Israeli filmmaker/director Nadav Lapid’s disparaging comments over the inclusion of “The Kashmir Files” in the competitive section of the International Film Festival of India that concluded in Goa triggered a strong backlash with even Israel’s envoy to India, Naor Gilon, calling them “insensitive and presumptuous”.
Pramod Sawant, the chief minister of Goa, the film's director Vivek Agnihotri, and Anupam Kher all criticised Lapid at the same time that the political opposition seized on the Israeli director's comments as the jury's chairman as support for their claims that the movie was "BJP-backed propaganda."
Ambassador Gilon said Lapid should be “ashamed” of abusing India’s invitation to chair the panel of judges at IFFI and the trust, respect and warm hospitality bestowed on him.
Ambassador Naor Gilon said, “I’m no film expert but I do know that it’s insensitive and presumptuous to speak about historic events before deeply studying them and which are an open wound in India.” At a joint press conference with Kher, Israel consul general Kobbi Shoshani said the film was not propaganda and “carried a very strong message”.
Union ministers Anurag Thakur and L Murugan, Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner Asha Parekh, Akshay Kumar and Rana Daggubati were among the audience at the 53rd edition of IFFI's closing ceremony. Lapid, the head of the international competition section, said that he and his fellow jurors were "disturbed and shocked" by the inclusion of "The Kashmir Files" in the artistic competition.
After sparking a political row with his comments criticising ‘The Kashmir Files’ as a “propaganda” film, Lapid said that he stands by everything he said because “in countries that are increasingly losing the ability to speak the truth, someone needs to speak up”.
