'The Kashmir Files' director Vivek Agnihotri sends legal notice to Mamata for defamatory remark

Vivek Agnihotri, director of the 2022 blockbuster film 'The Kashmir Files', sent a legal notice to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee regarding her comments on the movie. Agnihotri claimed that Banerjee had referred to his upcoming film about the Bengal genocide and 'The Kashmir Files' as propaganda and alleged that the BJP funds him. "We have sent a legal notice to CM Mamata Banerjee against the statements she made," Agnihotri told ANI.

Agnihotri also stated that he has been facing difficulties in the past year due to politicians, journalists, and fact-checkers trying to silence him. He cited an instance where his daughter's picture was circulated by fact-checkers after they lifted it from her Instagram profile.

Released in 2022, 'The Kashmir Files' depicted the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir Valley in 1990 and sparked controversy upon its release. Critics of the film claimed that it had a communal agenda.

Mamata Banerjee had recently banned Sudipto Sen's 'The Kerala Story' in Bengal and criticised 'The Kashmir Files,' claiming that it was intended to humiliate one section of society. Banerjee also suggested that the BJP was funding the film and that the CPI(M) was working with the BJP.

The Bengal government's decision to ban 'The Kerala Story' has resulted in a political battle between the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP has accused the TMC of supporting terrorism and claimed that the film was against terrorism and ISIS.