Shyam Benegal says The Kashmir Files is a very earnest film, but the director is too close to the subject: ‘He cannot have objectivity…’

Shyam Benegal said that as a filmmaker one should “see to it that we are as objective as possible” because these films become a part of history.

He said, “It depends on how close you are to the (subject). Whether you can be objective enough or not.”

Talking about Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files, Benegal added, “Now The Kashmir Files is a very earnest film, but he (the director) is too close to the subject because he is a Kashmiri himself. He cannot have the objectivity that is necessary. It is easy to take sides. You cannot look at it objectively. Not everybody can. Even I cannot. But the fact is that we have to see to it that we are as objective as possible because you are responsible to history, not to anybody else.”

Shyam Benegal, 88, is one of India’s most revered filmmakers, with movies like Ankur (1973), Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976), Zubeidaa (2001), among others to his credit. When asked how he has managed to remain so relevant with the changing times and what advice he would give the new generation of filmmakers, Benegal said, “I have no advice to give to anybody. It’s not possible. This is a creative function. In this, no one can tell anybody to do anything. I am not fearless. Everybody has fears, but the fact is if I make something I have to be honest about the subject. If you consider that to be fearless, so be it.”

Benegal’s latest Mujib: The Making of a Nation is based on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh and the father of the nation, popularly known as Bangabandhu. The film is scheduled to release in theatres in India on October 27.