Israeli Ambassador Naor Gilon on Tuesday slammed Nadav Lapid for damaging his country’s ties with India, saying he should be ashamed, a day after he sparked controversy by calling the film The Kashmir Files “vulgar propaganda”. Lapid, an award-winning Israeli screenwriter, director and jury president of the 53rd International Film Festival of India, said the film was not suitable for the artistic competition section of such a prestigious film festival. He delivered the comments from a lectern in a televised closed ceremony.
In a series of tweets, Gilon said he was ashamed and wanted to apologize to their hosts “for the bad behavior we used to repay them for their generosity and friendship”. He added that he wrote an open letter to Lapid. “It is not in Hebrew because I wanted our Indian brothers and sisters to be able to understand. It’s also relatively long, so I’ll give you the bottom line first. YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED.”
Gilon said Lapid will return to Israel, believing he was brave and “made a statement.” “We, the representatives of Israel, will remain here. You should see our DM [Direct Message] boxes after your ‘bravery’ and the implications it may have on the team I am responsible for.” He described the friendship between the people and states of India and Israel as very strong. He added that he would survive the damage Lapid caused.
The Kashmir Files deals with the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990. It was part of a pool of 15 films competing in the international section for the Golden Peacock, the festival’s top prize. Lapid, who won prizes at the Cannes and Berlin film festivals, said the jury members had a lively discussion about the other 14 films in the competition, but the 15th film shocked them. “I feel completely comfortable to share these feelings with you on stage, because the feeling that we felt at this festival can really embrace the critical discussion that is necessary for art and for life.”
Kashmir Files was screened at IFFI. Actor Anupam Kher, film director Vivek Agnihotri and producer were present at the festival. The film was the highest grosser of the year and received support from members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Some scholars ridiculed her for inaccuracies.
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