Nadav Lapid, the Jury Head at the International Film Festival of India, slammed Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files in his speech. The Israeli filmmaker called it a "disturbing" film and added that all the jury members were shocked by it. He also called it inappropriate for showcasing it in the list of other artistic films.
What the jury head 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, the diversity and complexity...There were 15 films in the international competition — the front window of the festival. Fourteen out of them had the cinematic qualities...and evoked vivid discussions," he reportedly said.
"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.
He concluded saying, "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."
Kashmir Files' polarizing reviews
Back home, The Kashmir Files has received polarizing reaction from the audience. There were many who called it the best film of the year and there were many who called it nothing more than distorted concoction of lies.
