News Analysis India

Tag: Vivek Agnihotri

  • Happy to be on my way to airport now: Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid

    By Express News Service

    Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid, whose comments against “The Kashmir Files” has stirred up a hornet’s nest said in an interview that he was “apprehensive” before making the remarks and it was “not easy.”

    He had called the Vivek Agnihotri directorial a “vulgar, propaganda film”, unfit to be a part of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

    After the remarks, the film’s cast, including Pallavi Joshi, Darshan Kumaar and Anupam Kher slammed Nadav. He was also criticised by Israel’s Ambassador to India.

    In an interview with Israeli outlet Ynet, Nadav said he was struck by how blatantly the film adheres to the government line on Kashmir. Asked what went through his mind before he made his political statement, and if he knew that his words would cause a storm, he said, “I knew that this was an event that is terribly connected to the country, and everyone stands there and praises the government. It is not an easy position, because you are a guest, I am the president of the jury here, you are treated very nicely. And then you come and attack the festival. There was apprehension, and there was discomfort. I didn’t know what the dimensions would be, so I did it with some apprehension. Yes, I spent the day apprehensive. Let’s put it this way: I’m happy to be on my way to the airport now.”

    Nadav also said that it won’t come as a surprise if a film like “The Kashmir Files” is made in Israel in the next couple of years.

    Nadav said that people came up to him to thank him for what he said in the speech. “It was a hall with thousands of people, and everyone was ecstatic to see the local stars and cheer for the government. In countries that are increasingly losing the ability to speak your mind or speak the truth, someone needs to speak up. When I saw this movie, I couldn’t help but imagine its Israeli equivalent, which doesn’t exist but could definitely exist. So I felt I had to, because I come from a place that is itself not reformed and is itself on the way to these places,” he said.

    “The Kashmir Files”, despite receiving poor reviews, was lauded by the ruling party and was one of the biggest hits of 2022.

    (This article originally appeared on CinemaExpress.com)

    Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid, whose comments against “The Kashmir Files” has stirred up a hornet’s nest said in an interview that he was “apprehensive” before making the remarks and it was “not easy.”

    He had called the Vivek Agnihotri directorial a “vulgar, propaganda film”, unfit to be a part of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

    After the remarks, the film’s cast, including Pallavi Joshi, Darshan Kumaar and Anupam Kher slammed Nadav. He was also criticised by Israel’s Ambassador to India.

    In an interview with Israeli outlet Ynet, Nadav said he was struck by how blatantly the film adheres to the government line on Kashmir. Asked what went through his mind before he made his political statement, and if he knew that his words would cause a storm, he said, “I knew that this was an event that is terribly connected to the country, and everyone stands there and praises the government. It is not an easy position, because you are a guest, I am the president of the jury here, you are treated very nicely. And then you come and attack the festival. There was apprehension, and there was discomfort. I didn’t know what the dimensions would be, so I did it with some apprehension. Yes, I spent the day apprehensive. Let’s put it this way: I’m happy to be on my way to the airport now.”

    Nadav also said that it won’t come as a surprise if a film like “The Kashmir Files” is made in Israel in the next couple of years.

    Nadav said that people came up to him to thank him for what he said in the speech. “It was a hall with thousands of people, and everyone was ecstatic to see the local stars and cheer for the government. In countries that are increasingly losing the ability to speak your mind or speak the truth, someone needs to speak up. When I saw this movie, I couldn’t help but imagine its Israeli equivalent, which doesn’t exist but could definitely exist. So I felt I had to, because I come from a place that is itself not reformed and is itself on the way to these places,” he said.

    “The Kashmir Files”, despite receiving poor reviews, was lauded by the ruling party and was one of the biggest hits of 2022.

    (This article originally appeared on CinemaExpress.com)

  • TKF director Vivek Agnihotri visits Bhopal amid controversy over his Bhopali means homosexual remark

    By Express News Service

    BHOPAL: Controversy erupted in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal on Friday, just before The Kashmir Files (TKF) director Vivek Agnihotri arrived to attend a film festival in the capital city.

