Darshan Kumaar on IFFI jury head calling film propaganda

• Darshan Kumaar, has responded to criticism of the movie made by IFFI 2022 jury chair Nadav Lapid.
• The Israeli director had described the movie as disgusting propaganda that “disturbed” the entire jury on Monday.
• Both the Israeli ambassador and the movie’s star, Anupam Kher, have criticised the comment.

One of the actors of this year’s sleeper success The Kashmir Files, actor Darshan Kumaar, has responded to criticism of the movie made by IFFI 2022 jury chair Nadav Lapid. The Israeli director had described the movie as disgusting propaganda that “disturbed” the entire jury on Monday. Both the Israeli ambassador and the movie’s star, Anupam Kher, have criticised the comment. Darshan has now added his perspective to the debate.

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Speaking to a news agency, Darshan said, “Everyone has their own individual opinions on anything they see and perceive. But one can’t deny the fact is that The Kashmir files is a film which has depicted the actual plight of Kashmiri pandit community… who are still fighting for justice against the brutal acts of terrorism. So, this film is not on vulgarity but on reality.”

On Monday evening, Lapid criticised The Kashmir Files as “propaganda, vulgar film,” adding that he was “shocked” to find the movie in the festival’s competition section. Lapid can be seen criticising the movie in a viral festival video. As of yet, the festival’s organisers have declined to comment on the situation.

Naor Gilon, Israel’s ambassador to India, has expressed contempt for the statement and demanded the filmmaker to apologise to Indians. Anupam Kher, the other lead actor in the movie, agreed and called the statement “pre-planned” and an effort to “advance an agenda.”

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Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files was included in the schedule for the 2022 edition of IFFI’s Indian Panorama. The flight of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley in 1990 is the subject of the movie. It defied predictions to become one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of the year despite being made on a cheap budget and without significant performers.