The Kashmir Files starring Anupam Kher, directed by Vivek Agnihotri, was a major box office blockbuster and continues to garner the same affection and excitement from the audience. The movie has become the talk of the town among fans. Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi Chief Minister, recently aired his views on the film and is now experiencing criticism as a result of it. Here’s what Anupam Kher, the movie’s star, has to say about it.
For the uninitiated, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal made a statement during an assembly about the film The Kashmir Files. The CM stated, “They (BJP) are demanding that the movie be declared tax-free in Delhi. Upload it on YouTube, the movie will become free and everyone will be able to watch it. Some people are earning crores in the name of Kashmiri Pandits and you (BJP) have been sticking posters of the film.”
This comment by Arvind Kejriwal did not go well with actor Anupam Kher who stars in Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files. The actor had a conversation with Times Now, where he said, “After Kejriwal’s statement, I think every true Indian should go and watch this film in the theatre. The only way you can give a resounding response to his insensitivity is by collecting more money and connecting with more people from Kashmir…He was crude, insensitive and he didn’t think about the lakhs of Kashmir Hindus who were thrown out of their own homes, the women raped and people murdered. The people behind him were laughing and it was shameless. That was also happening in the state assembly…If he wants to have a political problem with the Prime Minister or the BJP, he should have just spoken about that. But to bring in Kashmir Files which the people are accepting, feeling guilty, and saying ‘We didn’t know this happened to us’…to say that it is a propaganda film or it is a lie I think it was shameful.”
Anupam Kher also explained, “He has not seen the film. It’s not that he hasn’t made films tax-free. Recently, he made 83 tax-free. He does believe that a film that is good should be made. But this film has gone beyond tax-free, it’s a movement. To rub salts on wounds of people who have suffered for the last 32 years is unbecoming of a chief minister. He was playing to the gallery, he was trying to do a stand-up comedian’s job over there… He should not come across as a caricature, he is a real person, he is an educated person, he is an IRS officer. Ek anpadh gawaar aadmi bhi aisi baat nahi karta hai (An uneducated person also doesn’t talk like this). It was not done.”
The actor had also taken it to his Twitter account after Kejriwal’s comment saying, “Ab to dosto #TheKashmirFiles cinema hall me hi jaake dekhna. Aap logo ne 32 saal baad #KashmiriHindus ke dukh ko jaana hai. Unke saath huye atyachar ko samjha hai. Unke saath sahanubhooti dikhai hai. Lekin jo log is tragedy ka mazaak uda rahe hain, kripya unko apni taakat ka ehsaas karayein. #Shame (Now friends, watch The Kashmir Files only in theatres. You have become aware of the pain of Kashmiri Hindus after 32 years. You have felt the torture they went through. You have expressed sympathy for them. But those who are making fun of this tragedy, please make them feel your power. #Shame).”
Meanwhile, Vivek Agnihotri directs The Kashmir Files, which stars Anupam Kher and cast of renowned actors including Mithun Chakraborty, Darshan Kumar, Pallavi Joshi, Chinmay Mandlekar, Prakash Belawadi, and Puneet Issar.
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