‘Kashmir Files’ rating kicks up row in New Zealand

Muslim community had approached me with concerns that the film could raise anti-Muslim sentiment, says Shanks

Vivek Agnihotri’s ‘ The Kashmir Files’ has courted a controversy in New Zealand with the country’s chief censor reviewing the film’s classification, a move that has been criticised by a former deputy prime minister.

Written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri, ‘ The Kashmir Files’ depicts the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from the Kashmir Valley in the 1990s.

New Zealand outlet Stuff on Saturday reported that the country's chief censor David Shanks is reviewing the film's R16 classification after concerns were raised by the Muslim community ahead of the movie's release.

According to New Zealand's Classification Office, a R16 certificate mandates that a film cannot be viewed by children below 16 without adult supervision.

Shanks told the outlet that the classification office's action does not mean the film is being banned in the country.

He added that the members of the Muslim community had approached him with concerns that the film "could raise anti-Muslim sentiment and potential hatred”.

Shanks revealed that the situation was "complex" as the concerns of the community pertained to "behaviours on and offline in relation to the film, rather than the content of the film itself".