Anupam Kher has hit back at the ongoing controversy surrounding 'The Kashmir Files' after Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid termed his film "propaganda".
In a Twitter post, the actor, who played one of the lead roles in the movie, shared his thoughts about the remarks made at the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) on Monday night in Goa. Sharing the video, he wrote, "The truth of 'Kashmir files' is stuck like a thorn in the throat of some people. They are neither able to swallow it nor spit it out! The souls of those who are dead are desperately struggling to prove this truth as false. But our film is now a movement and not a film. The despicable #Toolkit gang keep trying a million times."
Kher also shared a series of stills from the Oscar-winning Steven Spielberg-directed Holocaust drama 'Schindler's List' along with a picture from 'The Kashmir Files'. He wrote, "No matter how big the lie is, it's always smaller than the truth in comparison."
Schindler's List is the 1993 film which revolved around Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist who saved more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees from the Holocaust by employing them in his factories during World War II.
Kher's reaction comes after director Vivek Agnihotri in a cryptic social media post said that the truth is the most dangerous thing as it can make people lie. "GM. Truth is the most dangerous thing. It can make people lie. #CreativeConsciousness," Agnihotri wrote on Twitter.
Lapid had termed 'The Kashmir Files' as a "propaganda movie" and "vulgar" at the closing ceremony. He had served as the chairperson of the international competition jury at the IFFI.
Written and directed by Agnihotri, 'The Kashmir Files' depicts the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir following the killings of people from the community by Pakistan-backed terrorists.
Following its March 11 release, the film was called out for its problematic politics by a section of critics and authors, but it performed exceptionally well at the box office by minting over Rs 330 crore. The movie had also sparked a debate among political parties after several BJP-ruled states, including Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, gave it exemption from entertainment tax.
Also starring Darshan Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi, the film was showcased as part of the Indian Panorama Section at the IFFI.
In his speech at the closing ceremony of the 2022 edition of the film festival, Lapid said he was "disturbed and shocked" to see "The Kashmir Files" being screened at the festival. The event had Kher and Bollywood star Akshay Kumar in attendance.
Lapid's comments on the movie, one of the most talked about films of the year, sparked a controversy on social media with reactions pouring in from various quarters.
Ambassador of Israel to India Naor Gilon slammed the filmmaker, saying he should be "ashamed" as he had "abused in the worst way" the Indian invitation to him to chair the panel of judges at the film festival.
In the open letter put out in a series of tweets, Gilon said Lapid should be "ashamed" and gave reasons for it.
"As a son of a holocaust survivor, I was extremely hurt to see reactions in India to you that are doubting Schindler's List, the Holocaust and worse. I unequivocally condemn such statements. There is no justification. It does show the sensitivity of the Kashmir issue here," he said.
Indian film director Sudipto Sen, who was part of the international film jury, distanced himself and other members from Lapid's statement.
"Whatever has been said by IFFI 2022 Jury Chairman Mr Nadav Lapid about the film Kashmir Files, from the stage of the closing ceremony of 53rd IFFI was completely his personal opinion," Sen wrote in a note shared on Twitter.
Sen said he and other jury members Spanish documentary filmmaker Javier Angulo Barturen and French film editor Pascale Chavance "never mentioned anything about our likes or dislikes".
Comments by Lapid were made in his "personal capacity", he stressed.
"As a juror, we are assigned to judge the technical, aesthetic quality and socio-cultural relevance of a film. We don't indulge in any kind of political comments on any film and if it is done, it is completely in a personal capacity - nothing to do with the esteemed jury board," Sen added.
