Naseeruddin Shah tags Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files among the rising 'pseudo-patriotic films' in Bollywood

Naseeruddin Shah has recently opened up about the rise of what he described as ‘pseudo-patriotic films’ in the Hindi film industry. Citing the example of Vivek Agnihotri ’s The Kashmir Files , he said that actors and filmmakers are participating in projects highlighting nationalism in order to be on the ‘winning side’.

In an interview with NDTV, when asked how he feels when he sees actors like Akshay Kumar and filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files, doing projects with the government. “They want to be on the winning side. Taking the example of other countries, he continued, “This is not surprising that there are so many filmmakers because films are the medium that reaches the maximum number of people who want to propagate the government’s philosophy, and who are doing so with great sincerity and truthfully. The Kashmir Files is an almost fictionalized version of the suffering of Kashmiri Hindus’ and the government is promoting it.”

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For the unversed, The Kashmir Files is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language film written and directed by Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri. The film was released in March and became the highest-grossing Hindi movie. It also crossed 9 million views in the first week of its OTT release alone. The movie is based on true incidents of the victims and the families of the Kashmiri Hindu genocide of 1990. The film stars Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi, and Darshan Kumaar among others in prominent roles.

The veteran actor was speaking on the sidelines of an international incident fuelled by BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s recent comments about Prophet Muhammad. He also spoke about the three Khans of Bollywood-Salman, Shah Rukh, and Aamir’s silence on political matters. “I cannot speak for them. I am not in the position they are in. I feel they think they would be risking too much. But then, I don’t know how they explain it to their own conscience about it. But I think they are in a position where they have too much to lose.”

Meanwhile, on the work front, Naseeruddin Shah will next be seen in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Kuttey alongside Arjun Kapoor , Radhika Madan, Tabu , and Konkana Sen Sharma among others.