Vivek Agnihotri says 'Bollywood is a corrupt system that promotes mediocrity'

The Kashmir Files Unreported filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, who often takes to social media to share his opinion of Bollywood, told Republic Digital in an exclusive interview that he does not hold a grudge against the industry but wants it to get better. 

The Tashkent Files director, who called Bollywood a "dark tunnel" in a long note titled "‘Lonely deaths of Bollywood", said, "Bollywood is exploitative. It's a corrupt system which promotes mediocrity" while adding "it promotes negative nepotism, not positive nepotism. It should be criticised."

3 things you need to know:

• Vivek Agnihotri directed The Kashmir File Unreported will premiere on OTT on August 11.
• It is based on the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley in the 1990s.
• It features real-life anecdotes, survivor testimonies of Kashmiri Pandits.

Did The Kashmir Files being labelled "propaganda" alienate him from the industry?

Vivek Agnihotri directed The Kashmir Files released in February 2022. The film went on to become a commercial success and received rave reviews from a section of film critics. It, however, was not devoid of controversies. Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid, a jury head at the International Film Festival of India, described the film as "vulgar" and "propaganda", stoking a controversy. 

When we asked Vivek if the backlash and his film being labelled "propaganda" alienated him from the industry, he said, "I was anyway isolated from the industry. But this has made it more difficult actually, after Kashmir (Files), my life has become more difficult, honestly." He added, "But, I don't see the backlash as any problem. I see it like -- there's a rock and I'm like a wave of a sea, and when the wave keeps hitting the rock, it eventually breaks. I look at myself and my craft, like the power of a wave where I'll have to hit the rock many times to break it." 

Does Vivek Agnihotri hold a grudge against Bollywood? 

On whether he holds a grudge against Bollywood, the Buddha in a Traffic Jam director told Republic Digital, "I have no grudge. Absolutely no grudge. I want Bollywood to become better." 

Elaborating on his thoughts, Vivek shared, "It's like somebody criticising the government. They don't have a grudge against the country, they just want the government to perform better." "And why not challenge a corrupt system? Why shouldn't we challenge a corrupt system?" Vivek questioned while adding, "Bollywood is a very, very exploitative corrupt system. It's a system which promotes mediocrity, a system which promotes negative nepotism, not positive nepotism, it should be criticised."

Despite being a part of Bollywood, how does the filmmaker function differently?

In response to a question on how he, despite being a part of Bollywood, functions differently, Vivek told Republic Digital, "First of all, we are independent. We are research-based. We believe in writing. We believe that the audience is very intelligent. We don't care about a star system. And we are making Indian stories. These are exactly the things Bollywood is not doing."

The filmmaker added,  "Mereko ek cheez aaj tak samajh mein nahi aayi (the one thing I've failed to understand so far), all these Bollywood stars, filmmakers, young actresses, they keep criticising the government and the system. It is very good to criticise the establishment. But, I say first criticise the establishment which gives you your bread and butter." He further said that the industry folks must first question their own way of functioning, challenge the very ecosystem they are part of and improve it instead of criticising the government or a system that is not in their control. The filmmaker said, "You (Bollywood) are blind to that establishment and you are challenging some other establishment which is not even in your control. I must first challenge the ecosystem, the establishment, which is next to me. And that's why I challenge it." 

What is Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files Unreported about?

Talking about Vivek Agnihotri's recent outing The Kashmir Files Unreported, which will stream on Zee5 from August 11, it is a 7-episode docu-series that will weave together "real-life anecdotes, survivor testimonies of Kashmiri Pandits." As per a release shared by the makers, The Kashmir Files Unreported will feature "archived footage" while delving into "the historical, ethnical, and geopolitical details, encapsulating the events, mistakes, crimes and circumstances that led to the massacre and mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley in the 1990s." The makers added that the docu-series will go on to "portray the state of affairs which led to the abrogation of Article 370 and its repercussions on Kashmir today."