    A recent video interview of Agnihotri in which he is seen saying Bhopali means homosexual went viral over social media since the morning, triggering protests and widespread criticism, particularly from the opposition Congress politicians.

    “I’ve grown up in Bhopal, but I’m not a Bhopali, as Bhopali has a different connotation. I’ll explain it to you some other time privately, but you can ask any Bhopali about it. If someone says he is a Bhopali, it generally means he is a homosexual or has Nawabi Shauk (Nawabi liking),” Agnihotri was seen saying in the video interview, which was tweeted among others, by the ex-MP CM Digvijaya Singh.

    Slamming the filmmaker for the ‘Bhopali means homosexual’ remark, the former MP CM Digvijaya Singh wrote on the twitter, “Vivek Agnihotri Ji this must be your personal experience, but not of any common Bhopali. I’ve been associated with Bhopal and Bhopalis since 1977, but have never had any such experience.”

    The viral video interview also triggered protests from the National Students Union of India (NSUI) – Congress’s student wing – in Bhopal. Senior Congress leader Bhupendra Gupta, while demanding unconditional apology from Agnihotri over his remark, said, “If he (Agnihotri) doesn’t apologize publicly for the remark within 24 hours, then we’ll proceed to lodge a case against him for denigrating our great city Bhopal.”

    Amid the controversy, meanwhile, Agnihotri arrived in Bhopal and planted two saplings (Shiv and Sharda) with MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the city.

    Much to his pleasant surprise, Agnihotri’s fervent appeal to MP CM to help him establish a Genocide Museum in Bhopal, got immediate response from Chouhan. The MP CM promptly announced giving land and all other support to the filmmaker for establishing the Genocide Museum in MP.

    “This museum once started will be such, which will even transform a terrorist into a peace loving human being,” Agnihotri said while addressing the film festival organized in Bhopal in the evening.

    When queried by the local scribes about his controversial Bhopali meaning homosexual remark (which had gone viral over social media in the morning), Agnihotri, why is the interview being run in an edited and distorted manner. “What I said was what I heard while I was aged 6-7 years in Bhopal. But today’s Bhopal is a city which has fantastic roads, safety for women and all round development. Talk about the present Bhopal.” Agnihotri maintained.  

  • ‘The Kashmir Files’ entirely based on facts, controversy unnecessary: Director Vivek Agnihotri

    By PTI

    ‘LUCKNOW: Screenwriter and director Vivek Agnihotri on Sunday said that the row over his latest flick ‘The Kashmir Files’ was unnecessary and that the movie was based ‘entirely on facts’.

    He alleged that certain people were running businesses by ‘using Kashmir’ and the stir was created by them, so that their prospects are not dented.

    “Some groups have been using Kashmir as a business. Our movie has tried to put an end to this. So, those who benefited from this are trying to create a controversy. But there cannot be any controversy over terrorism,” Agnihotri told the media here.

    “We have tried to show that when militancy enters a community and is given ideological support from a part of the society, it leads to disaster,” Agnihotri said, adding that his movie was based “entirely on facts”.

    He, along with actor Pallavi Joshi, met Uttar Pradesh caretaker Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath earlier in the day.

    “I congratulated him (Adityanath) for the victory in the elections and he assured me to expedite the work of Film City in Uttar Pradesh so that the state can be turned into a hub of filmmaking,” the director said.

    ‘The Kashmir Files’ has rejuvenated the business of multi-screens, shopping malls and YouTubers, thereby boosting the economy, he claimed.

    “The movie has opened the eyes of the people who failed to admit the crime against Kashmiri Pandits. Now, people of the country and abroad are realising it,” Agnihotri said, adding that the movie has broken the blueprint of filmmaking.

    When asked whether the profits from the movie will be handed over to the Kashmiri Pandits, he said, “Let it earn.” Produced by Zee Studios, the film depicts the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley in the 1990s. It stars Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar and Mithun Chakraborty among others.