Vivek Agnihotri reacts to action against Arundhati Roy, posts The Kashmir Files scene clip: ‘Villain was based on…’
Delhi LG VK Saxena gave his nod to prosecute Arundhati Roy and Sheikh Showkat Hussain, under UAPA, for allegedly making provocative speeches.
Director-producer Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri on Saturday claimed that the “villain” character shown in his movie The Kashmir Files was based on real people, and the “Left ecosystem" was angry with him because he showed the “real face of the villains of Kashmir.” His reaction comes a day after Raj Niwas officials said Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena has accorded sanction to prosecute author Arundhati Roy and Sheikh Showkat Hussain, a former professor in Kashmir, under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for allegedly making provocative speeches at an event in New Delhi in 2010.
Sharing a collage of video clips featuring Arundhati Roy and a scene from the controversial movie released in 2023 on X (formally Twitter), Vivek Agnihotri wrote, “The villain in #TheKashmirFiles was based on real people. The left ecosystem wasn’t angry with me because I showed the pain of Kashmiri Hindus. They were angry because I showed the real face of the villains of Kashmir. Let’s see what happens after #TheDelhiFiles.”
Arundhati Roy and Sheikh Showkat Hussain had allegedly made provocative speeches at a conference organised under the banner of 'Azadi - The Only Way' on October 21, 2010, at LTG Auditorium, Copernicus Marg, in New Delhi.
In the video clip shared by Vivek Agnihotri, actor Pallavi Joshi, whose character was believed to have been modelled after Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy, is heard saying, “Kashmir has never been an integral part of India and this is a historical fact.”
Written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri and produced by Zee Studios, the film depicts the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley in the 1990s.
Case against Arundhati Roy
The FIR in the matter was registered on a complaint made by Sushil Pandit, a social activist from Kashmir, on October 28, 2010.
"Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena has sanctioned the prosecution of Arundhati Roy and former Professor of International Law in Central University of Kashmir, Dr. Sheikh Showkat Hussain, under section 45 (1) of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the case," a Raj Niwas official said on Friday.
Last October, the LG had granted sanction to prosecute them under section 196 of CrPC for commission of offences punishable under different sections of the Indian Penal Code: 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief).
