The closing ceremony of the 53rd International Film Festival of India courted controversy after jury head Nadav Lapid called 'The Kashmir Files' a 'vulgar propaganda' film. A video of his speech has gone viral on the internet. Now, Anupam Kher, who played a pivotal role in Vivek Agnihotri’s film, has reacted to the remarks on Twitter.
The veteran actor tweeted, 'No matter how high the height of lie is. .. It is always small in comparison to truth.' He also shared images from 'The Kashmir Files' and Steven Spielberg's 'Schindler’s List'
Speaking with news agency ANI, Anupam Kher said that Lapid’s remark was pre-planned.
Filmmaker Ashok Pandit also slammed Lapid's remarks and said that he takes strong objection to the language used by him. He said that depicting the genocide of 3 lakh Kashmiri Hindus cannot be vulgar. He concluded by saying that he condemns this shameless act of abuse towards victims of terrorism.
Ashok Pandit has also asked Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur to make Nadav ‘tender an apology’ as he has ‘added salt to our wounds’.
Actor Ranvir Shorey also took to Twitter and wrote, ‘the singling out of a film and the language used to describe it is completely unbecoming of a film jury or critic, and it reeks of politics. He said Cinema has always been the harbinger of truth & change, not an agent to stifle or snuff it. Shameful display of political opportunism at #IFFI.’
Israel's Consul General to Mumbai Kobbi Shoshani also disagreed with his fellow countryman and filmmaker Lapid. He said that he has watched the film and has a different opinion than Lapid.
Also Watch | IFFI jury head calls 'The Kashmir Files' 'vulgar and propaganda' movie on stage. Watch