Israeli filmmaker faces flak over 'Kashmir Files' comment at IFFI

A day after Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid called The Kashmir Files a “vulgar propaganda film,” his country’s envoy Naor Gilon lambasted him on Tuesday, expressing concerns over the “implications” of his comment on the officials of the nation’s diplomatic and consular missions in India.

“You will go back to Israel thinking that you are bold and ‘made a statement’. We, the representatives of Israel, would stay here,” Gilon wrote to Lapid in an open letter that he posted on Twitter. “You should see our DM (Direct Message) boxes following your ‘bravery’ and what implications it may have on the team under my responsibility”.

Lapid headed the international jury at the 2022 International Film Festival of India held at Goa. The well-acclaimed filmmaker stirred up the hornet’s nest while delivering his speech at the closing ceremony of the festival on Monday. “All of us were disturbed and shocked by the movie The Kashmir Files. It felt to us like a propaganda and vulgar movie that was inappropriate for an artistic and competitive section of such a prestigious film festival. I feel comfortable to openly share this feeling with you since the spirit of the festival can truly accept critical discussion which is essential for art and life,” he said, even as Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur himself was in the audience.

The Kashmir Files – directed by Vivek Agnihotri and featuring Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi – is based on the exodus of Pandits from Kashmir at the height of militancy in the 1990s. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other offshoots of the Sangh Parivar promoted the film after it was released on March 11, with several ministers of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government showering praise on it.

Read | Will stop making films if Lapid can prove any event of 'Kashmir Files' not absolute truth: Agnihotri

The film was declared “tax-free” in several states ruled by the saffron party. It was a commercial success, but was criticised by some for allegedly targeting a community, while depicting the atrocities on another.

Lapid, who was born in Tel Aviv, made award-winning films like Policeman, The Kindergarten Teacher and Synonyms. He, however, came under attack on Tuesday, not only from Agnihotri, Kher and many other BJP leaders and Sangh Parivar loyalists, but also from the envoy of his own country. “You should be ashamed,” Gilon, Israel’s ambassador to India, wrote to Lapid on Twitter, reacting to his comments.

“I’m no film expert, but I do know that it’s insensitive and presumptuous to speak about historic events before deeply studying them and which are an open wound in India, because many of the involved are still around and still paying a price,” Gilon wrote to Lapid on Twitter, who earlier shared the podium at the IFFI with Thakur and had a brief chat about “similarities and closeness” between India and Israel. “From your interview to Ynet the connection you make between your criticism of #KashmirFiles and your dislike to what is happening in Israeli politics was quite evident,” he added, referring to Lapid’s interview to a media outlet based in Israel.

Gilon also accused Lapid, who had won the Golden Bear award in Berlin Film Festival in 2019, of abusing the invitation extended to him by India to head the international jury of the IFFI. “The friendship between the people and the states of India and Israel is very strong and will survive the damage you have inflicted.”

Modi’s visit to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in July 2017 was the first by a Prime Minister of India to Israel. It de-linked India’s relations with Israel and Palestine.

India was the first non-Arab country to recognise Palestine way back in 1988. But New Delhi's growing ties with Israel after the BJP's ascent to power in May 2014 fuelled speculation about India reviewing its position on Palestine. The Modi government, however, made it clear that while India would continue to support the cause of Palestine, it would also seek to build stronger ties with Israel. New Delhi also played host to then-Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in January 2018.