IFFI jury head calls The Kashmir Files ‘Vulgar’, ‘Propaganda film’

Jury head of International Film Festival of India 2022 Nadav Lipid who is an Israeli filmmaker has called Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files as ‘Vulgar’ and ‘Propaganda film’ adding that he was “shocked” to see the film in the competition section of such a prestigious film festival.

“All of us are disturbed. It felt to us like a ‘propaganda, vulgar movie’ inappropriate for an artistic competitive section of such a prestigious competition. I feel totally comfortable in sharing these feelings openly on stage since the spirit of the festival truly accepts critical discussion which is essential for art and life,” Nadav Lapid said.

 Veteran actor Anupam Kher criticised the comment and said that  it is “shameful” on the part of IFFI (International Film Festival of India) jury head Nadav Lapid to term the film “propaganda, vulgar” at the festival’s closing ceremony.

“So by making a statement like this, he has also pained those people who suffered this tragedy. I would just say may god give him wisdom so that he doesn’t use the tragedy of thousands of people to fulfill his aim on stage,” he added.

Released earlier this year, the ‘The Kashmir Files’ was listed in the line-up for IFFI’s Indian Panorama segment for the year 2022. The film is based on the life of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990, during the Kashmir insurgency. It is a true story, based on video interviews of the first generation.