‘Kashmir Files Unreported’: Row Spurs Indian Filmmaker to Announce Sequel

Indian filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri has announced a follow-up film titled 'The Kashmir Files Unreported' to “expose the whole truth" about the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir.

His announcement came after a row sparked by the jury of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) and Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid.

Lapid called the first Kashmir Files movie: "A vulgar and propaganda film inappropriate for a competitive artistic section of such a prestigious film festival," during his speech at the closing ceremony of the 53rd edition of IFFI on Monday.

The movie is one of the highest-gross Indian films of the year, minting over $41.92 million at the box office worldwide. It is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from the valley in the 1990s in which around 62,000 Kashmiri Pandit families from Jammu and Kashmir were forced to flee their homes and hundreds of thousands were killed amid escalating violence against Hindus.

Soon after the incident, Lapid's speech went viral as several people slammed the filmmaker for his insensitive remark.

Following days of backlash online, Lapid said that he continues to stick by his views on 'The Kashmir Files' but added that he found it to be "brilliant" during an interview with Indian media on Wednesday.

He also claimed that the furor over his speech was "cheap manipulation in order to incite people."

“On propaganda: no one can determine what is propaganda, I accept this fact, it’s a brilliant movie. What I have done it’s my duty to say what I see. It’s a very subjective way,” Lapid said, adding that the other jury members felt the same way, but didn't speak openly.

A day after Lapid's speech, Agnihotri hit out at him in a video statement in which he said that he will stop making films if anyone proves that any part of his film is false.

For his part, Israel's Ambassador Naor Gilon wrote an open letter in which he apologized to the filmmaker and India, as well as expressing his disapproval towards Lapid's views.

"As a human being, I feel ashamed and want to apologize to our hosts for the bad manner in which we repaid them for their generosity and friendship," Gilson wrote.

Kashmiri Pandits in India's Jammu and Kashmir and survivors of exodus condemned Lapid's remark on 'The Kashmir Files'.

However, some people, including actress Swara Bhaskar, agreed with Lapid's views on 'The Kashmir File' being a propaganda movie, leaving the internet divided.