‘The Kashmir Files’ maker Vivek Agnihotri, star Anupam Kher to be at Yogi’s oath ceremony

Yogi Adityanath will be sworn in as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh for the second time at a grand ceremony in Lucknow on Friday. Among the high-profile dignitaries invited for the gala event are ‘The Kashmir Files’ filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri and actor Anupam Kher, news agency PTI reported.

The film chronicling the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir Valley in the 1990s has already been declared tax-free by the Yogi Adityanath. On March 20, Agnihotri along with actors Pallavi Joshi and Anupam Kher had met Adityanath in Lucknow days after the state government had exempted the film from entertainment tax.

The film, which has crossed the ₹200 crore mark at the box office, has been mired in a political debate between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had backed the film, hitting out at the critics who had slammed the Vivek Agnihotri directorial.

“Those people who claim to be flagbearers of freedom of speech, are furious for the past 5-6 days. Instead of praising the film based on facts, they are out to discredit Kashmir Files,” he had said.

Several opposition parties including the Congress and those from Jammu and Kashmir have accused the BJP of using Kashmiri Pandits to create divisions in the society.

Read: The Kashmir Files director Vivek Agnihotri reveals two men entered his office: ‘They pushed the manager, asked for me’

People’s Democratic Party, which ruled the state between 2015 and 2018 in alliance with the BJP, has accused the saffron party of weaponising the plight of Kashmiri Pandits. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti even accused the BJP of not doing anything for the community.

“In Jammu and Kashmir, everyone faced atrocities. If the BJP and the PM had done something for the Kashmiri Pandits the way they are promoting the film (The Kashmir Files), their situation would have been different today,” she said.

National Conference leader and former chief minister Omar Abdullah accused the makers of distorting facts. “Many false things have been shown in ‘The Kashmir Files’ movie. When the Kashmiri Pandits left the valley, Farooq Abdullah was not the chief minister. Jagmohan was the governor of Jammu and Kashmir. VP Singh’s government was at the Centre, supported by the BJP,” Abdullah had said in Kulgam a few days ago.