The Kashmir Files: It Took an Outsider to Call out the Propaganda

In countries that are increasingly losing the ability to speak the truth, someone needs to speak up. When I saw this movie (The Kashmir Files), I couldn’t help but imagine its Israeli equivalent, which doesn’t exist but could definitely exist. So, I felt I had to,” said Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid in a telephonic interview to Ynet while driving to the airport to catch a flight home.

He was explaining why he felt compelled to call out the film as propaganda and a vulgar manipulation.

The film was one of the 15 vying for an award. It won none and Lapid could have left it alone. But in his address on the concluding day as head of the jury, he insisted that the jury unanimously felt that the film was in poor taste though in India it became a major hit and was promoted by the ruling party, the BJP.

Indians are hardly familiar with his name or with films made by the Israeli-French filmmaker based in Paris. Nor, it seems, were those who invited him to head the jury at Goa. But if they had cared to read, they would have known where he stood.

In the film festival’s in-house magazine, The Peacock, Jonathan Rodrigues had declared on November 25 that at IFFI 2022, Lapid was already a rock star. The outspoken filmmaker told Rodrigues that he was surprised at the Indian national anthem playing out at the inaugural, followed by ‘incomprehensible chants’.

He admired patriotism but it was an underwhelming experience for him, he added. He also found it odd that an international film festival was being hosted by the government.

Even more telling was when he was asked about the growing camaraderie between Indian and Israeli governments. “It is not appropriate for a filmmaker to be showcased as an ambassador of the whole country, as he does not represent the sentiments of millions of people…I have no responsibility to represent Israel.

"If I wanted to represent Israel, I would have gotten into diplomacy. I am an artiste, and I travel the world, keeping an open mind to experiencing different cultures as an artiste and that’s how I would like it to be,” he had declared.

Now, how do you sort a problem like Lapid? The head of the jurors at the 53rd edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2022, has grabbed headlines all the way to the New York Times and elsewhere for his cutting remarks about The Kashmir Files, a film that had the ringing endorsement of none other than Indian PM Narendra Modi.

Some have called his comments inappropriate and downright vulgar and insensitive.

The Kashmir Files, a tragic account of the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley, the trauma and the sheer horror of loss of personal liberty, whose portrayal had its fair share of critics and support since its release early this year, was trashed by Lapid for its propaganda. The film was one among the 15 contenders for the coveted Golden Peacock for the best film.

Almost since the day of its completion, the BJP owned the film and its narrative. What followed was a series of tax breaks for the film, the party leaders distributing free tickets and drumming up a patriotic fervour around it, making it one of the biggest hits of this year.

But the film, promoted aggressively by the Indian government in the international circuit, has had no luck with awards so far.

After its commercial success at home but failure to get critical acclaim abroad, the film was looking for recognition at the IFFI in Goa. Not only did the five jurors disappoint the hosts and the producer, Lapid’s scathing comment embarrassed the three Union ministers and the Israeli Ambassador present.

There were claims that the movie captured dimensions hidden by intellectuals and the media, Lapid told the Israeli media, “It is always the same method—that there is the foreign enemy, and there are traitors from within...It basically justifies the Indian policy in Kashmir, and it has fascist features.” While he was watching the movie, he was shocked, by the “transparent combination between propaganda and fascism and vulgarity”.

“I couldn’t help but imagine an Israeli film like this in another year and a half or two,” he told Ynet.

A fierce critic of his own government and an unequivocal champion of human rights, Lapid’s films have won accolades on the international film circuit, having brought him some 20 international awards so far.

He has never hidden his adversarial self from his own government. So, why are we shocked? Why are we erupting on social media and calling him names? We almost forced Israel’s envoy to India Naor Gilon to lash out at Lapid, slamming him for harming India-Israel ties. That’s a first for an Indian film.

Was NFDC, which has on its board two independent directors and two very senior officials of the rank of Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, under the illusion that inviting an Israeli filmmaker would automatically bring honours/special mention to the film? Then they must take part of the blame for inviting Lapid.

For the process of inviting the jury is a long haul, one that takes months with the process kicking off with a bunch of more than 100 names scouted from the world over according to their standing in world cinema, out of which 30 are shortlisted and narrowed down to seven.

Of course, none of these luminaries can step in without a visa which is where the Ministry of External Affairs kicks in. Is it possible for anyone to come invited, without their credentials being vetted properly? Someone up there did not do the due diligence.

Bringing in the best of world cinema on the stage is a challenge that IFFI, which is not high on the pecking order of the world cinema circuit, is still coming to terms with. It has a long way to go even to reach the stature of the International Film Festival of Kerala or the Dharamshala Film Festival, which work on shoe-string budgets.

The process of getting in the best of cinema is an elaborate one beginning with advertisements placed in entertainment publications like Variety and other international publications. Embassies kick in and prices are negotiated for screenings. To this day, films from China are not welcome. Not sure if Pakistan is included in the category now.

The last time when a film was screened from Pakistan, the approval came from the highest authority.

It’s a complex process and no decision on jury members or films are taken without leaving a trail of emails. As for films that get into the international section for the coveted Golden Peacock award, that’s a call that countries make. It was the NFDC’s decision to send the entry of The Kashmir Files for the Peacock.

Given the close camaraderie that now exists between Israel and India, did the NFDC seriously believe that all of Israel—including filmmakers, think as one?

If only Agnihotri and Co. had looked into the IFFI inhouse magazine interview, instead of alluding to a tool kit gang, they would have been spared the embarrassment.

If one were to take calculated guesses on behalf of Lapid, the trigger for his outburst is the establishment that he appears to loathe. As a filmmaker whose default position is that of an adversary, fiercely interrogating himself and those in power, it is not difficult to explain the reason for his outburst.