Vivek Agnihotri

Early life and education

Agnihotri was born at Jawahar Colony in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh to Prabhu Dayal Agnihotri and Sharda Agnihotri. His father was a professor at Victoria College, Gwalior. He did his schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Gwalior. Later, he studied at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication before enrolling at Harvard Extension School for a Certificate of Special Studies in Administration and Management. He has also procured degrees from Bhopal School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University and DY Patil University.

Career

Advertising and television serials

Agnihotri started his career with the advertising agencies Ogilvy and McCann, and served as creative director for campaigns of Gillette and Coca-Cola. In 1994, he became involved with the directing and production of several television serials; his work was positively received. In 2018, Agnihotri claimed that he had received threats for using the name Mohammad in his short film Mohammad and Urvashi.

Filmmaking

Agnihotri debuted in Bollywood with Chocolate (2005), a remake of the 1995 Hollywood neo-noir crime thriller The Usual Suspects. Critical reception of the movie was negative, and the film fared poorly at box office.

Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal is about an all-Asian football team in the United Kingdom that wins trophies while fighting on-field discrimination and the local municipality that wants to sell the team's ground. It received poor reception from criticsReviews of Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal:

• and did "average" business at the box office. Hate Story received mixed critical receptionReviews of Hate Story:
• and fared moderately at the box office. Buddha in a Traffic Jam featured his wife Pallavi and premiered at Mumbai International Film Festival in 2014; it was received unfavourably by criticsReviews of Buddha in a Traffic Jam:
• and severely under-performed at the box office. Junooniyat was also subject to poor reviewsReviews of Junooniyat:
• and fared similarly.

Agnihotri's 2014 erotic thriller Zid received poor reviewsReviews of Zid:

• but did average business at the box office. However, Agnihotri has since claimed that credit for direction and screenplay was wrongly attributed to him, and that he was not involved with the film.Sources which say he disassociated with film:
• The Tashkent Files became a sleeper box-office hit and won National Film Awards.Reviews of The Tashkent Files:
• In March 2022, Agnihotri released The Kashmir Files on the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus; which become a blockbuster hit and earned him another National Film Award. Shortly after the release of the film, he was provided Y-category security detail across the country by the Ministry of Home Affairs based on inputs from the Intelligence Bureau. Agnihotri's next was medical drama film The Vaccine War (2023) which was about the development of Covaxin during the COVID-19 pandemic in India. The film opened to mixed reviews from the critics and emerged as a box-office bomb.

His latest film The Bengal Files (2025) was originally titled "The Delhi Files on 1984 riots before The Bengal files focuses on Direct Action Day and the Nokahali Riots, the film released with mixed reviews and became a box office flop.

Film certification

In 2017, Agnihotri was selected as convenor by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in the preview committee of 48th International Film Festival of India. The same year, he was selected as member on board of India's Central Board of Film Certification.

ICCR

On 15 September 2020, Agnihotri was appointed as cultural representative at Indian Council for Cultural Relations. He would represent Indian Cinema at ICCR.

''Urban Naxals''

In 2018, Agnihotri wrote Urban Naxals: The Making of Buddha in a Traffic Jam, in which he described individuals in academia and media who were allegedly colluding with Naxalites in a bid to overthrow the Indian government and were thus "invisible enemies of India" as "Urban Naxals".

Critics said the term is "vague rhetoric" that is designed to discredit intellectuals who are critical of the establishment and political right, and to stifle dissent.Coverage and commentary on the term in mainstream media:

• Coverage and commentary on the term in scholarly sources:
• The Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smriti Irani endorsed Agnihotri's views of Jadavpur University and Jawaharlal Nehru University for having refused to screen Buddha in a Traffic Jam.

National Kishore Kumar Award

In 2022, Agnihotri has received the National Kishore Kumar Samman.

Personal life

Agnihotri married Indian actress Pallavi Joshi in 1997 and has two children. He has described himself as a supporter of Narendra Modi, but not of the Bharatiya Janata Party that Modi belongs to. Agnihotri supports cannabis legalization.

In 2022, Agnihotri announced that he was starting knee surgery after suffering a cartilage tear the previous year, which resulted in him suffering a stress fracture. He had ignored the cartilage tear for one and half years while producing The Kashmir Files.

