New Delhi: Israeli envoy to India Naor Gilon slammed fellow countryman and filmmaker Nadav Lapid for calling 'The Kashmir Files' “propaganda” and "vulgar" at the 53rd International Film Festival of India and said he should feel 'ashamed' for his act.

Nadav Lapid was a jury head at the IFFI 2022.

Gilon said the filmmaker should be 'ashamed' for his remarks on the movie.

"The friendship between the people and the states of India and Israel is very strong and will survive the damage you have inflicted.As a human being I feel ashamed and want to apologize to our hosts for the bad manner in which we repaid them for their generosity and friendship," he tweeted.

"An open letter to #NadavLapid following his criticism of #KashmirFiles. It’s not in Hebrew because I wanted our Indian brothers and sisters to be able to understand. It is also relatively long so I’ll give you the bottom line first. YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED," he said.

The jury of the 53rd International Film Festival in Goa Monday slammed the controversial movie 'The Kashmir Files' and called it "vulgar and propagandistic" content that revolves around the killings and exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 from Kashmir Valley.

Speaking to the media, Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid, who headed the jury, said "all of them" were "disturbed and shocked" that the film was screened at the festival.

"All of us were disturbed and shocked by the content of the film Kashmir Files. It felt to us like a propaganda, vulgar movie inappropriate for the artistic competitive section of such a prestigious film festival. I feel totally comfortable to share openly these feelings here with you on stage.  Since the spirit of having a festival is to accept also a critical discussion which is essential for art and for life," Lapid said in his address.

'The Kashmir Files vulgar, propagandistic': IFFI jury slams, calls it 'inappropriate' for festival

The Kashmir Files hit the silver screen this year amid positive reviews and audience feedback.

Directed by Vivek Agnihotri, the movie is apparently based on the true event of the exodus of Kashmir Pandits from the erstwhile northern state in 1990.

The film starring  Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi was featured in the "Panorama" section of the festival.