IFFI Jury head Nadav Lapid criticises ‘The Kashmir Files’, draws flak from Indian right-wing, Israeli envoy
Fellow jury-member and director of the controversial anti-Muslim film, The Kerala Story, Sudipto Sen also took to Twitter and said that it was “wrong” for Lapid to express his personal opinion on a public platform. Actor Ranvir Shorey termed Lapid’s action as “political opportunism”.
Although lauded by the ruling camp and distributed tax-free in BJP-led states, several national, as well as international film critics before Lapid, have pointed out the propagandist tones within the film.
Singapore even banned the film for its “provocative and one-sided portrayal of Muslims and the depictions of Hindus being persecuted in the on-going conflict in Kashmir” – classifying it to be outside of the nation’s broadcast guidelines.
Similarly, Canadian filmmaker Dylan Mohan Gray criticised The Kashmir Files – in support of Indian filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, who also spoke out against the film. “It [the film] is a hate-mongering piece of revisionist garbage of no artistic merit,” said Gray.
The narrative of the film revolves around the killings and exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 from the valley. Many critics of the film have deemed this as an “embarrassing moment” for India and one that has exposed the “vile nature” of a film such as The Kashmir Files.
