Srinagar, May 25 -- Dear Arbeena and Asif,

Eid Mubarak to you and everyone else in Kashmir!

I readyour open letter addressed to me about my film Shikara in the Kashmir Observer. I have read it multiple times. I liked the approach and the tone you have taken to present your views. You have already won the first battle of engaging someone in a conversation. This to me is the most important aspect of having a conducive dialogue.

Let me tell you why I made Shikara. I started work on this movie post my mother's demise in 2007. She came on my request from Srinagar to Mumbai to attend the premier of Parinda in 1989 with a single suitcase. She could never return. I have seen the sorrow in her eyes as she longed for her home. Shikara is a tribu...