The Kashmir Files Director Says Bhopalis Are Homosexual, Digvijaya Singh Hits Back

The retort by Digvijaya Singh came after a video of Vivek Agnihotri's remarks went viral just before the filmmaker's visit to Bhopal.

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh and Kashmir Files director Vivek Agnihotri (PTI file)

New Delhi: Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and Congress leader Digvijaya Singh hit out at filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, the director of The Kashmir Files, on Friday over his remark that "Bhopalis" are assumed to be "homosexual".

Digvijaya Singh said it must be Agnihotri's personal experience but not of any common Bhopali.

"Vivek Agnihotri ji, this could be your experience, but not that of common Bhopal residents. I am associated with Bhopal and Bhopal residents since 1977, but I never had this experience. Wherever you stay, there's always an influence of the company you keep," Digvijaya Singh tweeted.

The retort by Digvijaya Singh came after a video of Agnihotri's remarks went viral just before the filmmaker's visit to Bhopal.

In the video, Agnihotri can heard saying that people often assume 'Bhopalis' to be homosexuals because of their "nawabi desires".

"I was brought up in Bhopal, but I am not Bhopali. The word Bhopali has a different connotation. I will tell you in private or you can ask some Bhopali. If you call someone a Bhopali it means the person is homosexual who has nawabi desires," Agnihotri says.

Meanwhile, Vivek Agnihotri on Friday met Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. They planted saplings at the Smart City Park in Bhopal.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan also promised government help to the director's proposal of a Genocide museum in the state.

MP Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang also met Agnihotri and praised him for the film. "I had a very warm meeting with courageous Vivek Agnihotri, who had in an extraordinary way displayed Kashmiri Pandits' pain on the screen with Kashmir Files," Sarang tweeted.

The film depicts the exodus of Hindus from the Kashmir Valley following systematic killings of people from the community by Pakistan-backed terrorists.

The film, which was released on March 11, has sparked a debate among political parties. Several BJP-ruled states, including Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, have exempted the film from entertainment tax.