In a recent tweet, Sudhir Mishra stated, “Liberals gripe about Kashmir files. Why? A movie by Vivek Agnihotri was viewed in theaters by his audience. But the Vivek-hating crowd stays home and doesn’t watch our movies when we release them. I’m sorry I had to say that.
While many people both agreed and disagreed with Sudhir’s viewpoint, The Kashmir Files director made fun of him. He responded by writing, “Who is giving? Those who produce anti-terrorism movies, or those who use their art to excuse or encourage terrorism? Or those who don’t speak up? Though I don’t know if any liberals are prepared for it, I believe there should be an open discussion on this. If you’d like, I can record a podcast with you.
The Kashmir Files, written and directed by Vivek, depicts the purported flight of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir. Pallavi Joshi, Mithun Chakraborty, Darshan Kumar, and Anupam Kher play the key parts. Recent nominations for the movie include Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Writing, and Best Editing in the Filmfare Awards.
Vivek, however, rebuffed the Filmfare nomination. He said in a lengthy tweet, “Everyone save the celebs lacks a face, according to Filmfare. It doesn’t matter. In the sycophantic and unethical world of Filmfare, great directors like Sanjay Bhansali or Sooraj Barjatya have no presence. Anees Bazmee resembles Kartik Aaryan, Sooraj resembles Mr. Bachchan, and Sanjay Bhansali resembles Alia Bhatt. The Filmfare Awards do not in any way contribute to a filmmaker’s dignity, but this degrading system must be abolished. I have therefore resolved not to accept such prizes as a sign of protest and dissent against a corrupt, unethical, and sycophantic establishment of Bollywood.