‘Kashmir Files Unreported’: Post IFFI row, Vivek Agnihotri announces ‘Kashmir Files’ follow-up film

Vivek Agnihotri
| Photo Credit: RAMAKRISHNA G

A day after he challenged the International Film Festival of India jury and Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid to prove that events depicted in his film The Kashmir Files are false, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri has announced a follow-up film titled The Kashmir Files Unreported to “expose the whole truth.”

Earlier this week, on the closing day of the 53rd edition of IFFI, Lapid caused an uproar when he called The Kashmir Files a “vulgar and propaganda film” during his speech. The next day, Agnihotri posted a video statement on his Instagram page stating, “I challenge the world’s intellectuals and ‘urban Naxals’ as well as the great filmmaker who came from Israel if they can prove that any shot, dialogue or event of ‘The Kashmir Files’ is not absolute truth, I’ll stop making films. I’m not someone who will back down. Issue as many fatwas as you want, but I’ll keep fighting.”

Now, a day later, the filmmaker has announced The Kashmir Files Unreported, a follow-up film. In an interview with Aaj Tak, Agnihotri said, “We have many stories, anecdotes, truths from which we could have made 10 films instead of one. We decided to make only one film, but now, I have decided that I will bring out the whole truth through The Kashmir Files Unreported,” he said.

“I will soon reveal if it will be a web series or a documentary. This is beyond art now and is more about the reputation of the country and it is my moral responsibility that whatever proof I have with me, I bring them out and present it in front of people,” he added.

Written and directed by Agnihotri and produced by Zee Studios, The Kashmir Files portrays the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir following the killings of people from the community by Pakistan-backed terrorists.

The much-discussed film, which opened to polarising reviews following its March 11 release, starred Anupam Kher, Pallavi Joshi, Mithun Chakraborty and Darshan Kumar.

Post Lapid’s comments, both Joshi and Kher have lashed out at the Israeli filmmaker. While Joshi described Lapid as a genocide denier, Kher called Lapid a “person who himself is vulgar and an opportunist”.