In 2022, Agnihotri delivered a speech in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The theme of the event was "India, world peace and humanism".

Controversies

Fact checkers have noted Agnihotri to have shared misleading content from his Twitter account.Sources which say Agnihotri shared misleading content

• In September 2018, Agnihotri tweeted a listicle claiming that a survey from the BBC found that the Indian National Congress was the second most corrupt party in the world. The survey was fake and an online editor writing for the BBC said that they have never conducted such surveys. In November 2018, Agnihotri tweeted a misleading video that appeared to show that Indian political activist Kanhaiya Kumar had converted to Islam. According to Boom Fact Check, the video was "a compilation of three separate clips which have taken Kanhaiya's statements out of context from the entire speech." In March 2019, Agnihotri falsely claimed that former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was responsible for the outcome of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Nehru had previously died in May 1964 and Lal Bahadur Shastri was Prime Minister during the war. In January 2020, Agnihotri tweeted a doctored image of an anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protester that he claimed was real. In February 2020, Agnihotri falsely claimed that cannabis kills COVID-19.

In September 2018, Twitter locked his account until he agreed to delete a tweet denigrating Swara Bhaskar. In response to Swara calling out politician P. C. George, who called an alleged rape victim a prostitute, Vivek tweeted "Where is the placard - '#MeTooProstituteNun'?". The tweet was interpreted as calling Swara a prostitute. Agnihotri defended his tweet and said he was making a point about the placarding by liberals at selective instances of alleged perpetrators belonging to the Hindu community.Sources covering the episode:

Agnihotri and his team, including his wife, Pallavi Joshi, and Abhishek Agarwal, had issued a legal notice to Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal. The notice had demanded the retraction of her comments that had labeled The Kashmir Files (2022) as false propaganda aimed at humiliating a particular group. Alleging defamation and malicious intent, the notice had required an unconditional apology. The team had asserted that Banerjee's remarks were baseless and intended to tarnish their film and reputation.

In August 2024, Agnihotri faced controversy when an old social media post from 2013 of his consisting of an offensive rape joke, went viral after he joined a rally for solidarity on justice for the victim, during protests against Banerjee's government.

He was accused by bollywood actress Tanushree Dutta for sexual hassment on the sets of Chocolate (2005).

In 2018, Dutta would accuse Agnihotri of inappropriate behaviour during its filming. He allegedly asked her to strip and dance to give expression cues to her male co-star Irrfan Khan during a close-up shot and retreated only after Irrfan and Suniel Shetty rebuffed him. Agnihotri denied the allegations as "false and frivolous", and filed a defamation case against Dutta.Sources covering the episode:

• Sattyajit Gazmer, the film's assistant director, also disputed Tanushree's allegations.

In September 2025, Agnihotri faced criticism for posting a screening of the Bengal Files featuring children, despite the film being rated A lead that was commended by people in social media.

Filmography

Bibliography

Awards and nominations

Honours

In 2024, Agnihotri was conferred an honorary doctorate by D.Y. Patil University for his contribution to cinema and the arts.

