Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai, May 10: Vivek Agnihotri’s ‘The Kashmir Files’ has been banned in Singapore because it is outside the city-state’s film classification criteria. According to sources, Singaporean authorities denied the Hindi-language film classification due to ‘its aggressive and one-sided portrayal of Muslims and images of Hindus being persecuted in the on-going strife in Kashmir.’
The Kashmir Files, which has been screening in India since March to mixed reviews, is based on the terrorism-related exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Muslim-majority Valley in the 1990s.
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), and the Ministry of Home Affairs made a joint statement in Singapore (MHA).
“The film’s representations have the potential to cause enmity between different communities, and disrupt social cohesion and religious harmony in our multiracial and multi-religious society,” they said.
As per the film classification guidelines, any material that is denigrating to racial or religious communities in Singapore will be refused classification.
Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, and Pallavi Joshi feature in the Vivek Agnihotri-directed film. In India BJP has praised the film, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah praising the performances and subject. In most BJP-ruled states, the film has been declared tax-free.
