Vivek Agnihotri

The Bengal Files sparked major controversy in West Bengal; Gopal Patha's grandson sent a legal notice and filed a complaint, while political figures accused Agnihotri of historical propaganda.

State of the evidence

Complaint, legal notice, petition and court decisions documented

Attribution

Direct creative responsibility

Agnihotri published a photograph of a cinema audience including children at a screening of The Bengal Files, despite the film's "A" certification, prompting criticism over compliance with age restrictions.

State of the evidence

Agnihotri's post and public controversy documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility for publication; responsibility for children's actual admission not established

Criminal contempt proceedings had been initiated following posts by Agnihotri accusing Justice S. Muralidhar of bias.

State of the evidence

Contempt proceedings and discharge order documented

Attribution

Personal responsibility for his posts

Agnihotri, Pallavi Joshi and their producer sent a legal notice to Mamata Banerjee after she described The Kashmir Files as a BJP-backed propaganda film.

State of the evidence

Legal notice documented

Attribution

Party to a legal dispute

Agnihotri sparked controversy by explaining in an interview that the term "Bhopali" could have a homosexual connotation; a complaint was filed in Bhopal.

State of the evidence

Statement and filed complaint documented

Attribution

Direct personal responsibility for remarks

At IFFI, jury president Nadav Lapid described The Kashmir Files as a propaganda film and a "vulgar movie", triggering an international controversy.

State of the evidence

Jury statements, reactions and defence documented

Attribution

Direct creative responsibility

Several of Agnihotri's posts were debunked: a claim attributing decisions during the 1965 war to Nehru, who had died in 1964, an altered photograph of an anti-CAA protester, and an edited clip of Kanhaiya Kumar.

State of the evidence

Several posts and fact-checks documented

Attribution

Direct personal responsibility for posts

Tanushree Dutta claimed that Agnihotri had asked her to remove her clothes and dance off-camera to help Irrfan Khan perform a scene during Chocolate.

State of the evidence

Public allegation and formal denial documented

Attribution

Direct personal allegation, disputed

Following an exchange with Swara Bhasker about a nun's case in Kerala, Agnihotri used the hashtag "#MeTooProstituteNun". Twitter locked his account until the post was deleted.

State of the evidence

Account lock and tweet deletion documented

Attribution

Direct personal responsibility for the post