Amidst IFFI row, Vivek Agnihotri announces 'The Kashmir Files: Unreported'
What's the story
Filmmaker Nadav Lapid's "propaganda, vulgar film" comments on The Kashmir Files have led its director, Vivek Agnihotri, to announce, The Kashmir Files: Unreported. Reacting to Lapid's comments, Agnihotri said his new project will focus on letting people know the "entire truth." Lapid, the International Film Festival of India (IFFI)'s ex-jury head, also said that he was "shocked" to see it in the competition section.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Recently, Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files was honored at IFFI Goa. At its closing ceremony, Lapid spoke about the film, saying, "All of us are disturbed. It felt to us like propaganda, vulgar movie inappropriate for an artistic competitive section of such a prestigious competition." His comments on the film instantly went viral on social media, giving rise to a controversy.
Details
Agnihotri to finish 'The Kashmir Files: Unreported' by 2023
While talking to AajTak, Agnihotri said that he is determined to "bring out the whole truth." Saying that he has many anecdotes, stories, and truths from which he could have "made 10 films instead of one," he is now determined to bring The Kashmir Files: Unreported within 2023. In another tweet on Tuesday, he mentioned that it will be a documentary series.
Agnihotri's statement
Agnihotri on Lapid’s controversial remark
Reacting to Lapid's remark, Agnihotri put up a video on his social media on Tuesday. Agnihotri can be heard challenging the Israeli filmmaker to "prove any single shot, event or dialogue" which is "not completely true." He further said that if Lapid can find it, he will "quit filmmaking," adding that "who are these people who stand up against India every time?"
Twitter Post
Watch Agnihotri's full statement here
Terror supporters and Genocide deniers can never silence me.
— Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) November 29, 2022
Jai Hind. #TheKashmirFiles #ATrueStory pic.twitter.com/jMYyyenflc
Reactions
Anupam Kher also slammed Israeli filmmaker
Taking to social media on Tuesday, Anupam Kher put up two posts, slamming Lapid. In the first, Kher posted two images, one from The Kashmir Files and another from Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List. He captioned it in Hindi saying that no matter how big a lie is, it'll always remain small in front of the truth. In another post, Kher issued a video statement.
Twitter Post
Take a look at Kher's post
‘कश्मीर फ़ाइल्स’ का सच कुछ लोगो के गले में एक काँटे की तरह अटक गया है।वो ना उसे निगल पा रहे है ना उगल! इस सच को झूठा साबित करने के लिए उनकी आत्मा,जो मर चुकी है, बुरी तरह से छटपटा रही है।पर हमारी ये फ़िल्म अब एक आंदोलन है फ़िल्म नहीं।तुच्छ #Toolkit गैंग वाले लाख कोशिश करते रहें।🙏 pic.twitter.com/ysKwCraejt
— Anupam Kher (@AnupamPKher) November 29, 2022