Nadav Lapid was the international jury chair of the International Film Festival of India . He sparked controversy by calling the Vivek Agnihotri film vulgar and a joke .
New Delhi: Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid, who was the international jury chair of the recent International Film Festival of India (IFFI) and sparked a lot of controversy by calling the Vivek Agnihotri film vulgar and a joke, said he only criticized the film for its series of cinematic manipulations.I intended not to insult the victims or their families, but rather to shame them.On Wednesday night, I totally apologise if this is the way they interpret it, said Lapid, a journalist who has left the country following his remarks at the closing ceremony of the 53rd edition of the festival in Goa this week, on news channel CNN-News18.I will repeat it again and again, he said.
On November 22, the festival's Indian Panorama section premiered it.The renowned director, who is well-known for his anti-establishment stance, said his remarks were neither a declaration about the political situation in Kashmir nor a condemnation of the event.I have a great deal of respect for the tragedy's victims, survivors, and those who live there.It was not about this at all, as I said.If I had to say 10,000 times that I was not talking about the ideological issue, the historical problem, or insulting the tragedy that occurred in Kashmir, Lapid said.Lapid added that the filmmaker's words were a natural reaction to the Agnihotris statement, saying that the film was to convey a message that can stoke hostility, violence, and hatred in the community.If someone else treated my film in the same way, I would be enraged. Some people have said some of my films have been cruel and horrible.The actor knows very well that the issue isn't really about the facts.None of us (in the jury), and especially me, had ever doubted the truth.I dont have the strength or the experience to tell the truth about what happened in Kashmir, Lapid, who lives mostly in France, said. He is aware of it, but he is a manipulator.He realized I was judging the film as a producer, he told the network.Lapid thanked IFFI for inviting him to head the international jury.But then I was called to Goa to serve as the president of the jury in dozens of festivals, including Cannes, Berlin, and others.He added, It was my duty, my responsibility to tell the truth as I see it.