Critics called the film mediocre
Israel’s envoy to India has apologized for Israeli director Nadav Lapid’s comments on an Indian film about Kashmir.
Lapid, chairman of the Indian International Film Festival Committee, criticized the film ‘The Kashmir Files’ taking part in the festival, describing the film as ‘political propaganda’, and said he was shocked by the film’s participation in the competition.
The film, which was a great success with audiences, caused controversy when it was released.
The events of the film take place at the time of the mass exodus of Hindus from Indian-administered Kashmir in 1990. It tells a fictional story about a college student who discovers that his Hindu parents from Kashmir have been killed by Islamic militants.
Thousands of Kashmiri Pandits (a Kashmiri Hindu sect) fled their homes during a rebellion against Indian rule of Kashmir that started in the 1980s.
None of those who left have returned to their home countries.
After Lapid’s comments sparked outrage on social media, festival management said they represented his personal opinion.
Naor Gilon, the Israeli ambassador to India, criticized Lapid in an open letter.
“As a human being, I am ashamed and I want to apologize to our guests for the bad behavior with which their generosity and friendship have rewarded us,” he said in his message.
Actor Anupam Kher, who plays the lead role in the film, retweeted the Israeli ambassador’s statement with his own statement.
Despite the film’s great success at the box office, it received average reviews from critics upon its release in March.
The screening of the film caused a rift in public opinion and sparked a heated debate on social media, as some praised it for shedding light on an unheard-of chapter in Kashmiri history, but critics described it as opportunism and Islamophobia .
Lapid had praised the cinematic richness, diversity and depth that characterized the films participating in the festival but criticized the ‘Kashmiri files’.
“We felt that the film was some sort of crude political propaganda, not suitable to be shown in an art competition of such a prestigious festival,” he said, according to the Indian Express newspaper.
Lapid, whose film “Synonyms” won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2019, added that he had no problem expressing his opinion because “the atmosphere we felt at the festival accepts a critical discussion that is necessary for art and life.”
Actor Khair Tuesday responded to the comment by saying, “I hope God grant him wisdom so he doesn’t use the tragedy of thousands for his agenda.”
“Truth is the most dangerous thing. It can make people lie,” director Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri said in a tweet, ostensibly directed at Lapid.
