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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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