Robin Bansal

New Delhi: Actress Sarika plays the mother of an eight-year-old boy in the troubled Kashmir Valley in her forthcoming film "Tahaan" and she says that it highlights how conflicts impact children's minds and their lives.

Directed by Santosh Sivan, the movie is set in Kashmir and narrates the story of the young boy Tahaan and his quest across the mountains to find his donkey friend Birbal. "It is a very simple script like Santosh Sivan's earlier works Malli and Halo . It is a very happy film but at the same time it is very scary because it is a reality that whatever conflicts happen in life it affects children. You only realise it later. We are also addressing an issue with the film," Sarika told IANS in an interview.

Talking about her role in "Tahaan", she said: "My role is that of a half-widow who is waiting for her husband to come back. She is sad, but she doesn't show. She has a child who goes to school and he has a donkey. The story is actually about the little boy and his (donkey) friend Birbal. Contrary to the current unrest in Jammu and Kashmir Sarika told that they didn't face any troubles while shooting in the valley. "We were a very small unit of around 20 members and the people there are very cooperative. The womenfolk in Kashmir are amazing," said Sarika.

The actress made her comeback to films in 2006 with an issue-related film called "Sacred Evil". She was then seen in "Parzania" based on the Gujarat riots of 2002 that won her a National Award for Best Actress. "I kept away from the arc lights because I didn't feel like doing films," said the actress who has also featured in films like "Manorama Six Feet Under" and "Bheja Fry". Asked if she had a special inclination towards issue-based films, Sarika said: "I don't get attracted to subjects that are issue-based. My career is not going to be issue-based. It is the script that attracts me.