Vivek Agnihotri decides to boycott Filmfare Awards: Here's why
The Kashmir Files director Vivek Ranajn Agnihotri took to Twitter on Thursday morning (April 27) to share that he won't be attending the upcoming 68th Filmfare Awards. Per Agnihotri, they are "unethical and anti-cinema awards" and represent a "sycophant and unethical world where master directors have no faces." To note, TKF is nominated in seven categories in the coveted Bollywood awards.
Why does this story matter?
Over the years, several prominent celebrities from the Hindi film industry have spoken against award shows, saying that they would prefer "rewards" rather than "awards." Some actors have also said that they were offered awards in exchange for a dance performance. Statements like these have put a question mark on the credibility and transparency of the award shows, eventually lowering their overall reputation.
The director-screenwriter called it an 'oppressive' and 'corrupt' system
In a long tweet, Agnihotri pointed out how the faces of directors such as Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Sooraj R Barjatya, and Anees Bazmee weren't showcased while announcing the nominations. "I refuse to be part of any oppressive and corrupt system or awards which treats writers, directors and other HODs & crew members of a film inferior to and/or as slaves to stars," he tweeted.
Read the entire tweet here
'TKF' is nominated in these categories
The seven categories The Kashmir Files has been nominated in are Best Film, Best Director (Agnihotri), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Anupam Kher), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Darshan Kumar and Mithun Chakraborty), Best Screenplay (Agnihotri), and Best Editing (Shank Rajyadhyaksha). The film is based on the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s and is streaming on ZEE5.
Up next, Agnihotri will be back with 'The Vaccine War'
After the humungous success of TKF, Agnihotri is now working on The Vaccine War. The movie reportedly stars Nana Patekar, Pallavi Joshi, Gopal Seth, and Divya Seth, among others. It is based on ex-ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava's 2021 book Going Viral- Making of Covaxin: The Inside Story and will release on Independence Day this year in a record 11 languages.
