The Kashmir Files banned in Singapore for 'potential to cause enmity between different communities'

The Kashmir Files has been banned in Singapore cinemas by the country's InfoComm Media Development Authority for its potential to disturb religious harmony.

According to Variety, the IMDA said after consulting with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and the Ministry of Home Affairs, the conclusion was that Vivek Agnihotri's directorial has "exceeded the Film Classification Guidelines for its provocative and one-sided portrayal of Muslims and the depictions of Hindus being persecuted in the on-going conflict in Kashmir."

The IMDA said that the representation of the religious communities in the movie has the "potential to cause enmity" as well as "disrupt social cohesion and religious harmony in Singapore’s multi-racial and multi-religious society.”

The Kashmir Files, which stars Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi, Darshan Kumar, Puneet Issar and Mrinal Kulkarni, is about the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits during the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir.

Variety further writes that the Film Classification Guidelines state that any material that can denigrate the social fabric of Singapore will not be allowed to see the light of day in the country. 

The movie is among the highest-grossing Hindi language movies of 2022 in spite of receiving mixed reviews. The movie was made tax-free in several BJP-led Indian states but has also incited violence and hate speech against Muslims.

However, The Kashmir Files was banned in the United Arab Emirates but the decision was reversed at the end of March and the movie was released in April. In New Zealand, the ratings were revised from R16 to R18 after the chief censor said the movie may incite anti-Muslim sentiment.

"The subject is important, and yet you cannot put a finger on why this movie tries too hard to show you the horrors instead of touching your heart," reads the review on OTTplay.

The Kashmir Files will premiere on ZEE5 soon.