Tigmanshu Dhulia dismisses ‘bekaar’ films like Kashmir Files as being artistically bankrupt, compares them to Nazi propaganda movie Triumph of the Will

Also read – Tigmanshu Dhulia criticises ‘bekaar’ Hindi film heroes, says gatekeepers of Bollywood saw real India only on ‘papa ki shooting’

Tigmanshu cited the example of Steven Spielberg, whom he described as someone who plays by the Hollywood rulebook, but doesn’t have an identity as a director. On the other hand, it takes just two shots to recognise a Martin Scorsese film, and that, Tigmanshu said, is because of Scorsese’s strong ideologies as a director. “Signature ussi ke paas hoga jiske paas ideology hogi (Only filmmakers with strong ideologies will have a strong voice),” he said, admitting that many directors who make politically motivated films in India might actually believe in what their films say, but lack the artistic skills necessary to make good movies.

He continued, “We see directors using their political ideologies as propaganda in their cinema. This is a wide-ranging topic. In India, the sort of films that are being made to promote the kind of politics that we see around us, are aesthetically terrible. Bekaar hain, dekhne mein pata chalta hai. They’re badly made films, first of all. Ideologies aside.” Tigmanshu brought up the Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will, and said that despite being a propaganda movie, it at least pushed the boundaries of the art form, and continues to be influential to this day.

“But Indian propaganda films aren’t as well made, because they’re made with the wrong intentions. Paisa kamana hai yaar (They all want to make money),” he said. The Kashmir Files, directed by Vivek Agnihotri, made more than Rs 300 crore worldwide, but attracted criticism for its historical inaccuracies and incendiary tone.