Shashi Tharoor-Vivek Agnihotri-Anupam Kher Battle Over The Kashmir Files Ban In Singapore

It’s not unfair to say that The Kashmir Files emerged as one of the most talked-about movies. The movie has attracted lots of mixed reviews. It was released on March 11th, and every day since then, a fresh controversy has erupted over the film.

Let me inform you that the film is based on the genocide of Kashmiri Hindus during the 1990 Kashmir unrest. The film stars an excellent cast including Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumaar, Mithun Chakraborty, and Pallavi Joshi. Tej Narayan Agarwal, Abhishek Agarwal, Pallavi Joshi, and Vivek Agnihotri produced the film under the labels of Zee Studios, IAmBuddha, and Abhishek Agarwal Arts.

But despite having lots of credible casts and makers, the film has made huge headlines all over the world. Recently, the Singapore government has blocked the release of The Kashmir Files in their country. The decision has attracted lots of reactions from various fields. Recently, After Vivek Agnihotri’s film, The Kashmir Files, was banned in Singapore, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri got into a verbal confrontation with politician Shashi Tharoor when Tharoor used Twitter to share a comment on the ban, writing,

“Film promoted by India’s ruling party, #KashmirFiles, banned in Singapore.”

Agnihotri responded to Tharoor’s tweet by calling Singapore the “most regressive censor in the world.” He wrote,

“Dear fopdoodle, gnashnab @ShashiTharoor, FYI, Singapore is most regressive censor in the world.”

He went on to say that the government has even banned The Last Temptations of Jesus Christ, and that Tharoor should question him about it. He wrote,

“It even banned The Last Temptations of Jesus Christ (ask your madam). Even a romantic film called #TheLeelaHotelFiles will be banned. Pl stop making fun of Kashmiri Hindu Genocide.”

Agnihotri also wondered if Tharoor’s late wife, Sunanda Pushkar, was a Kashmiri Hindu. He went on to say that Tharoor should apologise to Sunanda’s soul and delete the tweet. He wrote,

“Hey @ShashiTharoor, Is this true that Late Sunanda Pushkar was a Kashmiri Hindu? Is the enclosed SS true? If yes, then in Hindu tradition, to respect the dead, you must delete your tweet and apologise to her soul.”

Anupam Kher, who portrayed the lead in the film, also added his thoughts through Twitter. He wrote,

“Dear @ShashiTharoor! Your callousness towards the #KashmiriHindus genocide is tragic. If nothing else at least for #Sunanda’s sake who was a Kashmiri herself you should show some sensitivity towards #KashmiriPandits & not feel victorious about a country banning #TheKashmirFiles!”

Soon after this, Shashi Tharoor retweets Vivek Agnihotri and Anupam Kher, saying,

“Dragging my late wife Sunanda was unwarranted and contemptible.”

He also stated that he tweeted a factual news item without making any remarks on the substance of the film, which he had not watched. He went on to say about her late wife,

One thing I know, unlike those attempting to exploit her when she is not around to speak for herself: She believed in reconciliation, not hate.

According to Channel News Asia, The Kashmir Files were prohibited by Singapore officials due to its “provocative and one-sided portrayal of Muslims and the depictions of Hindus being persecuted in the on-going conflict in Kashmir.”

They also added,

“These representations have the potential to cause enmity between different communities, and disrupt social cohesion and religious harmony in our multiracial and multi-religious society.”

The Kashmir Files is centred on the lives of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 and is based on first-generation victims of the massacre. It depicts the hardship, struggle, and anguish experienced by those caught up in the genocide in Kashmir.