In a turn of unexpected events, IFFI jury chief Nadav Lapid called Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files ‘obscene’ and ‘inappropriate’ during the film festival. Terming it as a propaganda film, he said that the spirit of celebration can certainly admit of a critical discussion, which is essential for art and life. A video of the festival’s closing ceremony went viral, in which Lapid is seen making controversial comments about the film.
Lapid said that IFFI was worried about the film. Sharing the experience of the jury, he said that 14 of them (international films) had a cinematic quality. Lapid said, “We were all disturbed and appalled by the 15th film, ‘The Kashmir Files.’ It struck us as a propaganda, pornographic film, inappropriate for the artistically competitive section of such a prestigious film festival.”
He said, “I feel completely comfortable sharing these sentiments with you openly on this platform. Since, the spirit of the festival can surely also accept an important discussion, which is important for art and life. Is necessary.”
actor Anupam KherIFFI jury chief Nadav Lapid, who played a key role in ‘The Kashmir Files’, took a dig at the festival’s closing ceremony on Monday for calling the film ‘propaganda, obscene’. Filmmaker Ashok Pandit also slammed Lapid.
Referring to Lapid’s comment, Anupam Kher tweeted, “No matter how high the height of a lie…it is always small compared to the truth.” He also attached pictures of the film to his tweet.
On November 23, the film’s lead actor Anupam Kher while speaking about ‘The Kashmir Files’ said that it helped people around the world become aware of the tragedy that befell the Kashmiri Pandit community in the 1990s.
“This is a film based on true events. Film director Vivek Agnihotri interviewed around 500 people from across the world for the film. On the night of January 19, 1990, half a million Kashmiri Pandits had to leave their homes and memories in the Kashmir Valley.” followed by escalating violence. As a Kashmiri Hindu, I lived with tragedy. But no one was recognizing this tragedy. The world was trying to hide this tragedy.
‘The Kashmir Files’ released in cinemas earlier this year and told the story of the Hindu exodus and the targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s. The film became one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films of 2022 and Anupam Kher was praised for his performance.
– with inputs from agencies