Explained: The IFFI row over The Kashmir Files and the controversial Israeli filmmaker behind it

It’s one of the most controversial films of the year. Nine months after its release, Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files continues to evoke strong reactions.

The jury of the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IIFI) in Goa has slammed the movie, which revolves around the killings and exodus of Kashmir Pandits from the Valley in 1990. Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid , who headed the jury, described The Kashmir Files as “propaganda” and “vulgar” and said he was “shocked” and “disturbed” by its inclusion in the competitive section at the fest.

“There were 15 films in the international competition — the front window of the festival. Fourteen out of them had cinematic qualities… We were, all of us, disturbed and shocked by the 15th film, The Kashmir Files,” Lapid said in his address.

“It seemed to us like a propagandist 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,” he added.

Chair of the Jury of Goa Film Festival says that the Jury felt that Kashmir Files was a vulgar propaganda film, inappropriate for the film festival pic.twitter.com/FKTF93ZlRY

— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) November 28, 2022

Lapid delivered his speech before several dignitaries including Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur and actors such as Asha Parekh, Akshay Kumar, Ayushmann Khurrana and Rana Daggubati. The film starring Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi was featured in the “Panorama” section of IFFI last week.

The Kashmir Files received backlash for its portrayal of the killings of Kashmiri Pandits but opened to packed houses, becoming the first Hindi film to cross Rs 250 crore in box office collection post-pandemic. It received the backing of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which declared it tax-free, and triggered quite a storm after its release in March. Now Lapid’s comments are snowballing into another political controversy, with the Israeli ambassador to India, Naor Gilon stepping in .

Also read: Explained: The Kashmiri Pandit exodus that Vivek Agnihotri’s ‘The Kashmir Files’ tells us about

How has Israel reacted?

Hitting out at Lapid, the envoy said that the director should be ashamed of his remark on The Kashmir Files as it is “insensitive and presumptuous to speak about historic events before deeply studying them and which are an open wound in India”.

In a series of tweets Gilon said, “As a son of a holocaust survivor, I was extremely hurt to see reactions in India to you that are doubting Schindler’s List, the Holocaust and worse. I unequivocally condemn such statements. There is no justification. It does show the sensitivity of the Kashmir issue here.”

An open letter to #NadavLapid following his criticism of #KashmirFiles. It’s not in Hebrew because I wanted our Indian brothers and sisters to be able to understand. It is also relatively long so I’ll give you the bottom line first. YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED. Here’s why: pic.twitter.com/8YpSQGMXIR

— Naor Gilon (@NaorGilon) November 29, 2022

The ambassador accused Lapid of abusing the Indian invitation to chair the panel of judges and the trust, respect and warm hospitality bestowed by them. “In Indian culture they say that a guest is like God. You have abused in the worst way the Indian invitation to chair the panel of judges at @IFFIGoa as well as the trust, respect and warm hospitality they have bestowed on you,” Gilon wrote on Twitter.

He also spoke about the possible backlash to the filmmaker’s remarks. “You will go back to Israel thinking that you are bold and “made a statement”…. You should see our DM boxes following your “bravery” and what implication”

Gilon did all he could to ensure that it does not turn into a diplomatic nightmare, even apologising on behalf of Lapid. “The friendship between the people and the states of India and Israel is very strong and will survive the damage you have inflicted. As a human being I feel ashamed and want to apologise to our hosts for the bad manner in which we repaid them for their generosity and friendship,” he added.

The friendship between the people and the states of India and Israel is very strong and will survive the damage you have inflicted.
As a human being I feel ashamed and want to apologize to our hosts for the bad manner in which we repaid them for their generosity and friendship.

— Naor Gilon (@NaorGilon) November 29, 2022

Has India remarked?

Kher, who stars in the film, has slammed Lapid’s remarks. “…If the holocaust is right, the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits is right too. Seems pre-planned as immediately after that the toolkit gang became active. May God give him wisdom,” he told the news agency ANI. He said that it was shameful for a person from a community (Jews) that suffered the holocaust to make such offensive remarks on a movie based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits.

#WATCH | Anupam Kher speaks to ANI on Int'l Film Festival of India Jury Head remarks for 'Kashmir Files', "...If holocaust is right, the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits is right too. Seems pre-planned as immediately after that the toolkit gang became active. May God give him wisdom.." pic.twitter.com/cUQ1bqzFs7

— ANI (@ANI) November 29, 2022

Kher shared images from The Kashmir Files and Steven Spielberg’s 1993 historical drama The Schindler’s List on Twitter last night. He made no mention of Lapid but wrote, “No matter how big the lie is, it’s always small in comparison to the truth.”

Filmmaker Sudipto Sen, the only Indian member on the jury clarified, that Lapid’s views did not reflect that of the panel. In a tweet posted hours after the address, Sen wrote jury members did not speak about their “likes and dislikes” at the official press conference of the event.

“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 personal capacity – nothing to do with esteemed jury board,” he tweeted.

#IFFI #IFFI2022 @nfdcindia @ianuragthakur pic.twitter.com/GBhtw0tH6C

— Sudipto SEN (@sudiptoSENtlm) November 28, 2022

Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit has called the remarks by Lapid irresponsible and accused him of mocking “the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits”.

What do we know about Lapid?

Born in Tel Aviv, Lapid is an award-winning filmmaker. He made his directorial debut in 2011 with the film Policeman, which won the special jury prize at the Locarno International Film Festival that year. His other acclaimed works include Synonyms (2019), The Kindergarten’s Teacher (2014), and his latest Ahed’s Knee (2021).

The 47-year-old has an old connection with IFFI. Sarit Larry, the actor in The Kindergarten’s Teacher, was awarded Best Actor (Female) at the festival. The film was also featured in the 2014 Cannes Film Festival’s International Critics’ Week. In 2016, Lapid was chosen as a member of the International Critics’ Week’s jury.

The filmmaker remains controversial even back home. While he often embraces his identity and has been vocal about antisemitism, he has been critical of Israel_’_s militarism. His film Ahed’s Knee kicked off a storm, as it nods towards the Israeli occupation of Palestine .

Earlier this year, Lapid along with 250 Israeli filmmakers signed an open letter to protest against the launch of the Shomron (Samaria/West Bank) Film Fund. They believed that the Fund was aimed at inviting Israeli filmmakers to “actively participate in whitewashing the Occupation in exchange for financial support and prizes”.The Shomron Film Fund’s official mandate is to “distribute grants to Jewish settlers who reside in the West Bank (“Judea and Samaria”) and to productions by Israeli citizens filmed in the West Bank”, reports Hindustan Times. He has often received criticism within his homeland.

While talking about his film Synonyms, which won the Golden Bear award at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival in 2019, he said, that “the Israeli collective soul is a sick soul”.

With inputs from agencies

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