Indian director, screenwriter and author
Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri is an Indian film director , screenwriter , author who works in Hindi cinema . As of 2019, he is a member of the board of India's Central Board of Film Certification and a cultural representative of Indian Cinema at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations .[3] He won the National Film Award for Best Screenplay - Dialogues for The Tashkent Files (2019). Agnihotri started his career with advertorial agencies and moved to producing and directing tele-serials. He debuted in Bollywood with the crime thriller Chocolate (2005) and has directed multiple films since.
Early life and education
Agnihotri was born in a Brahmin Hindu family.[4] [5] 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.[6] [7] [a] In interviews with media, he has also mentioned Bhopal School of Social Sciences and Jawaharlal Nehru University among his almae matres .[9] [10]
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 .[6] [7] In 1994, he became involved with the directing and production of several television serials; his work was positively received.[6] [7] [11] [12] [13] In 2018, Agnihotri claimed that had received threats for using the name Mohammad in his short film Mohammad and Urvashi .[14] [15]
Filmography
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,[16] [17] and the film fared poorly at box office.[18] [19] In 2018, Bollywood actress Tanushree 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.[20] [21] Sattyajit Gazmer, the film's assistant director, also disputed Tanushree's allegations.[22] [23] [24]
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.[25] [26] It received poor reception from critics[27] and did "average" business at the box office.[28] [29] [19] Hate Story received mixed critical reception[30] and fared moderately at the box office.[31] Buddha in a Traffic Jam featured his wife Pallavi[32] and premiered at Mumbai International Film Festival in 2014;[33] it was received unfavorably by critics[34] and severely under-performed at the box office.[35] [36] Junooniyat was also subject to poor reviews[37] and fared similarly.[38]
Agnihotri's 2014 erotic thriller Zid received poor reviews[39] but did average business at the box office.[40] 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.[41] The Tashkent Files received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics but became a sleeper box-office hit and won National Film Awards .[42] [43] In March 2022, Agnihotri released The Kashmir Files on the Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus ; the film has become a blockbuster hit.[44] [45] [46]
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 .[47] The same year, he was selected as member on board of India's Central Board of Film Certification .[48] [49]
ICCR
On 15 September 2020, Agnihotri was appointed as cultural representative at Indian Council for Cultural Relations .[50] He would represent Indian Cinema at ICCR.[51]
Urban Naxals
In 2018, Agnihotri wrote Urban Naxals: The Making of Buddha in a Traffic Jam ,[52] [53] [54] 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".[55] [56]
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.[57] [58] Reviews in the Organiser and The New Indian Express had praised the work.[56] 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. [59]
Personal life
Agnihotri is married to Indian actor Pallavi Joshi and has two children.[55] [7] He has described himself as a supporter of Narendra Modi , but not of the Bharatiya Janata Party that Modi belongs to.[60]
Social media
Fact checkers have noted Agnihotri to have shared misleading content from his Twitter account.[61] [62] 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.[63]
Filmography
Bibliography
Accolades
Notes
^ CSS was started in 1980 as a certificate course for students with a bachelor's degree but no prior training in business or management.[8] : 130 In 2007 it was converted into a full Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies (ALM) in management.[8] : 200
References
^ "Official Twitter Handle of Vivek Agnihotri" . Twitter . Retrieved 16 March 2022 .
^ "Vivek Agnihotri" . IMDb . Retrieved 24 March 2022 .
^ "Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri gets appointed as new cultural representative at Indian Council for Cultural Relations" . DNA India . 15 September 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2021 .
^ Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri [@vivekagnihotri] (2 January 2018). "Sometime ago, on a flight I saw a great Dalit leader's grandson sitting on 1A, business class and I wrote this in notes. Just found. t.co/NaEW2bGnkC" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022 – via Twitter .
^ "Agnihotri's 'dalit-brahmin' tweet sparks Twitter outrage" . theweek.in . Retrieved 17 March 2022 .
^ a b c " "Terrorism interests and fascinates me":Vivek Agnihotri" . Indian Television Dot Com . 2 January 2002. Retrieved 29 October 2019 .
^ a b c d "About" . Vivek Agnihotri . Retrieved 3 January 2020 .
^ a b Shinagel, Michael (2009). "The Gates Unbarred": A History of University Extension at Harvard, 1910-2009 . Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-03616-1 .
^ Nationalist Ravi (16 June 2016). "Risk it with Ravijot - Talk 01, Vivek Agnihotri" . Archived from the original on 18 June 2016 – via YouTube.
^ Modi, Chintan Girish (8 April 2016). "The contrarian Kanhaiya Kumar" . The Hindu . ISSN 0971-751X . Retrieved 29 October 2019 .
^ " 'How soon the viewer flows into the story determines my success' : Vivek Agnihotri" . Indian Television Dot Com . 6 June 2001. Retrieved 3 January 2020 .
