Hyderabad: Nadav Lapid, International Film Festival of India (IFFI) jury head, during the concluding ceremony of the festival, termed the movie The Kashmir Files as 'vulgar' and 'inappropriate', and said that the spirit of the festival can surely accept a critical discussion as well, which is essential for art and life. With his remarks on The Kashmir Files, Lapid has set the snowball rolling as Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, Anupam Kher, Israel's Consul General to Midwest Kobbi Shoshani and many more have expressed their views.
- What did IFFI jury head Nadav Lapid say on The Kashmir Files:
Earlier on Monday, Lapid said that the IFFI was disturbed about The Kashmir Files. Sharing the experience of the jury, he said that 14 out of them (international films) had cinematic quality. "All of us were disturbed and shocked by the 15th film The Kashmir Files. That felt to us like a propaganda, vulgar movie, inappropriate for an artistic competitive section of such a prestigious film festival," Lapid added.
"I feel totally comfortable to openly share these feelings here with you on this stage. Since, the spirit of the festival can surely also accept a critical discussion, which is essential for art and life," he said.
- Fellow jury member Sudipto Sen distances himself from Lapid's statement:
Indian film director Sudipto Sen, who was part of the international film jury, distanced himself and other members from Lapid's statement. "Whatever has been said by IFFI 2022 Jury Chairman Mr Nadav Lapid about the film Kashmir Files, from the stage of closing ceremony of 53rd IFFI was completely his personal opinion,"
Sen wrote in a note shared on Twitter. Sen said he and other jury members Spanish documentary filmmaker Javier Angulo Barturen and French film editor Pascale Chavance "never mentioned anything about our likes or dislikes".
Comments by Lapid were made in his "personal capacity", he stressed. "As juror, we are assigned to judge the technical, aesthetic quality and socio-cultural relevance of a film. We don't indulge in any kind of political comments on any film and if it is done, it is completely in a personal capacity - nothing to do with the esteemed jury board," Sen added.
- Reactions from film industry:
Actor Swara Bhasker, known for being unabashedly vocal about her opinions, shared a link to the news story about Lapid's remarks at the closing ceremony of the film gala. "Apparently it's pretty clear to the world .." Bhasker wrote in the caption. Meanwhile, actor-filmmaker Nandita Das simply shared a news report on her Twitter page.
On the other hand, Ashoke Pandit slammed Nadav's remarks. "I take strong objection to the language used by Mr Nadav Lapid for #kashmirFiles. Depicting the genocide of 3 lakh #KashmiriHindus cannot be called vulgar. I as a filmmaker & a #KashmiriPandit condemn this shameless act of abuse towards victims of terrorism," he tweeted.
- Israeli Ambassador to India pens open letter, renders apology:
Israeli Ambassador to India, Sri Lanka and Bhutan, Naor Golin on Tuesday called out Nadav. In an open letter he shared on Twitter, he said that Lapid should be ashamed of himself.
- Israel's Consul General to Midwest expresses contrasting views:
After Lapid stirred a controversy, Israel's Consul General to Midwest Kobbi Shoshani expressed his contrasting views on The Kashmir Files. He said that he had seen the film and had a different opinion of it. He took to Twitter and wrote, "I saw the Kashmir file and met the cast. I have a different opinion than Nadav Lapid. After his speech, I told Nadav my opinion. @vivekagnihotri".
- The Kashmir Files team reacts:
Referring to Lapid's remarks, Anupam Kher, who starred in The Kashmir Files tweeted, "No matter how high the height of the lie is.. It is always small in comparison to the truth." The veteran actor attached pictures from The Kashmir Files and Steven Spielberg's film Schindler's List with his tweet.
The Kashmir Files filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, on Monday, seemingly took a dig at the IFFI Jury Head Nadav Lapid for calling the film "propaganda, vulgar" at the festival's closing ceremony. Agnihotri took an indirect dig at the remark by tweeting, "GM. Truth is the most dangerous thing. It can make people lie. #CreativeConsciousness."
The Kashmir Files released earlier this year in theatres and it told the story of the Hindu exodus in the 1990s and targeted killings of the Kashmiri Pandits. The movie went on to become one of the highest-grossing Bollywood movies of 2022 and Anupam Kher received acclaim for his performance.
