Panaji: International Film Festival of India (IIFI) 2022 jury head Nadav Lapid has called director Vivek Agnihotri’s film ‘The Kashmir Files‘ a “propganda, vulgar film”.
Nadav Lapid, Israeli filmmaker, further said he was “shocked” to see the film in the competition section of such a prestigious film festival.
“All of us are disturbed. It felt to us like a ‘propaganda, vulgar movie’ inappropriate for an artistic competitive section of such a prestigious competition. I feel totally comfortable in sharing these feelings openly on stage since the spirit of the festival truly accepts critical discussion which is essential for art and life,” Nadav Lapid said this on Day 2 of the event being held Goa’s Panaji.
Earlier on Monday, Lapid said that the IFFI was disturbed about Vivek Agnihotri’s film.
Sharing the experience of the jury, he said that 14 out of them (international films) had cinematic quality.
On November 23, Anupam Kher, the lead actor in this movie, speaking about the ‘The Kashmir files’ had said that it helped people all over the world to be aware of the tragedy that happened to Kashmiri Pandits community in the 1990s.
The video of Nadav Lapid’s remark was widely shared on social media. “A sensitive issue of justice for Kashmiri Pandits was sacrificed at the altar of propaganda. This is a must listen segment at the #IFFIGoa2022 (sic),” said Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi while sharing the video on Twitter.
The ‘Kashmir Files’ was listed in the line-up for IFFI’s Indian Panorama segment for the year 2022. Other major films in the line-up included “Jai Bhim”, “Major”, “Ariyippu”, and “RRR”.
Directed by Vivek Agnihotri, the film stars Mithun Chakraborty as Brahma Dutt, Anupam Kher as Pushkarnath, Darshan Kumar as Krishna Pandit, Pallavi Joshi as Radhika Menon, Bhasha Sumbali as Shraddha Pandit, Chinmay Mandlekar as Farooq Malik aka Bitta (Inspired by Farooq Ahmed Dar), Puneet Issar as DGP Hari Narain.