During the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa on November 28, jury head Nadav Lapid, an Israeli filmmaker, described the film ‘The Kashmir Files’ as a vulgar, propaganda movie that had disturbed and shocked the entire jury.

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Lapid’s remarks received a lot of media attention. Israeli Ambassador to India Naor Gilon wrote an open letter to Lapid saying that he should be ashamed of his comments. Fellow jury member Sudiptio Sen, the director of the soon-to-be-released film ‘The Kerala Story‘, issued a statement saying that Lapid’s comments were ‘completely his personal opinion’. In a series of tweets, pro-BJP media personality Shefali Vaidya used abusive words against Lapid due to his remarks.

The maker of the film, Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, himself issued a statement the next day saying that if any ‘intellectual’ managed to prove that a scene or a dialogue in the film was not true, he would stop making films.

As expected, various media houses rushed to interview Lapid following the controversy. He spoke to media houses including India Today, CNN-News18 and The Wire. In the context of these interviews, reports started floating on social media that Lapid has apologized for his remarks about the film. One report claimed that Nadav Lapid has walked back from his comments and called ‘The Kashmir Files’ a ‘brilliant movie’.

Anupam Kher, who acted in the film, tweeted a graphic featuring the alleged quote of Lapid. Kher wrote, “Ultimately Truth always triumphs!” The graphic is based on a news report by Hindustan Times that claimed that during an interview, Lapid had called the film a ‘brilliant movie’.

Others who have reported this include editorji, HT Entertainment, itimes, and RVCJ Media.

The maker of the film, Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri quote-tweeted a tabloid report and wrote, “Most honest man of the world.” The caption of the report said Lapid had apologized for his remarks.

Additionally, NDTV shared a tweet along similar lines. It read, “Totally Apologise’: Israeli Filmmaker On ‘The Kashmir Files’ Comments”… ANI Digitial wrote, “Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid apologises for remarks on ‘The Kashmir Files’, deets inside.”

Read full story https://www.altnews.in/no-israeli-filmmaker-neither-took-back-comments-on-the-kashmir-files-nor-called-it-brilliant/”;