The Kashmir Files director Vivek Agnihotri reveals his inspiration behind making the film

Amidst receiving critical acclaim and praises for his film The Kashmir Files, director Vivek Agnihotri took a trip down memory lane to share an interesting anecdote from his childhood. The film, based on the true events of the Kashmir Genocide of the Kashmiri Pandit community that took place in 1990, has triggered numerous debates in the country for its depiction of the horrifying event. To support its heart-wrenching storyline, Agnihotri roped in National award-winning actors like Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi, and Prakash Belavdi.

While the film faces opposition from people who claim that the makers whitewashed the Kashmiri Pandit exodus in 1990 in the movie, many netizens and celebs praised the makers for shedding light on the events and bringing the truth to the people of the country after all these years. Talking about the inspiration behind this passion project, Vivek Agnihotri shared the ancestral home he grew up in with his grandfather. 

The Kashmir Files' Vivek Agnihotri shares pic of the ancestral home

Taking to his Twitter handle, on March 15, the 48-year-old director shared an image from a Hindi daily Amar Ujala showing his ancestral home. In the tweet, he shared an interesting anecdote from his childhood and revealed how his grandfather's insistence on worshipping goddess Saraswati led him to make the film. He tweeted, 

''GM. This is our ancestral house where I grew up. We had nothing. Not even walls in our house. But my grandfather made us worship Saraswati and my father went on to become vice chancellor and translated all Kalidas & Vedas. It’s because of Saraswati, I could make #TheKashmirFiles.''

More on Vivek Agnihotri's directorial 'The Kashmir Files'

Recently, the cast of The Kashmir Files namely Anupam Kher and Pallavi Joshi, along with Vivek Agnihotri, had an exclusive chat with Republic's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami on his Debate show to address the controversies surrounding the film. Dishing on the reason behind the making the film during the conversation, Agnihotri stated, 

"In last 5-6 years, the youth of India, the disempowered youth started feeling empowered, started feeling they have a voice. They realised that they have been lied upon, they have been misled, misguided by their professors and intellectuals, historians, filmmakers and creative people. They have been looking for truth. People want the raw truth, they don't want a sugar-coated truth, and this film gives them that."

Released on March 11, 2022, Anupam Kher starrer The Kashmir Files started off its journey at the box office with raving reviews and continued its rapid climb at the ticket window. As per trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the movie minted Rs 15.05 crore on Monday as its four-day collection comes to a whopping Rs 42.20 crore. 

Image: @VivekAgnihotri/Instagram