'Aesthetically Terrible, Bekar Hai Sab': Tigmanshu Dhulia On Indian Political Films Like The Kashmir Files

New Delhi: Filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia discussed the value of political ideology in films while criticising the emergence of politically charged Indian films, branding them as visually bankrupt. He claimed in an interview that agenda-driven Indian cinema is visually awful, using the works of Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg as examples. He also mentioned ‘Triumph of the Will’, a Nazi propaganda movie, saying that it at least stretched the bounds of cinema as an art form.

Tigmanshu Dhulia on politicaly charged films

During his appearance on the Red Mike YouTube channel, Tigmanshu discussed films that are similar in texture to ‘The Kashmir Files’ and shared they are too deplorable to discuss.

Tigmanshu remarked when the interviewer mentioned films endorsing government programmes, “Uss tarha ki filmein? Woh toh bekaar picture hoti hain, kaun dekhta hai unhe, chalti bhi nahi hain. Sirf wahi chali thi, kya naam tha uska, Kashmir Files. Main inki baat hi nahi karta, bekaar picturein hain sab.” ( Those kind of films are all bad. Who even watches them? Only films like ‘The Kashmir Files’ work. I don’t talk about them, They are all bad).

On Steven Spielberg & Martin Scorsese

Tigmanshu gave the example of Steven Spielberg, describing him as a director who follows the rules of Hollywood but lacks a sense of self. However, Tigmanshu claimed that because of Martin Scorsese’s strong philosophies as a director, it just takes two shots to identify a Scorsese picture.

“Signature ussi ke paas hoga jiske paas ideology hogi”(Only filmmakers who possess strong ideologies will have a powerful voice),” he stated, acknowledging that many Indian directors of politically charged films may genuinely believe in the messages they convey, but they may not have the artistic abilities to produce quality work.

Indian films about politics

“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.” He added.

When Tigmanshu brought up the Nazi propaganda film ‘Triumph of the Will’, he noted that even though it was propaganda, it nevertheless pushed the envelope and is still relevant today.

“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),” Dhulia added.