NDTV labelled The Kashmir Files as a propaganda movie before the movie's release, and the hostility against the movie hasn't stopped since.
The hostility against The Kashmir Files is not ebbing. Before the movie was released, the vested interests had started discrediting the movie.
NDTV is continuing its hostility against the movie in a mission mode. Before the movie was released, the news channel called it a propaganda movie.
NDTV Editor Sreenivasan Jain criticised the Union government for 'promoting' the movie. In a social media post on Tuesday (March 15), Jain said, "Genuine q: can anyone recall the last time the Indian state threw its entire weight in promoting a privately produced movie while using it to target its political opponents?"
Many netizens pointed out that Jain's tweet is propaganda disguised as a question. Since the movie's release on March 11, NDTV and its sister Hindi channel, NDTV India, had done multiple shows to discredit the movie and the account of the persecuted Kashmiri Pandits.
Political commentator Vikrant replied to Jain, writing, "1980 – PM Indira Gandhi financed ($7 Million) to Richard Attenborough for making the Movie Gandhi. The Script was especially vetted by I&B ministry. The idea was to capture Indian mind with Gandhism & glorify the role of Congress in freedom struggle. We are still paying for it."
The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, through NFDC, had provided initial funding for the production of the movie Gandhi. It was directed by noted director Richard Attenborough.
The NFDC, National Film Development Corporation of India, was established in 1975 and is headquartered in Mumbai. It comes under the Government of India's Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B) and is responsible for film financing, production, and distribution.
In 1982, on the orders of PM Indira Gandhi, the NFDC presided over by DVS Raju was one of the production companies that financed the film 'Gandhi'.
Exposing Sreenivasan Jain's propaganda further, one netizen Satish Verma replied Jain writing, "Do you recall how Films Division of India under MIIB had produced movies such as 'The Prime Minister', 'Kaisa Andhera', 'Maa Ki Pukaar' etc., during emergency with the sole motive of justifying emergency? Using state exchequer for personal political goals is even worse."
In its company profile, the NFDC has written that it is proud to have worked with director Richard Attenborough. It has written, "Over the years NFDC has worked with some of the most acclaimed filmmakers of India including Satyajit Ray, Mira Nair, Aparna Sen, Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalani, Mrinal Sen, Richard Attenborough, Adoor Gopalkrishnan and Ketan Mehta."
The team of film Gandhi was able to raise money for the movie's production only after it got initial funding from the then Union government. It is significant in the light that earlier attempts to make a grand movie centred on Mahatma Gandhi had failed at least twice.
Talking about the hostilities mounted against The Kashmir Files, PM Modi said that the movie brings out facts about an incident suppressed for years by the ecosystem, and the same ecosystem is running campaigns to discredit the film.
He was addressing the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting in Ambedkar Bhavan in Delhi on Tuesday (March 15). "The entire Jamaat, which claims to be the flag-bearer of the freedom of expression, has been furious for the last 5-6 days. Instead of reviewing the film on the basis of facts and art, there's a conspiracy to discredit it," PM Modi had said.
