Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri has responded to Congress leader Shashi Tharoor who had used Singapore’s ban on The Kashmir Files movie to target the Modi government. Tharoor had shared a media report that mentioned the film would not get classification in Singapore for ‘one-sided portrayal of Muslims’. He wrote, “Film promoted by India’s ruling party, #KashmirFiles, banned in Singapore.”
Dear fopdoodle, gnashnab @ShashiTharoor,
— Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) May 10, 2022
FYI, Singapore is most regressive censor in the world. 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. https://t.co/QIxFjJW86U pic.twitter.com/kzodpI1CtL
Quoting Tharoor, Agnihotri said, “Singapore is the most regressive censor in the world. It even banned The Last Temptations of Jesus Christ.” He also shared a long list of films that were banned by Singapore for one or the other reason.
Tharoor shared a report that called Kashmir a ‘disputed region’
The excerpt of the report that Tharoor shared in his tweet called Kashmir a ‘disputed region’ in the first line. It reads, “A movie on the exodus of Hindus from the disputed Muslim-majority Kashmir region will be banned in Singapore.” Interestingly, Tharoor had cropped the portion where the report mentioned Kashmir as a ‘disputed region’ and shared only the portion that suited his agenda.
IMDA refused classification for The Kashmir Files
The Infocomm Media Development Authority, which is a statutory board under the Singapore Ministry of Communications and Information, has refused classification for The Kashmir Files. In its statement, IMDA said, “The Kashmir Files” is a Hindi film that revolves around a university student who learns about the religiously charged political turmoil that led to the death of his parents in Kashmir in the 1990s. The film has been refused classification.”
It further said, “IMDA, in consultation with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has assessed the film to have exceeded the Film Classification Guidelines for its provocative and one-sided portrayal of Muslims and the depictions of Hindus being persecuted in the on-going conflict in Kashmir. These representations have the potential to cause enmity between different communities and disrupt social cohesion and religious harmony in Singapore’s multi-racial and multi-religious society. Under the Film Classification Guidelines, “any material that is denigrating to racial or religious communities in Singapore” will be refused classification.”
‘My husband was asked to sambalo me’ – Agnihotri shared screenshots of late Sunanda Pushkar
In a follow-up Tweet, Agnihotri shared some screenshots of Late Sunanda Pushkar, where she had mentioned that she was asked by her husband (Shashi Tharoor) not to speak on Kashmir. Pushkar was a Kashmiri Hindu herself.
Hey @ShashiTharoor,
— Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) May 10, 2022
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. https://t.co/3wgJQnkhVZ pic.twitter.com/98DPB4Gnj7
Speaking to OpIndia, Agnihotri said, “Singapore has one of the most regressive censor boards. They do not allow any film that even slightly talks about any issue. Singapore’s censor board also banned the movie Badhai Do which talked about the LGBTQ community. Only films made by Karan Johar and his likes are approved in Singapore. If Karan Johar makes ‘The Hotel Leela Files’, it will definitely get approval in Singapore.”
The continuous attack on ‘The Kashmir Files’
The Kashmir Files by Vivek Agnihotri is the top-rated Hindi film of 2022. Based on the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits from the valley in the 1990s, the film has been under continuous attack from the left-liberal section of the media and society. This is the first movie that has portrayed the brutal atrocities on Kashmiri Hindus and their eventual exodus from the valley brought by Islamic jihadis in an honest manner, without trying to cover up facts to appease a political agenda. Agnihotri has stated time and again that every incident of brutality shown in the movie is based on hard facts and the actual testimony of victims.
