Tue 29 November 2022:
The comments of an Israeli filmmaker heading the Indian Film Festival jury, calling ‘The Kashmir Files’ “vulgar and propaganda”, have sparked a big row. The festival jury has said its chief Nadav Lapid’s remarks are “completely his personal opinion”.
Nadav Lapid, jury chief at the International Film Festival India (IFFI), criticised the inclusion of The Kashmir Files at the event.
Describing the film as “propaganda”, he said he was “shocked” that it was included in the competition category.
‘The Kashmir Files’, written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri, is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley at the height of militancy in the 90s. The movie, promoted by BJP leaders, was a commercial success, but faced allegations of fanning communal sentiments.
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While some have praised Mr Lapid for “calling out propaganda”, others have accused him of being insensitive towards the suffering of Kashmiri Pandits, despite being part of a community that faced the horrors of the Holocaust.
Amid the row, the IFFI Jury Board today issued a statement, saying that whatever Mr Lapid said about the movie is his “personal opinion” and “nothing to do” with the board.
“In the official presentation of the Jury Board to the Festival Director and in the official Press Conference, where we 4 juries were present and interacted with the press, we never mentioned anything about our likes or dislikes. Both were our official collective opinion,” said the board, which had four members besides Mr Lapid.
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“As a juror, we are assigned to judge the technical, aesthetic quality and socio-cultural relevance of the 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,” it added in its statement.
Among those who slammed the Israel filmmaker is the country’s ambassador to India, Naor Gilon. In a Twitter thread, he said Mr Lapid “should be ashamed”. “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.”
Actor Anupam Kher, who played the protagonist in the movie, too, slammed the Israel filmmaker for his remarks. “May God give him wisdom. If the holocaust is right, then the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits is also right,” the actor said.
Disrupt social cohesion
Singapore banned a controversial film this year in May, citing concerns about its “potential to cause enmity between different communities.”
The film has been assessed to be “beyond” Singapore’s film classification guidelines, news agency PTI has reported.
“The film will be refused classification for its provocative and one-sided portrayal of Muslims and the depictions of Hindus being persecuted in the ongoing conflict in Kashmir,” the Singapore government said in a statement on Monday.
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“These representations have the potential to cause enmity between different communities, and disrupt social cohesion and religious harmony in our multi-racial and multi-religious society,” the statement added.
The city-state said under its film classification guidelines, “any material that is denigrating to racial or religious communities in Singapore” will be refused classification.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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