^ "The chocolate lawyer" . The Hindu . 19 September 2005. ISSN 0971-751X . Retrieved 12 January 2020 .
^ "One... gearing up to two!" . The Hindu . 14 November 2005. ISSN 0971-751X . Retrieved 12 January 2020 .
^ IANS (14 April 2018). "Vivek Agnihotri's 'Mohammad and Urvashi' to release on April 24" . Business Standard India . Retrieved 18 February 2020 .
^ "Vivek Agnihotri claims getting threats over 'Mohammad And Urvashi' " . The Statesman . 20 April 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2020 .
^ "Jaspreet Pandohar review of Chocolate (Deep Dark Secrets) (2005)" . BBC. 11 September 2005. Retrieved 4 March 2012 .
^ "Shoplifted and shopworn" . The Hindu . 23 September 2005. ISSN 0971-751X . Retrieved 12 January 2020 .
^ "Chocolate - Movie - Box Office India" . boxofficeindia.com . Retrieved 23 October 2019 .
^ a b Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (28 February 2011). "Business meets Bollywood" . The Hindu . ISSN 0971-751X . Retrieved 12 January 2020 .
^ Sources covering the episode:
^ Starkey, Jesse C.; Koerber, Amy; Sternadori, Miglena; Pitchford, Bethany (1 October 2019). "#MeToo Goes Global: Media Framing of Silence Breakers in Four National Settings" . Journal of Communication Inquiry . 43 (4): 437–461. doi :10.1177/0196859919865254 . ISSN 0196-8599 .
^ "Assistant director turns down Tanushree Dutta's claims, gives detailed account of the incident on sets of Chocolate" . Hindustan Times . 5 October 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2020 .
^ Hungama, Bollywood (6 October 2018). "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" . Retrieved 13 February 2020 .
^ "Not strip, but take off bathrobe worn above costume: 'Chocolate' Associate Director Sattyajit Gazmer on Tanushree Dutta's allegations" . Free Press Journal . Retrieved 13 February 2020 .
^ Glynn, Stephen (3 May 2018). The British Football Film . Springer. p. 137. ISBN 9783319777276 .
^ Krämer, Lucia (2 June 2016). Bollywood in Britain: Cinema, Brand, Discursive Complex . Bloomsbury Publishing USA. pp. 74–78. ISBN 9781501307584 .
^ Reviews of Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal :
^ "Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal - Movie - Box Office India" . boxofficeindia.com . Retrieved 23 October 2019 .
^ Business Today . Vol. 17. Living Media India Limited. 2008. p. 60.
^ Reviews of Hate Story :
^ "Hate Story - Movie - Box Office India" . boxofficeindia.com . Retrieved 23 October 2019 .
^ "Jamming away" . The Hindu . 7 April 2011. ISSN 0971-751X . Retrieved 12 January 2020 .
^ Thakkar, Mehul S. (10 April 2016). "Barjatyas bails Vivek Agnihotri's 'Buddha' out of a 'Jam' " . Deccan Chronicle . Retrieved 22 February 2020 .
^ Reviews of Buddha in a Traffic Jam :
^ "Arunoday Singh: I don't consider myself any less successful right now" . Hindustan Times. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2019 .
^ "Buddha In A Traffic Jam - Movie - Box Office India" . boxofficeindia.com . Retrieved 23 October 2019 .
^ Reviews of Junooniyat :
^ "Junooniyat - Movie - Box Office India" . boxofficeindia.com . Retrieved 23 October 2019 .
^ Reviews of Zid :
^ "Zid - Movie - Box Office India" . boxofficeindia.com . Retrieved 23 October 2019 .
^ Sources which say he disassociated with film:
^ "Bhakt Vivek Agnihotri's stars" . www.telegraphindia.com . Retrieved 23 October 2019 .
^ Reviews of The Tashkent Files :
Gupta, Rachit. "The Tashkent Files" . Times of India . Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
Sharma, Devesh. "Movie Review: The Tashkent Files" . Filmfare . Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
"The Tashkent Files Film Review by Prashant Sisodia – फिल्म रिव्यू: द ताशकंत फाइल्ज वीडियो – हिन्दी न्यूज़ वीडियो एनडीटीवी ख़बर" . khabar.ndtv.com . Retrieved 22 April 2019 .
Shekhar, Shashank. "A Valiant & Well Researched Attempt to Uncover the Truth with Thrilling Insights..... - Desimartini.com" . Desimartini . Retrieved 21 April 2019 .
