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

Filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia spoke about the importance of political ideologies in cinema, as he addressed the rise of politically motivated films in India, and dismissed them as artistically bankrupt. In an interview, he said that agenda-driven Indian cinema is aesthetically terrible, and cited the example of Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese’s films to illustrate his point. He also brought up the Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will, and said that at least it pushed the boundaries of cinema as an art form.

Appearing on the Red Mike YouTube channel, Tigmanshu spoke about films in the vein of The Kashmir Files, and said that he finds them too lowly to even talk about. When the interviewer brought up films that endorse state schemes, Tigmanshu said, “Uss tarha ki filmein? Woh toh bekaar picture hoti hain, kaun dekhta hai unhe, chalti bhi nahi hain (Those films are terrible. Who even watches them)? Sirf wahi chali thi, kya naam tha uska, Kashmir Files. Main inki baat hi nahi karta, bekaar picturein hain sab (I don’t even talk about these films, they’re all terrible).”

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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.

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