Growing up in the picturesque yet tumultuous region of Kashmir, Rayit had limited opportunities to experience the silver screen. He ventured to Delhi only once every few years for a theatrical film experience, primarily relying on television for cinematic exposure. This was largely shaped by the conflict in Kashmir and the remoteness of his home in the foothills, where cable services were unavailable. His main source of films was Doordarshan, watching films by Shyam Benegal, Ketan Mehta, and Saeed Akhtar Mirza. Although he couldn't fully grasp these films as a child, they profoundly influenced him. Later, at Symbiosis, where he studied Audio Video Production and Filmmaking, Rayit picked up the tools to analyze these influential works and realized that a career in cinema was within reach.
Finding His Story
Rayit often felt disappointed by the absence of Kashmiri voices and stories in Indian cinema, even in many independent films. While numerous movies used Kashmir as a backdrop, few actually focused on the lives of the people who lived in those very mountains.
In this gap in the narrative, Rayit found his story. He believes that the lack of proper Kashmiri representation stems from a much more systemic issue, rather than a lack of Kashmiri voices willing to make films. ‘It's not possible for a population of eight or nine million people not to have a movement of cinema, not to really have cinema as an art form representing their voice, representing their needs, representing the kind of people they are.’ Wanting to bring about such representation, Rayit decided to tell real Kashmiri stories, of and with Kashmiri people.
Grief
Rayit’s latest short film, An Orphanage of Memories, centres on the emotion of grief and its symptoms. According to Rayit, to make a film on Kashmiris was synonymous with making a film on grief. ‘What I feel towards Kashmir, or the reason why I feel a very strong sense of collective belonging towards Kashmir, is because I feel I am sort of a part of that ecosystem of grief. We have this long history of grief and I'm a tiny little bead in that thread.’
However, in his representation of grief, Rayit refuses to show Kashmiris as fragile or sad beings. Rather, he showcases how the grief, which has become a part of their identity, has also inculcated a sense of resilience within the population. ‘We've never really allowed that to be a reason for us to be completely extinct. Like, we pretty much fight back. We exercise a certain amount of resilience and we always try to show people that no matter what happens, we're going to be there. So that's something that connects me to the idea of Kashmir.’
An Orphanage of Memories
The film follows Farah, a recently widowed woman, through the aftermath of the loss of her husband. The film presents an almost voyeuristic view of how Farah deals with the loss and the symptoms of her grief as she tries to escape the pain. The film takes a realistic look at the women of Kashmir, the losses they face, and the resilience they develop as a result, to ensure their survival. ‘It was confronting people like Farah who have gone through what hundreds and thousands of Farahs have gone through in Kashmir over the last three decades and that's what we wanted to focus on.’
Shot in a single house, with not much scenery or much of the typical snow-capped mountains audiences have come to associate with Kashmir, the film presents a sombre, almost bleak image of Kashmir. ‘We didn't make it bleak. It's what Kashmir is in the winters. If you go to a household that's mourning the loss of a loved one in the middle of winter, that's literally what it feels like. This is what the Kashmiri experience is.’ The deliberate use of spherical lenses and a shrunken aspect ratio gives the film a much more intimate feel, forcing the audience to pay attention to the emotions of the characters in the foreground, rather than escaping to the picturesque backgrounds.
The film is also entirely in Kashmiri, with English subtitles to aid those who do not understand the language. Rayit stands by the importance of telling Kashmiri stories in the local language itself, not just to avoid the falsified accent of mainstream actors trying to sound Kashmiri, but also to combat some of the false assumptions about Kashmiri people. ‘There's this common misnomer that Kashmiris speak very fluent Urdu. We don't speak Urdu, we speak Kashmiri and it's a very different language.’ He explains how the tone and manner in which people speak depends a lot on the language they speak, meaning that telling a story in the wrong language can immediately create a sense of dissociation and fallacy for the audience.
Future Plans
The film has garnered recognition at various international festivals, winning the Global Short Award at Jakarta Film Week and receiving an Honorable Mention at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. It will soon compete in the Best Short Narrative category at the New York Indian Film Festival. Meanwhile, Rayit is passionately working on a feature film, deeply rooted in a compelling Kashmiri narrative.
Words Ayushie Shahane
10.07.2025
