National Integrity? TN CM Stalin Questions National Award for 'Kashmir Files' (Image:www.MKStalin/instagram, www.vivekagnihotri/instagram)
“The dignity should not be compromised for cheap politics”, said the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, criticising “The Kashmir Files” being selected for the National Awards in the category of “National Integration”.
The movie won the Best Feature Film on National Integration at the 69th National Film Awards 2023, declared on Thursday evening.
“The absence of political bias in the literature and film awards makes the awards a timeless honor”, said Mr Stalin through X (formerly Twitter).
“The dignity of national awards should not be compromised for cheap politics”, he added.
#69thNationalFilmAwards -இல் தமிழில் சிறந்த படமாகத் தேர்வாகியிருக்கும் #கடைசிவிவசாயி படக்குழுவினருக்கு என் பாராட்டுகள்! @VijaySethuOffl #Manikandan #நல்லாண்டி
மேலும், #இரவின்நிழல் படத்தில் ‘மாயவா சாயவா’ பாடலுக்காகச் சிறந்த பின்னணிப் பாடகி விருதை வென்றுள்ள @shreyaghoshal,… pic.twitter.com/Bc2veRY5gs
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) August 24, 2023
Read Also
Mr Stalin congratulated all the other winners, specifically those who are from the Tamil movie industry.
But on the other hand, he slammed the central government”s decision to honor “The Kashmir Files”. “A film that was ignored by neutral film critics as a controversial film has been awarded the National Integrity Nargis Dutt award”, he added expressing surprise.
He expressed shock over the Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri-directed film winning the award, as it had sparked several controversies when it was released in March 2022. The movie, based on the life of kashmiri Pandits during the Kashmir insurgency in 1990, was denounced by many critics and public remarking inaccurate, Islamophobic, exploitative, and a BJP propaganda.
“Vulgur Propaganda”, Nadav Lapid, the Israeli director and jury chairperson of International Film Festival of India (IFFI), commented the movie at the closing ceremony of 53rd edition of IFFI on November 2022 in Goa. “Disturbed and shocked”, he said then.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also criticised the film getting the award.
“National integration” 🤣 https://t.co/fwqiJ6ssfC
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) August 24, 2023
The movie was directed by Vivek Agnihotri with Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, and Pallavi Joshi in the lead roles. It was distributed by the Zee studios.
The National Awards were announced yesterday by the jury in a press conference at the National Media Centre in Delhi.
