E-Paper
'Kashmir Files' row: BJP leaders speak up, Israel diplomats slam filmmaker Lapid
'The Kashmir Files' is a film by Vivek Agnihotri on the exodus from the Kashmir Valley in the 90s, and was shown at the 53rd International Film Festival of India in Goa.
The row over Nadav Lapid's criticism of Vivek Agnihotri's 'The Kashmir Files' - a movie about the Kashmiri Pandits - refuses to die down. Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant and Maharashtra deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis have spoken up. A Supreme Court lawyer has filed a complaint. Israel ambassador Naor Gilon and Bollywood actor Anupam Kher have criticised the filmmaker. Arrayed against them are Shiv Sena MPs Priyanka Chaturvedi and Sanjay Raut, and others, like actor Swara Bhasker and the Congress' Supriya Shrinate.
Here are the top 10 points in this big story:
1. Pramod Sawant, the chief minister of Goa - where the International Film Festival of India was held - has condemned Lapid's remark. Devendra Fadnavis, the deputy CM of Maharashtra, also a BJP-ruled state, called the filmmaker's comment 'his personal opinion'. The BJP's IT department boss, Amit Malviya, drew parallels between Lapid's remarks and those denying the Holocaust.
2. A complaint - alleging abuse of the Hindu religion - has been filed in Goa. Filed by one Vineet Jindal, it claims Lapid 'clearly shows his intent of instigating enmity between groups' and that remarks by Indian filmmaker Sudipto Sen (also part of the jury) show Lapid's statement was 'completely in a personal capacity'. "...my religious sentiments are deeply hurt..." Jindal said in his complaint.
3. Israel ambassador Gilon and Kobbi Shoshani, his country's Consul General for midwest India, have been fiercely critical of Lapid and his remarks. In an open letter posted on Twitter, Gilon told Lapid 'you should be ashamed' and that it was 'insensitive and presumptuous' to speak on a subject that has political and religious ramifications in India. Shoshani said Lapid's remarks were 'his own'. READ | Israeli diplomat has ‘different opinion’ on 'The Kashmir Files'
4. The jury at the International Film Festival of India - of which Lapid was the head - has also distanced itself from the remark, stressing they 'never mentioned about likes or dislikes'. Indian film director Sudipto Sen, who was also part of the jury, said, "We (as jurors) don't indulge in any kind of political comments on any film and if it is done, it is completely in personal capacity." READ | IFFI jury member says Lapid's remark was 'personal opinion'
5. Bollywood actor Anupam Kher and 'The Kashmir Files' director Vivek Agnihotri have also waded into the row. Kher - who played the lead role - said Lapid had hurt 'people who have been victims of this tragedy' and Agnihotri simply posted a cryptic tweet that said 'the truth... can make people lie'. READ | 'Truth… can make people lie': Vivek Agnihotri's pointed retort
VIDEO | 'Apologise…': Israel envoy to IFFI jury head
6. The Indonesia minister for political, legal and security affairs has also spoken up, insisting the film is 'definitely not propaganda'. "I saw the film… it is definitely not propaganda. The voice of the people in Kashmir needs to be heard... We do not accept what was said…" Dr Mohammed Mahfud said.
7. The remarks were made Monday night; Lapid said 'The Kashmir Files' - screened at the festival - 'felt like propaganda... (a) vulgar movie' that shocked the jury. "It seemed to us (the jury) like a propagandist movie inappropriate for an artistic, competitive section of such a prestigious film festival," he said. READ | Who is Nadav Lapid, Israeli who called 'Kashmir Files' 'vulgar'?
8. Shiv Sena MPs Priyanka Chaturvedi and Sanjay Raut have also weighed in on this row, with the former tweeting 'it is obvious... that Lapid at no point denied the Kashmiri Pandit exodus or dismissed it'. She said the filmmaker's comment were only about the 'way the film treated the subject' and 'made it a propaganda' production. Raut claimed the movie 'was propaganda by one party…' READ | Sanjay Raut, Priyanka Chaturvedi on 'The Kashmir Files' row
9. The Congress' Supriya Shrinate tweeted Lapid's speech and declared 'hate gets called out, eventually'. "Prime minister Narendra Modi, his government, the BJP, the right-wing ecosystem feverishly promoted 'The Kashmir Files'... a movie rejected by International Film Festival Of India," she said. Actor Swara Bhasker - a vocal critic of the Narendra Modi government - also tweeted in support of Lapid, writing, "Apparently it’s pretty clear to the world..."
10. 'The Kashmir Files' - written and directed by Agnihotri - is based on Kashmiri Pandits' exodus from the Valley in the 1990s, when militancy was rampant. The movie has been praised and promoted by top BJP leaders, including union home minister Amit Shah, who called it 'a bold representation of the truth'. The chief ministers of several states ruled by the party granted the film tax-free status.
With input from ANI
