Vivek Agnihotri On The Kashmir Files: Vivek Agnihotri had been working on ‘The Kashmir Files’ for four years. He and his wife and actress Pallavi Joshi used their money for their passion project. He has mortgaged his house. He went to many parts of the world for research. Even after spending so much, he did not know what he would get from it.
don’t like nonsense
Vivek says, “We never thought that The Kashmir Files would have such an impact. One day I was thinking about the three pillars of democracy – truth, justice and life. The ‘Tashkent Files’ was about the right to truth. ‘The Kashmir Files’ is about the right to justice. ‘The Delhi Files’ will be on Right to Life. The fourth pillar of democracy is the audience. Let them decide what they want to watch. The audience won’t clap for nonsense.”
For Vivek, cinema is not about networking and socialising. They don’t party. They don’t drink alcohol. The Kashmir Files started with just 600 screens. Then suddenly it became a B and C center film as well. Vivek has turned away from Bollywood. He said, “They wanted me to make the typical potboiler which we were not ready to do. We decided that we will make films based on our own research with our own money. This was our decision in 2010. Then we made Buddha in the Traffic Jam, The Tashkent Files and The Kashmir Files.
Responded to allegations of being Islamophobic
On allegations of ‘The Kashmir Files’ being Islamophobic, Vivek said, “I believe my audience is intelligent enough to know that the villain in ‘The Kashmir Files’ is terrorism. There is a line in my film where a character says That apart from Hindus, Muslims and other communities are also victims of terrorism. What matters to me is that the film reached out and touched hearts.”
Vivek feels that Bollywood cinema is not made for him. He said, “I resigned from Bollywood in 2010. We are a very small boutique film production house. We make cinema with passion. I am happy that I do not have friends in Bollywood. If I did, I would somewhere be tempted to please them by making what they want me to make. Right now when I talk to you I can make a lot of money and go home happy. But I can’t do that. It is not in my DNA.
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