Notes

References

References

1. "Vivek Agnihotri की The Kashmir Files का ये है MP कनेक्शन, इन शहरों से है गहरा नाता".
2. "Official Twitter Handle of Vivek Agnihotri".
3. "List of Board Members".
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5. "Vivek Agnihotri की The Kashmir Files का ये है MP कनेक्शन, इन शहरों से है गहरा नाता".
6. (2002-01-02). ""Terrorism interests and fascinates me":Vivek Agnihotri".
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9. Nationalist Ravi. (16 June 2016). "Risk it with Ravijot - Talk 01, Vivek Agnihotri".
10. Modi, Chintan Girish. (2016-04-08). "The contrarian Kanhaiya Kumar". The Hindu.
11. (2001-06-06). "'How soon the viewer flows into the story determines my success' : Vivek Agnihotri".
12. (2005-09-19). "The chocolate lawyer". The Hindu.
13. (2005-11-14). "One... gearing up to two!". The Hindu.
14. IANS. (2018-04-14). "Vivek Agnihotri's 'Mohammad and Urvashi' to release on April 24". Business Standard India.
15. (2018-04-20). "Vivek Agnihotri claims getting threats over 'Mohammad And Urvashi'".
16. (2005-09-11). "Jaspreet Pandohar review of Chocolate (Deep Dark Secrets) (2005)". BBC.
17. (2005-09-23). "Shoplifted and shopworn". The Hindu.
18. "Chocolate - Movie - Box Office India".
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24. "Hate Story - Movie - Box Office India".
25. (2011-04-07). "Jamming away". The Hindu.
26. Thakkar, Mehul S.. (2016-04-10). "Barjatyas bails Vivek Agnihotri's 'Buddha' out of a 'Jam'".
27. (26 April 2018). "Arunoday Singh: I don't consider myself any less successful right now". Hindustan Times.
28. "Buddha In A Traffic Jam - Movie - Box Office India".
29. "Junooniyat - Movie - Box Office India".
30. "Zid - Movie - Box Office India".
31. "Bhakt Vivek Agnihotri's stars".
32. (23 January 2020). "Bollywood Turns To Plight Of Kashmiri Pandits, At Last".
33. (14 August 2019). "Vivek Agnihotri film The Kashmir Files to release in August 2020: Not an easy story to tell".
34. (5 December 2019). "After 'The Tashkent Files', Vivek Agnihotri's next titled 'The Kashmir Files' starring Anupam Kher".
35. (24 August 2023). "69th National Film Awards 2023 complete winners list: Rocketry, Alia Bhatt, Kriti Sanon, Allu Arjun, RRR, Gangubai Kathiawadi win big".
36. (19 March 2022). "Kashmir Files director gets Y-category security cover". The Indian Express.
37. (4 October 2023). "Fukrey 3 On Course To Be a HIT - The Vaccine War Is A Disaster".
38. "Vivek Agnihotri's disingenuous exploitation of the 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms in The Delhi Files".
39. (21 August 2025). "Vivek Agnihotri on why he changed name of his film from The Delhi Files to The Bengal Files: 'Massive communication problem'".
40. (24 August 2025). "As a Bengali, I refuse to watch 'The Bengal Files'. It seeks to inflame, not inform".
41. "Forty-Member Panel to Curate Films for IFFI With Agnihotri As Convenor".
42. (2017-08-11). "Pahlaj Nihalani replaced by Prasoon Joshi: Vidya Balan, Vivek Agnihotri in CBFC Board; meet all new members".
43. Scroll Staff. (11 August 2017). "Pahlaj Nihalani removed as chief of Central Board of Film Certification".
44. (2020-09-15). "Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri gets appointed as new cultural representative at Indian Council for Cultural Relations".
45. ANI. "Filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri appointed as new cultural representative at ICCR".
46. IANS. (15 June 2018). "Not easy to attract eyeballs from government: Vivek Agnihotri". Business Standard India.
47. (9 July 2018). "Vivek Agnihotri's Urban Naxals: The Making of Buddha in a Traffic Jam {{!}} Going beyond the Maoist myth".
48. (2018-05-30). "Urban Naxals - The Making of Buddha In A Traffic Jam".
49. (29 August 2018). "He's making a list of 'Urban Naxals', but who is Vivek Agnihotri?".
50. (6 June 2018). "Book Review #UrbanNaxals : The Untold Story of Communist Terrorism".
51. Singh, Vivashwan. (5 June 2015). "'Ghoul' and the Spectre of Totalitarianism". Economic and Political Weekly.
52. SNS. (2022-10-13). "Vivek Agnihotri gets nostalgic as he received 'National Kishore Kumar Award".
