Kashmir Files to be banned in Singapore for 'one-sided portrayal of Muslims'

Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files will be banned in multi-racial Singapore as the film is provocative and depicts a "one-sided portrayal of Muslims", a media report said on Monday.

The movie is based on the exodus of Hindus from the Kashmir Valley in the 1990s.

The authorities have assessed the Hindi-language film to be “beyond” Singapore’s film classification guidelines, said the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) in a joint statement with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

“The film will be refused classification for its provocative and one-sided portrayal of Muslims and the depictions of Hindus being persecuted in the on-going conflict in Kashmir,” the authorities told Channel News Asia.

“These representations have the potential to cause enmity between different communities, and disrupt social cohesion and religious harmony in our multi-racial and multi-religious society,” they said.

"Under the film classification guidelines any material that is denigrating to racial or religious communities in Singapore will be refused classification," they added.

The film, written and directed by Vivek, stars Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi in lead roles.