Anupam Kher reacts to IFFI jury head who slammed ‘The Kashmir Files’: He himself is vulgar and an opportunist

Anupam Kher 
| Photo Credit: RAMAKRISHNA G

Veteran actor Anupam Kher of the ‘The Kashmir Files’ fame on Tuesday said it is “shameful” on the part of IFFI (International Film Festival of India) jury head Nadav Lapid to term the film as “propaganda and vulgar” at the festival’s closing ceremony.

The veteran star stated that the person behind this act himself is “vulgar” and an “opportunist”.

During the closing ceremony of the IFFI on On November 28, Lapid termed ‘The Kashmir Files’ a “propaganda, vulgar film”, adding that he was “shocked” to see the film in the competition section of such a prestigious film festival.

“I feel that in every country those who exercise freedom of speech, do have some set of people who think they will use a platform like this to address their private opinion. Well, if you don’t like the movie you are most welcome to say it. But if you are a jury member you should be responsible enough to not use a platform like this to put forward such remarks. I think it’s a ‘vulgar’ remark by that person. And who himself is vulgar and is an opportunist who used this platform to put forth his ‘propaganda’ or whatever he believes in,” Kher said in a media interaction held on Tuesday.

He added, “Truth doesn’t get impacted by such things. One person or 10 people don’t impact the whole country. Pain brings people together. I got messages from Israel and they said wonderful things.”

On the other hand, Israel’s Consul General Kobbi Shoshani on Tuesday described IFFI jury head Nadav Lapid’s controversial remarks on ‘The Kashmir Files’ as a “big mistake”, and added that the comments made by the Israeli filmmaker don’t reflect the country’s position on the movie.

“Concerning Nadav, we don’t accept it. I personally don’t accept it. The Ambassador, who was there with me in Goa last night, doesn’t accept it. It’s his own private opinion. He can say that it’s the opinion of the Jury which is alright. But it’s nothing to do with Israel,” Shoshani said.

“I told him after the speech that he made a big mistake, that it wasn’t appropriate. The Ambassador and I rolled out comments and tweets in a way that makes very clear what we think about using words like ‘propaganda’, we don’t accept it. He is not representing the State of Israel,” he said.

Speaking about his own experiences with the movie “The Kashmir Files”, he said, tears came from his eyes when he saw the film. “It was not an easy film to see. I think it was shown in Israel too. We are Jews who suffered from horrible things and I think we’ve to share others’ suffering. From my point of view, I can’t force anyone to apologise. If you ask personally, yes I think he has to apologise because he entered a political dispute in India and it’s not something which he has to do,” he added.

On Monday, IFFI jury head Nadav Lapid called ‘The Kashmir Files’ as “vulgar” and “propaganda”. His remarks made during the closing ceremony of the film festival, have since gone viral and have invited widespread criticism. Released earlier this year, the ‘The Kashmir Files’ was listed in the line-up for IFFI’s Indian Panorama segment for the year 2022. The film is based on the life of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990, during the Kashmir insurgency. It is a true story, based on video interviews of the first generation of victims of the genocide.