hold onto each other when every- CAUSE - the visual in the trailer need to TH: We wanted to stay as true this movie. For me, storytelling is
thing else feels uncertain and chaotic. be enjoyed on big screen as possible to Kashmir from the ear- not a reduction it’s an entry point. It
GS: How has the response at inter- TH: I one hundred percent agree. ly 1990s. As part of preproduction, allows audiences to engage with the
national film festivals influenced your We made the movie for the big screen, our production designer, Madhura emotional and human realities, while
expectations for its release in India and which involves not only the visuals but Gokarn, and costume designer, Rajvi still reflecting the paradoxes and mul-
the Middle East? also the sound design and music. Au- Shah, studied this period of time ex- tiple perspectives that define conflict.
RS: Am glad you asked us this diences who have seen the movie in tensively, and then went to Kashmir SURYAKANT SINGH: To Director,
question. We have been to more than the theater on the big screen at film to source all our materials for the Line Of Control Trailer looks brutal and
a dozen festivals to full theatres and festivals have experienced the movie movie. All the costumes came from painful.. How easy or difficult for you to
sold-out shows. From young teenag- in the way it was intended and have Kashmir, and all the sets were built make this happen?
ers to people over 50 the reactions are reported an overwhelmingly positive to look like homes in Kashmir based TH: The process of making the
mirrored. They are the same. But the experience. But what is at the heart of on places Madhura saw while she was movie had its many challenges. Not
most moving responses have come every movie is the story, and audienc- there. We also relied on our associate only for me, but also everyone in-
from mothers—across countries, es can enjoy that no matter how they producer, Brig. Rajiv Williams, YSM volved. It’s challenging to leave every-
faiths, and cultures. watch the movie, whether it’s in the (Ret.), who was an Indian army officer one and everything you know to travel
FILMY TOWN: To the producer- theater, on a TV, or on their phone. serving in Kashmir during this period to a foreign country and work with
Are you ready for controversies as this CV: I completely agree. A trail- of time, to advise us on all matters re- people you’ve never met in rugged
subject is bound to attract criticism/s er is designed to pull you into the lating to the army. In addition to ad- terrain and few creature comforts.
from either side? world the scale, emotion, and tension vising us about uniforms and military But we all rose to the challenge and
RS: Sir, is there really a controver- and that truly comes alive on the big protocol, he also reviewed my script gave it our best effort, and I think we
sy about the truth? Controversies are screen. But its real purpose is connec- during preproduction for inaccuracies captured on screen some very amaz-
different point of views of the same tion. Whether in a theater or on your and worked with the actor who played ing moments as a result. As I said
truth. In a place where everyone chose phone, if it moves you, it’s doing its job. the Captain, Rudi Dharmalingam, to during the online Q&A, you have to
sides, our protagonist chose to ques- FT: Sunil just mentioned that this help him better understand how an love making movies to work on an in-
tion. So, yes we are very much hop- film is made in English, Hindi and Ar- officer in these types of circumstances die movie because it’s grueling work,
ing that the film initiates a dialogue. abic? Do you really hope that GCC will would behave. long hours, and little to no pay. What
CV: I think with in any story root- allow the film’s release in Gulf coun- KB: How difficult is it to make a you see on screen is the love each per-
ed in conflict, multiple perspectives tries? film about contemporary Kashmir? Or son who worked on this film put into
are inevitable. Our intent is not to RS: Yes, I think Our movie ex- Kashmir post 2016? What kind of a it despite the hardships they suffered
take sides, but to present a human plores a universal theme that is both re- form ought to be created to reflect exis- while doing the work.

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