‘Bhopalis Are Homosexual, Someone With Nawabi Shaukh’: The Kashmir Files Director Vivek Agnihotri Stokes Fresh Controversy. Read On

"I have grown up in Bhopal, but I do not want to call myself a Bhopali because that carries a certain connotation. If someone calls himself a Bhopali, it generally means that person is a homosexual.. someone with 'nawabi' fantasies", Vivek Agnihotri made the remarks in an interview.

Vivek Agnihotri’s Controversial Remarks: Amid ongoing buzz over his recently-released film The Kashmir Files, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri has stoked a fresh controversy with his remarks that ‘Bhopalis (people from Bhopal) are homosexual’. “I have grown up in Bhopal, but I do not want to call myself a Bhopali because that carries a certain connotation. If someone calls himself a Bhopali, it generally means that person is a homosexual.. someone with ‘nawabi‘ fantasies”, Agnihotri made the remarks in an interview.

A clip of the video interview has gone viral on social media, before his visit to Bhopal, where he will be taking part in a film festival organized by RSS affiliate Chitra Bharti.

His comments did not go down well with Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh. Taking to Twitter, Singh stated that Vivek Agnihotri Ji this must be your personal experience but not of any common Bhopali. “I am also in contact of Bhopal and Bhopalis since 77 but never experienced it. ‘Company matters’,” the veteran leader tweeted.

विवेक अग्निहोत्री जी यह आपका अपना निजी अनुभव हो सकता है।
यह आम भोपाल निवासी का नहीं है।
मैं भी भोपाल और भोपालियों के संपर्क में 77 से हूँ लेकिन मेरा तो यह अनुभव कभी नहीं रहा।
आप कहीं भी रहें “संगत का असर तो होता ही है”।#KashmirFiles@vivekagnihotri https://t.co/L98WIQvgd2

— digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) March 25, 2022

How Twitterati Reacted to Vivek Agnihotri’s Remarks

Condemning Agnihotri’s comment, a Twitter user said it was an insult to Barkatullah Bhopali and former president of India Shankar Dayal Sharma who contributed tremendously to the freedom struggle.

“I am sure people sitting in government will condemn it as several leaders from the BJP like Babulal Gaur and Pandit Uadhavdas Mehta ji were pure Bhopalis. Former Mayor Alok Sharma also calls himself a proud Bhopali,” wrote Anas Ali.

Check some of the other tweets here:-

Homosexuality विवेक अग्निहोत्री जी का निजी अनुभव हो सकता है। यह निंदनीय है , यह भोपाल की 25 लाख जनता का अपमान हे ।। #KashmirFiles@vivekagnihotri

— ठाकुर सुनील कुमार राठौर (@incsuneelthakur) March 25, 2022

सिर चढ़ाया, अब झेलो।

फिल्म तो मात्र व्यक्तिगत मनोरंजन के लिए होती है, अनावश्यक जरूरत से ज्यादा तबाज्जो देने का दुष्परिणाम है.

— Prakash Sharma (@Prakash40804919) March 25, 2022

Helmed by Anupam Kher, the film highlights the atrocities against Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s when they were killed, persecuted and forced to leave their homes overnight. The film which outlines the brutalities endured by the Kashmiri Pandits has received a massive push from the Centre and states.