[Source: BBC]
A new film on the exodus of Hindus from Kashmir in the 1990s has kicked up a storm in India, with even the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) weighing in on its behalf.
The Kashmir Files, released on Friday, tells the fictional story of a university student who discovers his Kashmiri Hindu parents were killed by Islamist militants – and not in an accident as his grandfather told him.
It received middling reviews from mainstream critics – more than one called it “exploitative” – but the film soon set off a heated debate on social media.
Supporters said it shines a light on a neglected, bloody part of Kashmir’s history but critics say it’s careless with facts and Islamophobic.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and key ministers in his BJP government have praised the film, several BJP-ruled states have waived tax on it, and police in Madhya Pradesh state have been offered a day of leave to watch it.
Mr Modi also dismissed the criticism as a “conspiracy to discredit” the film.
