Vivek Agnihotri, the director of the acclaimed film ‘The Kashmir Files’, has been making headlines again, this time with his upcoming project, ‘The Bengal Files.’ During interviews, Agnihotri has made some strong statements about his role as a filmmaker and his connection to the Hindu community. He has stated that he sees himself as the voice of Hindus and even likened his work to that of a ‘psychiatrist of cinema.’
‘The Bengal Files’ seeks to explore the untold stories of Bengal’s past. Agnihotri emphasized the film’s significance: “It is very important that I make this film, to make the youth aware, to give them knowledge. Also, the entire community gets a chance to express a generational trauma.”
Reflecting on the impact of ‘The Kashmir Files,’ he explained, “Acknowledging trauma is the first step towards healing. Through this film, I have worked as a psychiatrist for the entire Indian society.” He then added, “I am a filmmaker-psychiatrist.”
When asked directly if he considered himself the voice of Hindus, Agnihotri responded with confidence: “Yes, why not? In fact, I think I am the voice of the entire Hindu civilization. I try to do this, and civilization doesn’t mean that everything is great and good. I want to talk about what went wrong in civilization or with civilization.”
He further discussed his focus on Hindu history: “People have been raising the issue of different communities and have been their voice. If someone makes films for the LGBT community, then they are their voice… I cannot make films on Islamic or Christian history because I do not know them well enough. My access to Hindu history is greater than any other history. That’s why I make it.”
The film, which stars Mithun Chakraborty, Darshan Kumar, and others, is scheduled for release on September 5th and aims to bring awareness to Bengal’s ‘untold history’.