53. (2022-03-17). "'Didn't Like Him Very Much on First Meet': Pallavi Joshi on Husband Vivek Agnihotri".
54. "भाजपा का नहीं, बल्कि घोर मोदी समर्थक हूं: विवेक अग्निहोत्री".
55. Chaudhuri, Pooja. (2020-02-08). "Cannabis kills coronavirus? Vivek Agnihotri shares scientific misinformation via meme".
56. (2022-07-11). "Vivek Agnihotri Suffers From Stress Fracture After Ignoring Injury, Starts Treatment, Fans Hope For A Quick Recovery".
57. (9 June 2022). "Vivek Agnihotri, Pallavi Joshi speak at the UK Parliament on India, world peace and humanism - Times of India".
58. Chowdhury, Archis. (2020-01-10). "Vivek Agnihotri Posts A Doctored Image Of Anti-CAA Protester".
59. Rampal, Nikhil. (25 December 2018). "2018's top 10 fake news: From 'Pak zindabad' to post claiming Congress most 'corrupt party'".
60. Team, BOOM FACT Check. (12 November 2018). "Vivek Agnihotri Tweets Misleading Video Of Kanhaiya Kumar Speaking About Islam {{!}} BOOM".
61. Sidharth, Arjun. (11 March 2019). "Vivek Agnihotri makes false claim of Nehru responsible for outcome of 1965 Indo-Pak war".
62. "Vivek Agnihotri asks Mamata Banerjee for withdrawal of her comments on The Kashmir Files, sends legal notice".
63. (24 August 2024). "Vivek Agnihotri's Jolly Smile At Protest Held For Kolkata Rape-Murder Victim Slammed By Internet; Swara Bhaskar Reacts". Mashable India.
64. "'Disgusting, Vile': Vivek Agnihotri's Old Tweet On Getting Raped In Nano Resurfaces Amid Kolkata Doctor Case, Netizens SLAM Filmmaker". Free Press Journal.
65. "Watch: When Tanushree Dutta accused Vivek Agnihotri of harassment, said 'woh short skirt mein mujhe...'". DNA.
66. (1 October 2019). "#MeToo Goes Global: Media Framing of Silence Breakers in Four National Settings". Journal of Communication Inquiry.
67. (2018-10-05). "Assistant director turns down Tanushree Dutta's claims, gives detailed account of the incident on sets of Chocolate".
68. Hungama, Bollywood. (2018-10-06). "Tanushree Dutta controversy: Chocolate's associate director Ranjit Shah comes in support of Vivek Agnihotri, SLAMS the actress and calls her erratic : Bollywood News - Bollywood Hungama".
69. "Not strip, but take off bathrobe worn above costume: 'Chocolate' Associate Director Sattyajit Gazmer on Tanushree Dutta's allegations".
70. "Children watching Vivek Agnihotri's A-rated 'The Bengal Files'? Photo under scanner for 'AI use' sparks debate".
71. (13 September 2025). "Dhruv Rathi Slams Vivek Agnihotri For Showing Kids His A-Rated The Bengal Files In Theatre: 'This Should Be A Crime'".
72. "'From Tarla to The Kashmir Files Unreported: Zee5 announces its slate of upcoming shows and films".
73. (10 November 2022). "Vivek Agnihotri announces new film 'The Vaccine War,' to release in August 2023".
74. (22 April 2022). "EXCLUSIVE: Vivek Agnihotri's the Delhi Files about the 1984 anti-Sikh riots". Firstpost.
75. (2025-06-12). "The Bengal Files teaser: A chilling story with powerhouse performers".
76. (24 Aug 2023). "'The Kashmir Files' wins Nargis Dutt Award at 69th National Film Awards". NDTV.
77. "Zee Cine Awards 2023: Alia Bhatt, Kartik Aaryan Win Best Actors, 'The Kashmir Files' Bags Best Film; Check Full Winners List".
78. "Ahead Of Filmfare 2023, Vivek Agnihotri Refuses To Be Part Of "Unethical, Anti-Cinema Awards"".
79. (2023-04-27). "'Refuse to be part of unethical, anti-cinema awards': Vivek Agnihotri slams Filmfare Awards - CNBC TV18".
80. (13 October 2022). "Agnihotri receives National Kishore Kumar Award". Outlook India.
81. "'The Kashmir Files' honoured as Golden Film of Indian Cinema". Firstpost.
82. (2022-12-29). "Vivek Agnihotri Is 'Grateful' As The Kashmir Files Wins Best Feature Film On Human Rights Award".
83. (2021-03-24). "Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri on National Film Award for best dialogue writer: At least now nobody will question my capabilities". Hindustan Times.
84. (29 Dec 2022). "The Kashmir Files wins Best Feature Film on Human Rights at LIIFT 2022". India Times.
85. (26 January 2024). "Vivek Agnihotri on getting honorary doctorate: I feel more responsible to deliver stories to cinema now".
86. (2024-02-01). "Vivek Agnihotri gets honoured with doctorate by Governor of Maharashtra; calls cinema his teacher". The Times of India.