Mission Kashmir

<p>Inayat Khan, the of Police in , , loses his young son, Irfaan, after local doctors refuse treatment due to a issued by the wanted Malik Ul Khan, which forbids medical assistance to an honest police officer, and their families. Seeking revenge, Inayat leads a successful operation to eliminate Malik and his associates. However, during the raid, a couple is killed in the crossfire, leaving their young son, Altaaf, as the sole survivor. At the urging of his wife, Neelima, Inayat adopts Altaaf but conceals the circumstances of his parents’ death. Years later, Altaaf uncovers the truth, attempts to kill Inayat, and flees. He is eventually found and radicalized by Hilal Kohistani, the leader of a militant group, who raises him to become a terrorist. A decade later, Altaaf returns to Srinagar as part of “Mission Kashmir,” a terrorist operation that ostensibly aims to assassinate the . As part of the plan, Altaaf reconnects with his childhood friend and television personality, Sufiya Parvez. Though he falls in love with her, he uses the relationship to attempt an attack on the city’s TV tower. His actions make him a wanted criminal, and when Sufiya learns of his true identity, she breaks off their relationship. Altaaf later plants a bomb intended for Inayat, but Neelima is killed in the explosion. Devastated by her death, both Altaaf and Inayat are pushed further into conflict. Inayat discovers that the true objective of “Mission Kashmir” is not political but a plan to bomb both Hindu and Muslim religious sites, inciting communal violence and destabilizing the region. The prime minister’s assassination was merely a diversion. Hilal had kept the full extent of the plan hidden from Altaaf, fearing his rejection, and secretly ordered Altaaf’s execution should he refuse to comply. Inayat captures Hilal and proposes a deal—allowing the mission to proceed if Hilal agrees to kill Altaaf. During the confrontation, Altaaf overpowers Inayat, who then reveals the real intent of the mission. When ordered to execute Inayat, Altaaf hesitates and ultimately refuses, moved by memories of Neelima’s kindness. He kills Hilal instead and dismantles the missile launchers, foiling the operation and killing enraged the remaining militants. Wounded in the process, Altaaf is rescued by Inayat. The terrorist plot is later exposed by the media. Altaaf awakens from a dream and reconciles with Sufiya and Inayat, finally accepting the latter as his father once again. for began in late 1999, with several sequences filmed on location in , . At the time, lead actor had not yet made his acting debut, as his first film (2000) had not been released. During the initial days of filming, Roshan appeared on set dressed as a Kashmiri militant, in line with his character in the film. Due to his appearance and the heightened security in the region, he was reportedly mistaken for a local insurgent by security personnel and denied access to the set. Following the release of on 14 January 2000, Roshan gained nationwide recognition, which led to fewer such incidents for the remainder of the shoot. was released theatrically on 27 October 2000 during the festival, simultaneously with Aditya Chopra’s . emerged as a commercial success at the box office. Domestically, it earned approximately ₹365 million, with an additional ₹68 million from overseas markets, bringing its total worldwide gross to around ₹433 million (US$5.1 million). It ranked as the , following and . received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its performances, technical quality, and intent to address socio-political issues, though some noted shortcomings in its depth and execution. Saisuresh Sivaswamy of called it “a story from the director’s heart, not his head,” and commended the emotional sincerity evident “in frame after frame.” N. K. Deoshi of rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, writing, “Beneath all the drama that goes on in the movie there lurks the aspiration to get across to people the message of what people of Kashmir are actually going through.” Savitha Padmanabhan of described the film as “a cut above the rest of the commercial Hindi films that have been made on terrorism” and praised its performances and production values. A review from lauded the sincerity of Chopra’s approach and the cast’s performances but noted that “there is very little of in the story, which is more of a personal conflict between the victim of a police shoot-out and a police officer.” Suman Tarafdar of , however, criticized the film for lacking a serious examination of the political conflict at its core. Vinayak Chakravorty of awarded it 3.5 stars and described it as “a good show,” with particular praise for ’s performance, which he called “perfect.” Jitendra Kothari of described as “a gripping film on a trenchantly topical issue” and commended its emotional complexity, stating it “avoids apportioning blame by intermingling strains of loss and guilt.” The soundtrack of features seven songs and marks an early collaboration of the composer trio , who worked on the album individually rather than jointly. composed three tracks, while and contributed two compositions each. The lyrics were penned by various lyricists, including . The album received critical appreciation for blending traditional Kashmiri folk influences with contemporary arrangements. Notably, the track “Bumbro,” based on a Kashmiri folk melody, became particularly popular and was later recreated under the same title for the film (2019). According to , the soundtrack sold approximately 1.5 million units, making it the third highest-selling Bollywood soundtrack of 2000.</p>