 "Surprised that terrorist’s narrative made at Indian govt event: Vivek Agnihotri on Lapid's 'The Kashmir Files' comment")
New Delhi: ‘The Kashmir Files’ director Vivek Agnihotri broke his silence over the controversial remarks made by IFFI 2022 jury head Nadav Lapid about his film on exodus of Kashmiri Hindus in the 1990s. In a video message, Agnihotri said that he was surprised that a “terrorist’s narrative” was given at an event organised by the Indian government. ‘Calling ‘The Kashmir Files’ ‘vulgar and propaganda film’ isn’t new’ In a video message in Hindi, Agnihotri said, “Friends, yesterday (28 November) at IFFI, the jury chairman called ‘The Kashmir Files’ a vulgar, propaganda film. This isn’t new for me. Urban Naxals, members of the Tukde Tukde Gang, and terrorists have been saying this for a long time.” “But what was surprising to me was that a terrorist’s narrative was given a platform at an event organised by the Indian government. And Indians living in India have used this narrative against their own country,” he added. Agnihotri further said people who are calling ‘The Kashmir Files’ “propaganda” are the same who said it even four years back when he began researching for the film. “But who are these people. They’re the same people who’ve been calling The Kashmir Files propaganda for four years, when I first began researching it. I conducted 700 interviews for this film. Are they saying that the people that I interviewed, the people whose family members were murdered and gang-raped, are lying? A land that used to be occupied by Hindus is no longer occupied by Hindus. They’re still being killed there. Is this propaganda?” asked Agnihotri. ‘Will stop making films if… ‘ Challenging the Israeli filmmaker, Agnihotri said he will stop directing films if Lapid “proves” that even a single scene, or a dialogue of his film is fictional.
“They keep calling ‘The Kashmir Files’ a propaganda film. Are they saying that the genocide of Hindus didn’t happen? Today, I challenge all the intellectuals of the world, all the Urban Naxals of the world, and even this great filmmaker from Israel, if they can prove that even one scene, one dialogue in The Kashmir Files is fictional, I will stop making films,” said ‘The Kashmir Files’ director. Will keep fighting, says Agnihotri Vivek Agnihotri concluded his video statement by saying that he will continue to fight no matter what opposition he faces, but he said this with undertones of bigotry. Nadav Lapid’s controversial statement against ‘The Kashmir Files’ On Monday, at the closing ceremony of the IFFI, Israeli director Nadav Lapid called, ‘The Kashmir Files’ “propaganda, vulgar”. “I would like to thank the head of the festival and the director of the programming for the cinematic richness of the programme, for its diversity, for its complexity. It was intense. We saw seven films in the debutant competition, and 15 films in the international competition, the front window of the festival. 14 out of them had cinematic qualities, defaults and evoked vivid discussions,” Lapid said. “All of us were disturbed and shocked by the 15th film, The Kashmir Files. That felt like a propaganda, vulgar movie, inappropriate for an artistic competitive section of such a prestigious film festival. I feel totally comfortable openly sharing these feelings here with you at this stage. In the spirit of this festival, we can surely also accept a critical discussion, which is essential for art and life,” he further said. Lapid’s speech went viral in no time and netizens began slamming him. ‘The Kashmir Files’ was screened at IFFI on November 22 as a part of the Indian Panorama Section. Released in March, ‘The Kashmir Files’ is a story of the Hindu exodus in the 1990s and targeted killings of the Kashmiri Pandits. Starring Anupam Kher, Pallavi Joshi, Mithun Chakraborty became one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films of 2022. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .