Vivek Agnihotri, the acclaimed director behind The Kashmir Files is in the news these days for his upcoming movie The Bengal Files which is slated to release on 5th September.
During a podcast with journalist Shubhankar Mishra, Vivek opinioned that the upcoming film will not only “haunt you” than The Kashmir Files but will also “destroy you”.
The filmmaker touched upon the subject of celebrities who choose to remain silent during sponsored military terrorism and critical military operations.
Netizens have often talked about Bollywood A Listers who choose to stay mum on sponsored terrorism horrific incidents but express their support openly for incidents outside the country, especially like in the case of their support for Palestine people and during the Black lives matter incident.
Agnihotri touched on the same issue and took an indirect but pointed jabs at Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan. He didn’t took their names but criticized celebrities who don’t have a problem in summoning thousands of fans and waving hands to them from outside their homes at the time of their birthdays or any special day but choose to remain silent during critical national moments—such as the recent Sindhu military operations.
“I personally don’t like that. You are not a Shahenshah, you are not a king,” Vivek Agnihotri said referencing to the self-image that some celebrities try to maintain.
The filmmaker believes that this kind of silence does raise questions amongst the heart of Indians and argued that public figures must use their platform to speak out on issues of national importance, especially during incidents of terrorism sponsored by neighboring countries like Pakistan.
Reflecting the sentiment of many netizens, Agnihotri implied that such stars prioritize their public image and global appeal over national responsibility. According to him, this calculated neutrality comes at the cost of authenticity and public trust.
“These people (celebrities) are afraid that someone will write about them on Twitter if they speak up during such critical moments. they are so trapped in maintaining their public image that they have become a servant of it.” Agnihotri said.
Vivek Agnihotri also cited past examples of celebrities like Sunil Dutt and Nana Patekar, who not only raised funds during times of military crisis but also personally visited troops in high-security zones just so to boost their morale.
He argues that today the bollywood industry has just become synonmous with sex and lust which was not the case decades ago.
Few days ago, Aamir Khan also recalled the time when he visited the critically unsafe zones after the Kargil War just to boost morale and how solidarity with the troops.
