‘I don't drink like Anurag Kashyap, I'm wiser than Anubhav Sinha': Vivek Agnihotri strikes down comparisons

Indian Express

18-06-2025

Director Vivek Agnihotri has made a name for himself with his highly polarising and controversial brand of filmmaking. The first two movies of his 'Files' trilogy, The Tashkent Files and The Kashmir Files, divided audiences and were branded by some of them as propaganda. In a recent interview, Vivek shut down comparisons with his contemporaries, like Anurag Kashyap and Anubhav Sinha, while making another comment about Kashyap's supposed 'drinking-problem.'
While making an appearance on Shubhankar Mishra's podcast, Vivek defended his choice of films, and cited reasons behind why he felt compelled to make them. When the host told him that many people consider him to be the 'right-wing Anurag Kashyap', Vivek was swift to strike down the comparison. He said, 'I don't drink like him, though.' He added, 'People who like Anurag and watch his films only focus on the fault lines of this country. I focus on the greatness of this nation.' He said that he wasn't playing into any propaganda, and the decision behind making the trilogy was his own.
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He said, 'This was my choice, the trilogy, and I decided to make these movies back in 2010. There have been several documentaries made on the Gujarat riots. People have already talked about it, and there is nothing new to bring to the screen.' He also distanced himself from another fellow director, Anubhav Sinha. The host told Vivek that when Anubhav made an appearance on the podcast, he told him that he would not be willing to work with Kangana Ranaut because of their ideological differences. Anubhav said, 'Agar aadmi hi na pasand ho, toh kaam kaise kare (If you don't like the person, you can't work with them).'
To this, Vivek said that there are a lot of people who he works with who don't necessarily align with his ideals or beliefs, but they are professional enough to put their differences aside, and so is he. He stated, 'That is Anubhav's own thinking; I am too wise for that. I can draw that line between the people I am working with. I don't have any personal conversations with the people that I am working with, and many of the people in my movies don't believe in the same ideologies that I do. So many people in the Bengal Files are themselves Bengali, but I work with national award-winning actors who are professional enough to get the job done.'
The final instalment of the trilogy, The Bengal Files, is all set to release on September 5. The cast of the film includes Darshan Kumaar, Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Pallavi Joshi, Dibyendu Bhattacharya and Saswata Chatterjee. This time the theme for the film is around the 'right to life'. The Tashkent Files was centred around the 'right to truth', while the Kashmir Files explored the 'right to justice'.
This isn't the first time that Vivek has taken a dig at Anurag's supposed drinking problem. He told Digital Commentary recently, 'Anurag was a heavy drinker back then, and he couldn't be trusted. He brought Vikram Motwane on board, who is a very talented guy. He told me, 'Mera naya ladka hai woh kaam karega'.' Anurag responded on Instagram, calling him a 'liar'. They worked together on the film Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal.