IFFI Jury’s head Nadav Lapid recently passed a statement on Vivek Agnihotri’s film The Kashmir Files which has sparked extreme outrage among the celebs in the Bollywood industry. Nadav Lapid stated that he was disturbed and shocked by the movie The Kashmir Files. He further called Kashmir Files a “propaganda, vulgar movie”. Reacting to the same filmmaker Ashoke Pandit has now demanded a formal apology from Nadav Lapid.
In a series of tweets, filmmaker Ashoke Pandit showed his discontent over Nadav Lapid’s statement. Condemning his statement, Ashoke tweeted, “I take strong objection to the language used by Mr. Nadav Lapid for #kashmirFiles. Depicting the genocide of 3 lakh #KashmiriHindus cannot be called vulgar. I as a filmmaker & a #KashmiriPandit condemn this shameless act of abuse towards victims of terrorism,”
The filmmaker further requested Union Minister Anurag Thakur to take action against Nadav Lapid and added, “Dear @ianuragthakur ji. I as a #KashmiriPandit & who is a victim of genocide seek a serious actn agnst Mr. #NadavLapid Jury head of IFFI 2022 fr calling d depiction of our tragedy as vulgar. Hs hs added salt to our wounds&hence shld b made to tender a apology. #KashmirFiles.”
Apart from Ashoke Pandit, actor Ranvir Shorey also shared his reaction to the whole controversy and tweeted, “The singling out of a film and the language used to describe it is completely unbecoming of a film jury or critic. It reeks of politics. Cinema has always been the harbinger of truth & change, not an agent to stifle or snuff it. Shameful display of political opportunism at #IFFI.”
IFFI Head Nadav Lapid’s Statement On Kashmir Files
During the closing ceremony, IFFI jury head Nadav Lapid spoke on the behalf of the jury and said, “Usually, I don’t read from paper. This time, I want to be precise. I want to thank the director and head of the programming of the festival for its cinematic richness, diversity, and complexity. There were 15 films in the international competition. Fourteen out of them had cinematic qualities…and evoked vivid discussions. We were, all of us, disturbed and shocked by the 15th film, The Kashmir Files. That felt to us like a propaganda, vulgar movie, inappropriate for an artistic competitive section of such a prestigious film festival.”
He added, “I feel totally comfortable to share openly these feelings here with you on stage since the spirit that we felt in the festival can surely accept a critical discussion which is essential for art and life,”
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