Odishatv Bureau
Mumbai: Onir`s "I AM" has actress Juhi Chawla, who plays the role of a Kashmiri pandit, nostalgic about her last visit to the valley in the winter of 2009.

The film is a tale of four stories woven together that takes audiences through issues and dilemmas that bruise the modern Indian society.

One of the stories -- `I AM Megha` -- sees Juhi essay the character of a Kashmir pandit who is forced to flee her home and returns to the valley after almost two decades, livid and cynical, only to find that her Muslim friend is no better off.

Shooting for the film in Kashmir recently left Juhi overwhelmed since she clearly still recollects the presence of the security and maddening chaos that had taken over the once ethereal Shalimar Gardens.

Her vivid memory of local pandits house being torched in the mid 80`s also helped in making her character even more meaningful than it already was. The star was also shocked at the kind of captivity locals were restricted to thanks to the fear of terror.

"It made the trauma of Megha and others like her so real.

Being a mother of two young children, it made me realize how blessed we were to have the freedom of choice and movement that we take so much for granted," the actress says.

Sanjay Suri and Onir`s I AM, releases on April 22.

scrollToTop