Mumbai, Feb 21 (IANS): Director Vivek Agnihotri, whose film 'The Kashmir Files' became one of the few rare hits from Hindi cinema last year, has called the movie a people's film.

The film, which sheds light on the Kashmiri Pandit genocide which happened in the early 1990s in the Kashmir Valley, was recently honoured at the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival.

Reacting to the 'The Kashmir Files' getting the Best Film award, the director said, "I am honoured and grateful for getting Dadasaheb Phalke International Award. There are a lot of people who contributed to the making of this film, the list is endless. That's why I called it 'people's film'. We dedicate this award to all the victims of religious terrorism in the world."

Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival is different from the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, which is India's highest award in the field of cinema, and is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals.

Vivek's wife, Pallavi Joshi, who is also the producer of the film and has acted in it, shared, "This is truly a big honour for the entire team of 'The Kashmir Files'. I am indebted to the Indian people who made this film a monumental success. We humbly accept this recognition. This validation makes all the challenges and pain we had gone through while making this film worth our while".