Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri has been in the news over the past few weeks for the resounding success of his film The Kashmir Files. However, on Friday, the director landed in the lap of controversy for a reason not associated with the film. He reportedly stated that the term Bhopali means “homosexual” in local parlance. Following the comment, Congress leaders of the state demanded an apology from him for "insulting" the city in Madhya Pradesh.
A video of Vivek Agnihotri's interview to an online channel went viral ahead of his visit to Bhopal on Friday to participate in a film festival. The clip, which is said to be three weeks old, has the filmmaker say in Hindi, "I have grown up in Bhopal, but I am not a Bhopali. Because Bhopali has a different connotation. You can ask any Bhopali. I will explain it to you in private. If someone says he is Bhopali, it generally means he is homosexual, a person with Nawabi likings."
Congress leader Digvijay Singh took to his Twitter to raise an objection to the comment. "Vivek Agnihotri ji, this might be your personal experience. This is not the experience of an ordinary Bhopal resident. I have been associated with Bhopal and Bhopalis since 1977, but my experience has not been so. The influence of company has an effect, wherever you may live," Mr Singh tweeted.
Former state minister PC Sharma demanded an apology from the filmmaker. He said that Agnihotri has committed a crime by using words like homosexual for the people of Bhopal. Meanwhile, MP Congress's media in-charge KK Mishra questioned whether the state home Minister Narottam Mishra will take action against the filmmaker as he has done for other film producers in the recent past.
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