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Complaint against Israeli filmmaker over 'Kashmir Files vulgar' remark

November 29, 2022 15:26 IST

A Supreme Court lawyer on Tuesday filed a complaint with the Goa police against International Film Festival of India (IFFI) jury head Nadav Lapid for allegedly abusing Hindu community's sacrifice made in Kashmir by calling the movie The Kashmir Files as 'vulgar' and 'propaganda'.

IMAGE: Israeli director and IFFI jury chairperson Nadav Lapid. Photograph: TV grab

Advocate Vineet Jindal has filed a complaint against Nadav Lapid and sought registration under sections 121,153,153A and B, 295, 298 and 505 of the Indian Penal Code for his alleged comment on the movie The Kashmir Files based on the true story of Hindu genocide in Kashmir, the complaint stated.

The film The Kashmir Files is based on the 'exodus and killings' of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley in the 1990s by Islamic terrorists. By calling a movie based on a true story on Hindu genocide by Islamic terrorists that happened in Kashmir as 'propaganda' and 'vulgar,' he is abusing the sacrifice of Hindus in Kashmir and targeting the Hindu community by using derogatory words vulgar and propaganda upon Hindu killings just to incite hatred in our country, the complaint added.

 

The complaint has been addressed to the Director general of police, in Goa and stated: "the content of the statement made by him (Nadav Lapid) clearly shows his intent of instigating enmity between groups. Being a social activist and Hindu by religion, my religious sentiments are deeply hurt by the statement made by Nadav Lapid." complainant Advocate Vineet Jindal stated.

The statement given by Nadav is totally manipulated and with ill intention towards the Hindu Community in the grab of targeting movie Kashmir Files which became clearer when one of the jury members at IFFI Sudipto Sen through his Twitter account said that "it is completely in a personal capacity- nothing to do with the esteemed jury board", Jindal stated further.

The statement of Sudipito Sen shows that no such statement has been approved or discussed upon Kashmir Files between jury members at IFFI but Nadav must have some hidden agenda in his mind against Hindu Community which came out during his closing speech in IFFI, it added.

Indian film director Sudipto Sen, who was part of the international film jury, distanced himself and other members from Lapid's statement.

The Kashmir Files, which polarised opinions following its release in March and went on to become a blockbuster hit, was screened at IFFI on November 22 as part of the Indian panorama section.

As controversy grew, a day after the director described the The Kashmir Files as "propaganda" and “vulgar”, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, actors such as Anupam Kher and Ranvir Shorey and the film's director Vivek Agnihotri also joined the discourse against him.

Agnihotri spoke about “truth” in a cryptic media post and said “it is the most dangerous thing” as it can make people lie.

Kher, who starred in The Kashmir Files, added that truth will always trump falsehood.

He also shared a series of stills from Schindler's List, a true life story about German industrialist Oskar Schindler who saved more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees from the Holocaust by employing them in his factories during World War II. His post also included a picture of himself in The Kashmir Files.

The film was called out for its problematic politics by a section of critics and authors when it was released but performed exceptionally well at the box office by minting over Rs 330 crore.

Source: ANI