IFFI jury head calls The Kashmir Files ‘vulgar’

New Delhi, Nov 28: At the 53rd International Film Festival of India, Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid criticised Vivek Agnihotri's Hindi film The Kashmir Files on stage, calling it 'propaganda'.

"We were, all of us, disturbed and shocked by the 15th film: The Kashmir Files. That felt to us like propaganda, vulgar movie, inappropriate for an artistic competitive section of such a prestigious film festival. I feel totally comfortable to share openly these feelings here with you on stage. Since the spirit of having a festival is to accept also a critical discussion which is essential for art and for life," said Nadav Lapid.

"It is a film based on true incidents. Film Director Vivek Agnihotri interviewed around 500 people all around the world for the movie. On the night of 19th January 1990, 5 lakh Kashmiri Pandits had to leave their homes and memories in the Kashmir valley following rising violence. As a Kashmiri Hindu, I lived with the tragedy. But nobody was recognising the tragedy. World was trying to hide this tragedy. The film started a healing process by documenting the tragedy", said Anupam Kher lead actor in the movie.

Anupam Kher said that The Kashmir Files is not just a film to him, but an emotion which he portrayed on screen. "Since I represent the people who got expelled from their homes, I consider it a great responsibility to express it in the best possible manner. My tears, my difficulties which you are seeing in this film are all real," he described.

The Kashmiri files addresses the unhealed wounds of the Kashmiri Pandits, who went through brutal torture and unspeakable violence in the Valley way back in 1990. Based on true events and testimonials of those who live to tell the tale of the dance of death which shook humanity, The Kashmir Files depicts how the community had to flee their homeland as the air filled with chants of 'Raliv, Tsalive ya chaliv' (convert, die or leave) by Islamist radicals.