'If you can't see naked truth, shut your eyes': Anupam Kher blasts IFFI jury head's 'vulgar' comment on 'The Kashmir Files'

Veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher on Tuesday blasted IFFI (International Film Festival of India) 2022 jury head Nadav Lapid for calling 'The Kashmir Files' a 'vulgar, propaganda film'. He said some people don't have a habit to see and show the truth as it is. "They are habitual of seeing it by decorating it as per their choice. They can't digest Kashmir's truth, want it to be shown via coloured glasses, and have been at it for last 25-30 years," the veteran actor said in a video message.

"Today, when Kashmir Files spoiled their hard work and showed truth as it is, they are discomforted. They are expressing discomfort from time to time. If you can't see the horrifying and naked truth, shut your eyes and mouth. Stop mocking it as we are people who suffered through it," Kher said in an apparent reference to those who dispute certain facts related to the 'exodus and killings' of Hindus in the Valley.

Directed by Vivek Agnihotri, 'The Kashmir Files' shows the targeted killing of Hindus in Kashmir at the height of the insurgency in 1989. Released earlier this year, the movie became a superhit as many affected by that tragedy said this was the real portrayal of what had exactly happened. However, some disagreed saying the movie painted one community in a bad light and that this may affect the harmony.  

During his address at IFFI, the biggest film festival in Asia, the Israeli filmmaker said that the committee was disturbed and shocked by the inclusion of 'The Kashmir Files' in the list. "That (the film) felt like a propaganda, vulgar movie, inappropriate for an artistic competitive section of such a prestigious film festival,” he said.  

Lapid's comments on the movie evoked sharp reactions from many senior Israeli diplomats, who said he made a mistake and that he should not have made those remarks.  

In a series of tweets, Naor Gilon, Israeli ambassador to India, said that Lapid abused in the worst way the Indian invitation to chair the panel of judges at IFFI as well as the trust, respect, and warm hospitality the Indians have bestowed on him. "YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED," he said.

After hearing the speech, Kobbi Shoshani, Consul General of Israel, dialled Anupam Kher to apologise. "After I heard the speech which we don't accept, the first person I called in the morning was Anupam Kher, to apologise about the speech that was a private opinion, maybe with some other European jurors, but nothing to do with the State of Israel," he said at a joint press conference with Kher

Kher later in a tweet said that the truth of 'The Kashmir files' is stuck like a thorn in the throat of some people. "They are neither able to swallow it nor spit it out! His soul, which is dead, is desperately trying to prove this truth false. But this film of #Toolkit is now a movement, not a film," he said.

The actor further said that truth doesn't get impacted by such things and one person or 10 people don't impact the whole country. "Pain brings people together. I got messages from Israel and they said wonderful things...this truth has become part of our lives. Go and ask the victims. India and Israel are friends. Both have suffered terrorism. A common Israeli understands the pain of Kashmiri Hindus. Every country has its enemies residing within, this too is the truth," Kher, who has also acted in the film, said.

Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant also condemned the statement of Lapid. "Israel's Ambassador also said that he misused the platform. National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) will take cognizance of it. He should not have used such words," he said.