Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid, who's the Jury head of IFFI 2022, has been facing backlash for passing controversial remarks on Vivek Agnihotri's film 'The Kashmir Files' at the closing ceremony of the festival on Monday.
Lapid called 'The Kashmir Files' a "propaganda, vulgar film", adding that he was "shocked" to see the film in the competition section of such a prestigious film festival.
A video from the festival went viral in which Lapid is seen criticising the film. One of the members of the festival's PR team also confirmed to ANI that the Israeli filmmaker made the remark at the closing ceremony.
Lapid's remarks did not go down well with many. Actor Darshan Kumaar, who played one of the key roles in 'The Kashmir Files', too, reacted to Lapid's comments.
Speaking to ANI, 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."
When ANI contacted the organisers about their comment on the jury head making such statements about the Kashmir Files, they declined to comment.
Released earlier this year, the 'The Kashmir Files' was listed in the line-up for IFFI's Indian Panorama segment for the year 2022. The film is based on the life of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990, during the Kashmir insurgency. It is a true story, based on video interviews of the first generation.
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