Did Nadav Lapid apologize for commenting on ‘The Kashmir Files’ and now call it a ‘brilliant movie’?
Claim
#IFFI jury head #NadavLapid apologizes for calling #VivekAgnihotri’s #TheKashmirFiles ‘vulgar, propaganda movie’
Nadav Lapid now calls The Kashmir Files ‘brilliant movie’: ‘It’s my duty to say what I see’
Rating
Explanation
Nadav Lapid, an Israeli Filmmaker, and IFFI Jury said that they were disturbed and shocked to see ‘The Kashmir Files’ and called it a vulgar and propaganda movie on 28, November 2022 at the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), a government organised film festival in Goa. His comments caused stir on social media.
He was interviewed by India Today’s Rahul Kanwal following which some of the social media users and mainstream media claimed that Nadav Lapid apologized for calling the movie vulgar and propaganda now calls it a brilliant movie. Some of the posts with such claims can be seen here, here, here and here.
What is the truth?
When searching for Nadav Lapid’s interview with India Today, a video premiered on their Youtube channel on 30, November 2022 was found. In the video at 9.25 minutes, “I totally respect and accept the fact that there are many people who love this movie, who think that is a brilliant movie…”, Nadav Lapid said. And at 11.52 minutes, he can be seen saying “I was never ever speaking about the Kashmir tragedy and I totally not taking back what I said but I am really sorry if people were hurted because of this”.
A video published by ‘The Wire’ on 1, December 2022 is another interview of Nadav Lapid. The description part of the video says, “In a 32-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, from his residence in Paris where he’s returned, Mr. Lapid repeatedly and flatly denied that he had in an interview to India Today, reported on the Hindustan Times website, called The Kashmir Files “brilliant”. He also clarified that in a separate interview to CNN-News18 he was only apologizing for hurting the feelings of people who died in the killings in Kashmir or to their relatives but he was by no means apologizing for criticizing the film”.
Conclusion
It is evident that Nadav Lapid’s apology to people whose feelings got hurt is misattributed as he apologized for his comments about the movie. And what he mentions as ‘there are many people who think it as a brilliant movie’ is amplified as he calls it a brilliant movie.
