What is the Controversy Around 'The Kashmir Files'? News18 Explains As IFFI Jury's Comments Spark Row

Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid, the jury head of the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI), on Monday described Hindi film ‘The Kashmir Files’ as “propaganda” and “vulgar”. In his speech at the closing ceremony of IFFI 2022, Lapid said he was “disturbed and shocked” to see the film being screened at the film festival.

Director of the film Vivek Agnihotri, apparently reacting the comments, in a cryptic social media post said truth is the most dangerous thing as it can make people lie. Agnihotri’s reaction came after veteran actor Anupam Kher, who starred in “The Kashmir Files”, on Tuesday said truth will always trump falsehood.

But what is the controversy surrounding the film? News18 explains:

Vivek Agnihotri’s ‘The Kashmir Files’ is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley during the height of militancy in the 1990s. The film, promoted by BJP leaders, was a commercial success, but it was accused of inflaming communal feelings.

Plot:

Krishna Pandit (Darshan Kumar), a JNU student, believes his parents were killed in an accident, as told by his grandfather, Pushkar Nath (Anupam Kher). The truth, however, is more depressing. He is caught between two opposing narratives of the 1990 Kashmiri Pandit exodus, a plot summary by ImDB reveals.

Pallavi Joshi, ‘a pro-Azaadi JNU professor who is gaining a lot of support on campus for her Kashmir cause, represents one side. On the other side is Nath, who has been fighting for justice for the exodus for 30 years, which the professor claims is a sham. Krishna returns to Kashmir after Pushkar Nath’s death to fulfil his last wishes and meets four of Nath’s friends, a journalist, a doctor, a former police officer, and a retired civil servant. They are astounded to learn that Krishna was unaware of his father’s death. The Kashmir Files then becomes Krishna’s journey to ‘discover the truth’. Krishna’s father is killed by a local militant while hiding in a container of rice in one of many harrowing scenes. His mother is compelled to consume the blood-soaked rice from the same container.

The film, which cost between 15 crore (US$1.9 million) and 25 crore (US$3.1 million)to make, had grossed 340.92 crore (US$43 million) worldwide as of 28 April 2022, making it the second highest-grossing Hindi film of 2022, according to figures provided by Bollywood Hungama.

It received mixed reviews from mainstream critics, with several calling it “exploitative,” but the film quickly sparked a heated debate on social media. Supporters said it shed light on a ‘forgotten, bloody period’ in Kashmir’s history, but critics say it’s ‘inaccurate and Islamophobic’.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and key members of his BJP government had praised the film, and several BJP-ruled states waived taxes on it. Police in Madhya Pradesh had been given a day off to watch it. Modi also called the criticism a “conspiracy to discredit” the movie.

The movie showcases its version into the history of Kashmir, and the restive region along India’s border with Pakistan, which has long been a sensitive subject.

The valley has seen an armed insurgency against the Indian government rule since the late 1980s. Islamist militants began targeting Kashmiri Hindus – upper-caste Pandits – who were a minority group, in the 1990s. Many were killed and, by some estimates, hundreds of thousands of them fled their homes. Most never returned.

India deployed the army and gave it sweeping powers to arrest and interrogate – and over the years, security forces have been accused of excesses against locals. They deny the allegations.

Perceptions:

According to journalist and author Rahul Pandita, while Kashmir’s tortured past has inspired numerous books and films, few have solely focused on the exodus and what caused it. He told the BBC that The Kashmir Files elicited such a strong reaction because Pandits have long felt that their story had been suppressed. “They’re going through an emotional catharsis,” he was quotes as saying.

Pandita, whose book, Our Moon Has Blood Clots: A Memoir of a Lost Home, is based on his experience fleeing Srinagar as a teenager, said he is still surprised by how little people in the country are aware of this period in Kashmir’s history.

Others, however, argue that it is not surprising given that many chapters in modern India’s history, such as violence against lower castes or allegations against India’s security forces in the north-east or states where Maoist insurgencies have occurred, have been rarely told through mainstream cinema.

“I’m perplexed by the constant refrain that this is a previously untold story. Bollywood has not told these stories, but Bollywood does not tell these stories,” Sanjay Kak, a Kashmiri Pandit and documentary filmmaker who has extensively covered the region, told the BBC.

Vivek Agnihotri, the film’s director and a BJP supporter, has been accused of inaccuracies in his work. Agnihotri’s previous film, The Tashkent Files, which claimed a conspiracy in the death of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, was also chastised for portraying rumours as facts. Shastri’s grandson issued a legal notice to Agnihotri, claiming that the film was attempting to “create unwarranted and unnecessary controversy.”

Agnihotri has defended The Kashmir Files, claiming that “it’s not about Hindus or Muslims, as people would like to believe.”

Reacting to the recent comments, Anupam Kher, called Lapid’s comments on The Kashmir Files “pre-planned,” implying that the “toolkit gang” was involved.

“Its a pre planned i think , toolkit gang is also active now . Its shameful for him to make a statement like this . Jews have suffered holocaust and he comes from that community , it had pained those people who faced it,” Anupam Kher said. Read more on who said what here

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