Vivek Agnihotri says his Oscars Tweet twisted; 'they want to defame The Kashmir Files'

Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri recently came under fire after his Tweet on 'The Kashmir Files' becoming an Oscars 'contender' went viral on social media. The director broke his silence on Friday and claimed that his statements were "twisted" to disparage the TKF team. The filmmaker also asserted that a young female member of his family is receiving threats online.

On Friday, the filmmaker took to his official Twitter handle and wrote, “They are twisting our statements to bring defame & disrepute to the team of #TheKashmirFiles by misreporting & lying to the public. News sites and others are warned against being involved or circulating such fake news with malicious intent.”

“I want to bring to the knowledge of the public & concerned authorities that some of these people/groups are harassing & threatening a young female member of my family. Some of them, associated with Pakistani terror groups, are also known for instigating life threats to Nupur Sharma,” the director added. 

He concluded, “Why are they doing it? Though it’s very obvious, we leave it for your conscience to decide. In the meantime, we are taking necessary action.”

Vivek Agnihotri's Oscars Tweet 

For the unversed, Vivek on January 10 took to his Instagram handle and informed that his film 'The Kashmir Files' is one of the five films from India that has been shortlisted for Oscars in the first list of The Academy.

He also Tweeted that actors Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi are shortlisted for best actor category.

Check out his Tweets below:

On January 12, the filmmaker shared a poster of 'The Kashmir Files' on Twitter and wrote: 'Official Contender From India'. He wrote, "We are grateful for your support, love, and blessings. This is the year of Indian Cinema. #Oscars2023."

Vivek was criticized by a number of celebrities, including VJ Nikhil Chinapa and director Hansal Mehta, for the misleading Tweet as the film just made it to the eligible list and is not an official contender yet. 

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) released the complete list of the 301 movies that were shortlisted in the Oscars reminder list for this year. 'The Kashmir Files' by Vivek is one of the few Indian movies that made it to the list. 'RRR', 'Kantara', 'Gangubai Kathiawadi', 'Me Vasantrao', 'Tuzhya Sathi Kahi Hi', 'Rocketry: The Nambi Effect', 'Iravin Nizhal', and 'Vikrant Rona' are other Indian movies on Oscars reminder list.