EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW! Vivek Agnihotri on 'The Kashmir Files Unreported': Bollywood is like ‘Dongi Baba’

Vivek Agnihotri believes that he feels that it is important to tell real stories from the horses’ mouths to show what the Kashmiri Pandits went through. He even talks about the Manipur tragedy and why he refuses to be a part of Bollywood mindset and considers it to be a dongi Baba who is not interested in telling genuine stories. Being a product of JNU, he thinks that the institute has been brainwashing students for years and creating certain kind of students who are opposing everything just for the sake of it.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

Putting it into a documentary format, how difficult was the process, the methodology and the time that took for it?

I would say it’s not everybody’s game. You have hundreds and hundreds of hours of footage and everything sounds so correct and good and you feel like keeping the whole of it. But you have to scan through it and stitch it all together and make some meaning out of it.  Everything is story telling ultimately and even an essay is storytelling. Everything has to make sense and has to flow and you also have to weave the story in such a way that it is able to convey everything. And then you have to maintain honesty and sincerity. It’s a multi-layered work. It’s a long process.

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When you did _The Kashmir Files_ there were many who loved it and there were many who hated it, but nobody could ignore it.  How did you deal with the reaction?

When we started shooting everybody said, ‘Pagaal ho kiya… maar jao ga’ (Are you mad, you will be dead) and that made me think why is everybody saying that I am going to be dead. If you have to write an article on Manipur tomorrow, but there will be people saying don’t do it. So, if you speak the truth you might be killed. This made me stronger and my conviction became full proof.

You again said, a lot of people loved it, a lot of people hated it, but nobody could ignore it. I feel this is a cliché observation. I don’t think even one percent hated it, but yes a lot of people denied it. There are holocaust deniers also and there are Manipur deniers also. Even when the Nirbhaya case happened, people were denying that too. So, there are deniers in this country who do it for political reasons. Either they are supporters of terrorism or they have a political agenda. But why would anybody hate it? I feel only an inhuman person can hate The Kashmir Files.

Don’t you think our country is filled with inhuman people, considering what is happening in Manipur?

Yes, that’s why these films are so important. This is what happens when you let inhumanity seep into your society.

You are very much a part of Bollywood. But you maintain a distance. How do you maintain a relationship with your fellow directors?

Contrary to popular belief, directors don’t have much problems interacting with each other. But we are not part of the Bollywood mindset. For me Bollywood is a mindset. Bollywood is like a ‘dongi Baba’, so anybody who is not interested in telling genuine stories. Anybody whose entire story telling is centered around a star, people who create stars out of hype and not talent, people who disrespect everybody else except for the stars and where writers are not known.

You have been a product of JNU, how has the institute shaped you?

My DNA is very different. I am not the kind of person who can be shaped by institutes. I also went to Harvard and there is a very famous saying, that this is the Harvard gate and they say, if a horse goes in a horse will come out. But if an ass goes in an ass will come out. So, the thing is, I don’t think institutes can shape you and if it is happening, it’s a failure on the part of the institute. Institute should help you in critical thinking rather than shaping your mind in a certain direction.

The problem with JNU is that it has been brainwashing students. This particular institute is creating certain kinds of students who think opposing everything just for the sake of it, is cool. Sometimes you need to do good for society and just being a critic just doesn’t help. I have been a Naxal too and a leftist and have very intense politics, but I have learnt one thing that it is useless being a critic. You end up as a frustrated person and your contribution to society is nothing. I would say I have spent so much time in Bollywood and in JNU, it didn’t shape me in any way. I am who I am.

The Kashmir Files Unreported will premiere on 11th August on Zee5.