Desai, Rahul. "The Tashkent Files Movie Review: A Second-Hand History Lesson In Third-Rate Politics" . Film Companion . Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
Ramnath, Nandini. " 'The Tashkent Files' movie review: Vivek Agnihotri puts the hysterics into history" . Scroll.in . Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
Chatterjee, Saibal. "The Tashkent Files Movie Review: In A Word, Junk" . NDTV . Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
Samrudhi Ghosh (12 April 2019). "The Tashkent Files Movie Review: Vivek Agnihotri murders logic in Lal Bahadur Shastri death mystery" . India Today . Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
Rosario, Kennith (12 April 2019). " 'The Tashkent Files' movie review: History in the time of conspiracies" . The Hindu . ISSN 0971-751X . Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
"The Tashkent Files Movie Review: A Dull and Drab Conspiracy Theory Film" . News18 . Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
"The Tashkent Files movie review: High on hysteria and hamming, Vivek Agnihotri's film comes off as a cheap trick" . Firstpost . 12 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
"The Tashkent Files movie review: This Vivek Agnihotri film is a series of eye-roll moments" . The Indian Express . 12 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
Pothukuchi, Madhavi (12 April 2019). "Vivek Agnihotri's Tashkent Files adds confusion to many conspiracies over Shastri's death" . ThePrint . Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
"The Tashkent Files movie review: Disgusting propaganda where truth is a luxury" . Hindustantimes.com/ . 12 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
Hungama, Bollywood. "The Tashkent Files Review 1.5/5 | The Tashkent Files Movie Review | The Tashkent Files 2019 Public Review" . Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
"The Tashkent Files Review: A Life-Threatening Headache Presented by Alt-Historian Vivek Agnihotri" . Arré . 12 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
Kapur, Manavi (12 April 2019). "The Tashkent Files review: Bit of truth mixed with lies, presented as fact" . Business Standard India . Retrieved 13 April 2019 .
"The Tashkent Files Movie Review: Juhu-Versova ka JFK" . mid-day . 13 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019 .
"The Tashkent Files review: A tacky thriller that feels longer than the Cold War" . The New Indian Express . Retrieved 26 April 2019 .
" 'The Tashkent Files' – Prejudiced, Amateurish and Cringe-Worthy" . The Quint . 12 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019 .
^ "Bollywood Turns To Plight Of Kashmiri Pandits, At Last" . Outlook India . Retrieved 31 January 2020 .
^ "Vivek Agnihotri film The Kashmir Files to release in August 2020: Not an easy story to tell" . India Today . Indo Asian News Service. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2020 .
^ "After 'The Tashkent Files', Vivek Agnihotri's next titled 'The Kashmir Files' starring Anupam Kher" . Free Press Journal . Retrieved 31 January 2020 .
^ "Forty-Member Panel to Curate Films for IFFI With Agnihotri As Convenor" . The Wire . Retrieved 11 February 2020 .
^ "Pahlaj Nihalani replaced by Prasoon Joshi: Vidya Balan, Vivek Agnihotri in CBFC Board; meet all new members" . The Financial Express . 11 August 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2020 .
^ Scroll Staff. "Pahlaj Nihalani removed as chief of Central Board of Film Certification" . Scroll.in . Retrieved 11 February 2020 .
^ "Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri gets appointed as new cultural representative at Indian Council for Cultural Relations" . DNA India . 15 September 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020 .
^ ANI. "Filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri appointed as new cultural representative at ICCR" . BW Businessworld . Retrieved 15 September 2020 .
^ IANS (15 June 2018). "Not easy to attract eyeballs from government: Vivek Agnihotri" . Business Standard India . Retrieved 20 June 2018 .
^ "Vivek Agnihotri's Urban Naxals: The Making of Buddha in a Traffic Jam | Going beyond the Maoist myth" . The New Indian Express . Retrieved 30 October 2019 .
^ "Urban Naxals - The Making of Buddha In A Traffic Jam" . Indic Today . 30 May 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2019 .
^ a b "He's making a list of 'Urban Naxals', but who is Vivek Agnihotri?" . ThePrint . 29 August 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2019 .
^ a b "Book Review: The Untold Story of Communist Terrorism" . www.organiser.org . Retrieved 23 October 2019 .
^ Coverage and commentary on the term in mainstream media:
^ Coverage and commentary on the term in scholarly sources:
^ Singh, Vivashwan (5 June 2015). " 'Ghoul' and the Spectre of Totalitarianism" . Economic and Political Weekly . 53 (42): 7–8.
^ "भाजपा का नहीं, बल्कि घोर मोदी समर्थक हूं: विवेक अग्निहोत्री" [I'm not a supporter of the BJP, but a strong Modi supporter: Vivek Agnihotri]. Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). Retrieved 8 June 2020 .
^ Sources which say Agnihotri shared misleading content
^ Chowdhury, Archis (10 January 2020). "Vivek Agnihotri Posts A Doctored Image Of Anti-CAA Protester" . www.boomlive.in . Retrieved 18 February 2020 .
^ Sources covering the episode:
^ "The Delhi Files" . IMDb . Retrieved 24 March 2022 .
^ "Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri on National Film Award for best dialogue writer: At least now nobody will question my capabilities" . Hindustan Times . 24 March 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021 .
^ Service, Tribune News. " 'Buddha' back from 'traffic jam" . Tribuneindia News Service . Retrieved 8 June 2021 .
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