"Have Zero Tolerance For...": Vivek Agnihotri Hits Back At Naseeruddin Shah For Latter's Comment On 'The Kashmir Files'
'The Kashmir Files' director Vivek Agnihotri has reacted to Naseeruddin Shah's comment, saying he wonders if the veteran actor "loves terrorists".
Naseeruddin Shah has stirred quite a row, after he said that he finds the success of movies like 'The Kashmir Files', 'The Kerala Story' and 'Gadar 2' quite "disturbing". In the latest entertainment news, 'The Kashmir Files' director Vivek Agnihotri has reacted to Naseeruddin Shah's comment, saying he wonders if the veteran actor "loves terrorists" as he has acted in movies that "support genocide."
"I am a great admirer of Naseer sahab that's why I had cast him in The Tashkent Files. But I don't know of late why he has grown old and if that's the case then I should not say anything. Sometimes, people are frustrated with a lot of things, or maybe he feels he is getting exposed with the truth of The Kashmir Files something about him is getting exposed. People generally don't like being naked in front of people through somebody else's art. There is something wrong, there is something not right with what Naseer keeps saying," Vivek Agnihotri said in an interview with Zoom.
"I mean he is happy doing films that support genocide, he has acted in movies that supports genocide, perhaps he has because of his religion or because of his frustration. For whatever reasons, perhaps he likes to support terrorists, I don't. I don't even care what Naseer says because I have zero tolerance for terrorism, maybe he loves them, and I don't care," he added.
Earlier, Naseeruddin Shah ha said that he finds the popularity of films like 'Gadar 2', 'The Kashmir Files', and 'The Kerala Story' "harmful" because of their “jingoistic” nature.
“Now the more jingoist you are, the more popular you become, because this is what has been ruling this country. It’s not enough to love your country but beat drums about it and you have to create imaginary enemies," the veteran actor told Free Press Journal.
“In fact, films like Kerala Story and Gadar 2, I haven’t seen them but I know what they are about. It’s disturbing that films like Kashmir Files are so massively popular whereas movies made by Sudhir Mishra, Anubhav Sinha, and Hansal Mehta, who are trying to portray the truth of their times don’t get seen," he added.
For the unversed, 'The Kashmir Files' was made around the topic of exodus of Kashmiri Pundits from the valley.
“It’s hard to resort to abstraction and capture life as it is. So regressive is a pretty mild word for what’s going on. It’s frightening when filmmakers are being coopted into making films which praise all the wrong things and run down other communities for no reason at all. It’s a dangerous trend," he added.
On the work front, Vivek Agnihotri's next 'The Vaccine War' will be releasing in theatres on September 28. The movie stars Anupam Kher, Nana Patekar, Raima Sen and Pallavi Joshi in pivotal roles.
