INDIA: Vivek Agnihotri, popular for his direction in The Tashkent Files and The Kashmir Files, has sent a legal notice to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her remark on the film.
The filmmaker took the following action days after Bengal CM ordered a ban on the latest release, The Kerala Story, saying that the film is a “distorted story”. In her address to media reporters, she also talked about Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files, calling that the film’s sole purpose was to humiliate a specific segment of society.
Following the Bengal CM’s comment on the film, Vivek Agnihotri shared a clip of the same on his Twitter handle.
He wrote, “In this video, I guess @MamataOfficial didi is talking about me. Yes, I came to Bengal to interview survivors of the Direct Action Day genocide instigated by Khilafat. And the role of Gopal Patha. Why are you scared?”
“#TheKashmirFiles was about Genocide and terrorism. On what basis do you think it was to defame the Kashmiri people? On what basis do you say so maliciously that it is funded by a political party? Why shouldn’t I file a defamation case and a case of Genocide Denial against you? Btw (by the way), the film is called #TheDelhiFiles, not Bengal Files. And nobody can silence me,” he wrote further.
Today (May 9, 2023), Vivek Agnihotri announced that he, along with Abhishek Aggarwal (producer of The Kashmir Files) and Pallavi Joshi (Vivek Agnihotri’s wife), has sent a defamation notice to Bengal CM. The makers have demanded that the CM retract all claims made against them and their films on May 8.
He added, “We have issued a LEGAL NOTICE on the Chief Minister of Bengal for making false and extremely defamatory claims with the intent of defaming us and our movie The Kashmir Files and the upcoming The Delhi Files in 2024.”
Agnihotri shared an entire copy of the notice on his Twitter handle. As per the legal notice, Bengal CM must either verify her claims against the creators of The Kashmir Files and their film by providing verifiable evidence, or she must retract her assertions by speaking to the media in a similar way and offering a sincere apology to the filmmakers.
“I have specific instructions from my clients to call upon you to tender an unconditional apology to my clients by withdrawing all the allegations, statements, and accusations made by you in your address to the media on 08-05-2023 in respect of their films The Kashmir Files and The Delhi Files,” it read further.
Also Read: The Kerala Story: Adah Sharma’s Film Rules the Box Office on Day 3
