Vivek Agnihotri slams Anurag Kashyap, says 'Bollywood has started campaign against The Kashmir Files for Oscars'

Vivek Agnihotri lashed out at Anurag Kashyap after he said that he doesn't want The Kashmir Files to be India's official selection for Oscars.

Anurag Kashyap recently lauded SS Rajamouli's RRR and said that the Jr NTR and Ram Charan-starrer has "99 per cent chance" of getting an Oscar nomination in the Best International Feature Film category if it is selected as India's official entry to the Academy Awards. He later added that he hopes The Kashmir Files is not picked, which did not go down well with the film's director, Vivek Agnihotri.

Vivek Agnihotri took to Twitter to share a screenshot of the news report and blasted Anurag Kashyap and also accused Bollywood of starting a campaign against The Kashmir Files for Oscars. He wrote, ""IMPORTANT: The vicious, GENOCIDE-DENIER lobby of Bollywood has started their campaign against #TheKashmirFiles for #Oscars, under the leadership of the maker of #Dobaaraa (sic)."

Recently, filmmaker, Anurag Kashyap, in an interview with Galatta Plus, spoke about India's Oscars entry this year and said, "India might actually have a nomination in the final five if RRR is the film they pick. I don’t know what film anybody is going to pick. I hope not The Kashmir Files."

The Kashmir Files is based on the life of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990, during the Kashmir insurgency. The film is a true story, based on video interviews of the first generation victims of The Kashmir Genocide of the Kashmiri Pandit Community. It’s a heart-wrenching narrative of the pain, suffering, struggle and trauma of Kashmiri pandits which also questions eye-opening facts about democracy, religion, politics and humanity.

RRR is a period drama that features Jr NTR and Ram Charan as the parallel leads. Tarak plays the tribal leader Komaram Bheem, while Charan essays the role of the revolutionary Alluri Sitharamaraju. The fictional tale celebrates their friendship and tales of valour. The film stars Alia Bhatt as the leading lady and marks her Tollywood debut. The cast includes Ajay Devgn, Shriya Saran, Samuthirakani, Ray Stevenson, and Olivia Morris, among others. RRR was SS Rajamouli's first release after Baahubali 2 (2017).