The Kashmir Files Totally Flat, Cheap, Shouldn't Be Part of Film Festivals: Nadav Lapid's Fresh Attack on Vivek Agnihotri Movie

Nadav Lapid, a Paris-based writer-director and IFFI Jury head, has made a fresh attack on filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri’s ‘The Kashmir Files’. Lapid, in a new interview, has pointed out that The Kashmir Files is an “inappropriate” movie for an artistic competitive section of “such a prestigious film festival”.

During the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2022 in Goa, the Israeli filmmaker called Vivek Agnihotri’s film “propaganda” and “vulgar,” causing a huge uproar. Later, he apologised for his remarks. However, Lapid has once again come down heavily on the film by saying that it “doesn’t have any inner contradictions or complexities, and is totally flat.”

“When I watched The Kashmir Files (2022), I knew it was an Indian entry. That’s more or less the only thing I knew about it. However, while watching it, I found the movie to be a cheap, vulgar, and propaganda movie,” Lapid told The Indian Express.

Lapid, who hails from Tel Aviv in Israel, further said that movies like The Kashmir Files “shouldn’t be part of the competition section” at film festivals.

“I have been part of the jury in dozens of festivals, including the international ones held in Berlin, Cannes, Locarno and Venice. Never ever have I watched a movie like The Kashmir Files at these festivals… When you show a movie like this to the jury, you force them to behave differently (than usual),” Lapid added.

During his speech at the IFFI, Lapid had said, “All of us were disturbed and shocked by the 15th film – the movie ‘The Kashmir Files’. That felt to us like a propaganda, vulgar movie, inappropriate for an artistic competitive section of such a prestigious film festival. I feel totally comfortable to share openly these feelings here with you on this stage. In the spirit of the festival, can surely accept a critical discussion, which is essential for art and life.” A snippet of Lapid’s speech went viral on social media sparking a heated debate on his remark on the film that holds sentimental value in the hearts of many. Leaving the internet divided, the Israeli director garnered both appreciation and flak for his comment.

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