Synopsis
At the pinnacle of the splendor of the Himalayas sits the Kashmir valley, one of the most stunningly picturesque places on earth. But today, its grandeur has also become ubiquitous with the ravages of terrorism and counter terrorism operations. That is also the hell on earth being a fiercely disputed territory between India & Pakistan. The serenity of village life embraced by the calm mountains is punctuated with routine gunshots.
For AASMA, heaven and hell are about to collide. 4 armed militants sneak over the border, harbored by the leader of the village. The 5 men kidnap AASMA one night, with rapacious intent, to use her and kill.
But as her night of torment and agony unfolds, one of the militants undergoes a change of heart. His conscience raises head. In the midst of armed hostility, if not anything else, he must find a way to delay the inevitable. In the ensuing gunfire, the tormenters die one after another. Two living Jihadists - each with a pistol to the other’s forehead – debate the true meaning of Islam, of Jihad.
Can he foil their intent? Can a different face of Islamic terrorism emerge from this desperate plight, so that Aasma is not yet another faceless victim of this endless conflict? Will AASMA live to see the morning's heavenly dew? Or she will succumb to a night of hell on the floor of abandoned bunker?
DIRECTOR'S NOTE:
While working on the script of my previous film, I travelled to remote Himalayan hamlets near Indo-Pakistan border, in the picturesque northern Indian region, Kashmir. The story of apparent serene and tranquil villages made pass cold waves through my spine. The chilling fact of repeated rapes of almost all the women above 12-years of age...mostly by the cross-boarder terrorists or by miscreants of Indian army teared me apart. The muted anger and dried tears in the eyes of women folks - will not let you be the same person. I realized, wherever there is a war in any form...the worst sufferers are the women of the war zone. Nobody knows the name behind the veils - nobody sees the beaten and bruised heart - none bother about their rights. Be it Kashmir or Syria, Iraq or Turkey, El Salvador or Nigeria, Sudan or Bosnia...story remain same.
Islam never allows insult - physical or psychological whacking to women, under any circumstances. The most misunderstood philosophy of the world - Islam, solemnly preaches peace, harmony and respect. But - in the hand of pimps of the religion - a monster has been created - Islamic terrorism. The threat now is direct. World has been distinctly divided in to two! The existence of our civilization is under threat. The muted AASMA - my protagonist - and her night of quail raises the question pretty straight - eyes to eyes! What is Jihad...???
Inspired by a true story - AASMA is a special film to me, where - at the end of the war - I am able raise the most important question of our time...
...One of the tormentors asks the raped, beaten, broken, molested girl - "what is your name?"