Vivek Agnihotri lashed out at former Jammu and Kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah after the latter deemed The Kashmir Files ‘propaganda.’ Earlier this week, Abdullah broke his silence on the film based on the Kashmiri Pandits exodus that took place in the early 1990s. Speaking with PTI, Farooq Abdullah said, “The movie is far away from reality and it is only to polarise the nation and let me tell the nation today that it is not a healthy development.”
He had also suggested a ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission’ be set up with an ‘honest’ person leading it so that the truth is revealed. Reacting to his statements, The Kashmir Files director Vivek Agnihotri told RJ Siddharth Kannan in an interview that it is best for Farooq Abdullah to not discuss this. If the complete truth comes out, it will open Pandora’s Box, the filmmaker said.
“Sachai pe baat karne niklenge Abdullah sahab toh baat niklegi, dur tak talak jayegi. Unki bhalayi issi mein hai ki ispe charcha na utthe,” Agnihotri said. Showing a news clipping which reads, “Ramesh Kumar asking how can he say his own name now as his tongue has been cut by the Islamic fundamentalists for saying ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai,'” Agnihotri claimed that the incident took place in 1989 under the governance of Farooq Abdullah.
“Farooq Abdullah sahab toh baat hi na kare, unki toh photos sab ne dekha hai militant waalo ke saath hai, Yasin Malik ke saath hai, duniya ke jitne terrorist log hai unke saath unki dosti rahi hai. Jab ye problem shuru hua toh chod ke London bhaag gaye the. Unko disco CM bola jaata tha kyunki wo disco mein dance karte the jab log marte the (It would be better if Farooq Abdullah doesn’t talk. There are photos of him with militants, Yasin Malik… He has been friends with the world’s biggest terrorists. When the problem of the Kashmiri Pandits exodus began, he ran away to London. He was called Disco CM because he would dance in discos when people were dying),” the filmmaker claimed.
“Fir toh unpar kaafi news aati thi ke wo Bollywood ki heroino ko motorcycle mein ghumate rehte hai jab log maare jaate hai. Aur unka jo headquarter tha, waha pe toh bahut bade terrorists ko panah aur sheh di jaati thi, wahi rehte the wo log toh Farooq Abdullah toh bole hi nahi. Arabo rupaye toh unke mehel hai unhone bana rakhe hai (He was also in the news for taking Bollywood actresses on motorcycle rides when people were dying. His headquarters was a shelter for these terrorists. He has made castles with the money),” the filmmaker claimed.
He also said that if anyone were to go to Kashmir today, they can ask the first driver they catch hold of and ask them about the reason behind the conditions of the state. “Uske baad aap dekhiye Abdullahs ki jo kundali kholega wo,” he said.
The Kashmir Files was released earlier this month and has broken several box office records since. At the time of reporting the film has collected Rs 211.83 crore in just 15 days, recording the highest box office collection since the pandemic set in.
