"Haaput talks about innocence of Kashmiris": Director Kapil Mattoo shows J&K through unique lens [Exclusive]

Kashmir is India's paradise, the scenic beauty of the mountains, and the blissful aura can never be expressed in words, snowy glaciers, pristine lakes, picturesque mountains, dense forests, green meadows, gushing rivers everything about Kashmir is supremely beautiful.

The beauty of Kashmir has stood most uncertain times. Kashmir is known for its people, food and culture, of late we have been witnessing a lot of Bollywood films being shot in Kashmir.

And now soon we will witness a beautiful shot film from the landscape of Kashmir, helmed by a Kashmiri Pandit. 

Director-producer Kapil Mattoo just wrapped the shooting of his short film, "Haaput" in Pahalgam, another picturesque location in J&K. Kapil is known for producing an acclaimed feature film, "404: Error not Found" and the Television series "Dariba Diaries." Kapil was an associate director in Tanaav (streaming on SonyLiv), which was directed by Sudhir Mishra.

Kapil is a Kashmiri Pandit residing in Mumbai, and his vision is to bring the Kashmiri culture and its people and showcase the fears and innocence of Kashmiris through the medium of films and docu-drama.

In an exclusive conversation with International Business Times, director Kapil Mattoo opens up about his upcoming film Haaput, Kashmir's economy and tourism and more.

Tell us about your short film Haaput.

Haaput is a dystopian satire set in Kashmir. When fear becomes the level for the 3 sections of Kashmir: The common man, the militant and the security forces. The common fear in my film is a zombie attack. Set in a secluded upper-middle-class country against the beautiful landscape of Kashmir. The film dwells deep into the lives of innocent Kashmiris. Apart from showcasing the culture, cuisine, music and cinematic extravaganza. In this film, we have also given the opportunity to local Kashmiri talent which includes actors and technicians.

What does Happut mean?

The title Haaput, which means 'bear' is a popular animal in Kashmir and is part of the Kashmiri folklore and is often used as a metaphor in various contexts of our language. In our film, the connection of Happut means "fear". We have seen people living in fear even now. What we want to show through our film is that people have varied emotions and how they deal with them.

There are a lot of Bollywood films being shot in Kashmir now. Do you think it is good for tourism?

I have grown up in Kashmir, I was 16 years old when migration happened in Kashmir. It has now been years since I shifted my base to Mumbai. I have seen Bollywood actors like Dev Anand, and Rajesh Khanna during my school days, shooting in and around my school near Dal Lake and it used to be fun seeing the enthusiasm of the locals watching the stars shooting in Srinagar. Of course, now the pandemic has boasted domestic tourism again and the way it has triggered the revival of normalcy along with the surge of film shootings taking place in Kashmir. The atmosphere and ambiance to shoot in Kashmir and other neighboring parts of Kashmir are just like shooting in Delhi and Mumbai. If you see the hotels are filled with guests and at this time probably tourists might not get an immediate booking. 

Do you think films like the Kashmir Files or Kerela Story should be made more so that people know the true story?

Haaput doesn't talk about terrorism. However, every film is important and Kashmir Files is not a wrong story, it happened in the 1990's I am a Kashmiri Pandit, and I have suffered personal loss, I can feel it. There should be more stories and counter stories should also be told to people. It is what happened 32 years ago, but now people are tired of whatever has been happening and want normalcy in their lives.

Any subject on which you wish to make a film?

I am working and researching a story of an old Kashmiri Pandit man and a widow whose husband was killed as a terrorist, and how they meet. I also want to talk about the collateral damage caused to those women in Kashmir whose husbands or son or brothers have been killed by a terrorist, how they deal with the social trauma,  some even slide into depression. I want to highlight their plight and talk about it.

Lastly, when is your film releasing?

Haaput is in the post-production stage and will release soon.

About the film

Happut is produced by Mattoo Mania Productions. The other Mumbai team consists of Sabrina Khan (Co-Writer/Associate Director), Cinematographer Arup Mondal, Sabrina Khan (Co-Writer/Associate Director ), Manoj Jadhav( Executive Producer ), Associate Producer: Dr Suneem Khan, along with its Kashmir unit helmed by S.A. Wahid ( line Producer ), Saqib Gulzar (Line Producer/Casting Director).