Envoy rejects filmmaker’s remarks on Kashmir Files as row escalates

The film, directed by Vivek Agnihotri and starring Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi, was featured in the Panorama section of IFFI.

New Delhi: Israeli ambassador Naor Gilon on Tuesday lashed out at Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid, the head of the jury at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), for describing The Kashmir Files as a “vulgar” and “propaganda”, and urged him to apologise to his hosts in India.

Naor Gilon took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to criticise Lapid’s stance and said he “should be ashamed”. (Agencies)

Lapid triggered a controversy on Monday by saying -- from the dais during the festival’s closing ceremony -- that the film, based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits during an upsurge in militancy in the Kashmir Valley in the 1990s, was “inappropriate for an artistic, competitive section of such a prestigious film festival”, indicating that it was not up to the standard of the other 14 films in this segment.

The film, directed by Vivek Agnihotri and starring Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi, was featured in the Panorama section of IFFI. The Kashmir Files has been backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since its March 11 release but has polarised opinions with some experts questioning its accuracy.

Gilon took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to criticise Lapid’s stance and said he “should be ashamed”. Gilon demanded an apology from the Israeli director, whose films have won a jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021, the Golden Bear award at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2019, and a special jury prize at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2011.

Israel’s consul general in Mumbai, Kobbi Shoshani, addressed the media along with Kher and described Lapid’s comments as “big mistake”. Shoshani said the remarks were Lapid’s “private opinion” and had nothing to do with Israel. He added that The Kashmir Files is not propaganda but a “strong movie” that gives a voice to the suffering of the people of Kashmir.

Kher agreed, and said the controversy has brought India and Israel closer. He also called Lapid a “person who himself is vulgar and an opportunist”.

Other members of the jury for IFFI also distanced themselves from Lapid’s comments and described them as “his personal opinion”.

The most scathing criticism of Lapid came from Gilon, who posted a string of tweets questioning the filmmaker’s comments and highlighting what he said was their impact on bilateral relations.

“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,” Gilon said.

The envoy described his tweets as an “open letter” to Lapid following his criticism of “The Kashmir Files”. He added, “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.”

He added, “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.”

Gilon contended Lapid had abused the invitation to be part of the jury at IFFI. “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,” he said.

He also pointed to the important Israeli presence at this year’s IFFI, including members of the cast and makers of the streaming serial “Fauda”, which has become popular in India. “Our Indian friends brought @lioraz and @issacharoff from @FaudaOfficial in order to celebrate the love in #India towards #Fauda and #Israel. I suspect that this is maybe also one of the reasons they invited you as an Israeli and me as the ambassador of Israel,” he said.

Gilon further contended Lapid’s remarks may have been influenced by the director’s views on Israeli politics. He pointed in this context to an interview by Lapid with Israeli news website Ynet. “From your interview to Ynet the connection you make between your criticism of #KashmirFiles and your dislike to what is happening in Israeli politics was quite evident,” he said.

“I also said that we should be humble when India, with such a great film culture, is consuming Israeli content (Fauda and more). I’m no film expert but I do know that it’s insensitive and presumptuous to speak about historic events before deeply studying them and which are an open wound in India because many of the involved are still around and still paying a price.”

The envoy received both support and criticism for his remarks on Twitter.