"All of us were disturbed and shocked by the movie The Kashmir Files", said Nadav Lapid at the closing ceremony of the 53rd IFFI held on November 28.
The Kashmir Files has been one of the biggest blockbusters in Indian cinema this year as the hard-hitting political drama collected around Rs 340 crore at the box office worldwide. The film, featuring Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, and Pallavi Joshi among others, received mixed reviews from the audience and the critics.
Based on the 1990s exodus of Hindus from the Kashmir valley, the Vivek Agnihotri directorial was screened at the 53rd International Film Festival of India, which was held in Goa from November 20 to November 28. At the event's closing ceremony, the jury chairperson Nadav Lapid (writer shared the jury's comments on the films screened at the annual festival.
Speaking on behalf of the jury, the Israeli writer and film director said at the closing ceremony, "All of us were disturbed and shocked by the movie The Kashmir Files. It felt to us like a propaganda, vulgar movie, inappropriate for the artistic competitive section of such a prestigious film festival. I feel comfortable to share open disfeelings with you since the spirit of the festival can truly accept critical discussion."
READ | Vivek Agnihotri replies to Twitter user saying The Tashkent Files was better film than The Kashmir Files
Apart from Nadav, the IFFI 2022 jury comprised the American film producer Jinko Gotoh, French documentary filmmaker Javier Angulo Barturen, French editor Pascale Chavance, and the National Award-winning Indian writer-director Sudipto Sen. Lapid was also among the jury of the International Critics’ Week section of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
The Kashmir Files was declared tax-free in multiple states governed by the ruling party Bhartiya Janta Party - Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and Himachal Pradesh and few states even provided official vacations to government employees to go and watch the film.
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