Vivek Agnihotri asks Mamata Banerjee for withdrawal of her comments on The Kashmir Files, sends legal notice

Day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a ban on The Kerala Story, The Kashmir Files director Vivek Agnihotri has revealed that he has sent a legal notice to her for her comments made about him and the film. He along with Pallavi Joshi and Abhishek Agarwal have asked Mamata to “tender unconditional apology” by “withdrawing all the allegations” against them and their films on May 8. Also read: Mamata Banerjee announces ban on The Kerala Story in West Bengal, film producer reacts

During her address to the media while announcing a ban on The Kerala Story, Mamata had said, “What was ‘The Kashmir Files’? It was meant purely to humiliate a particular section of society. What is ‘The Kerala Story’? It is a distorted story.”

Sharing a four-page-long notice sent to Mamata, Vivek wrote on Twitter on Tuesday, “BREAKING: I have, alongwith @AbhishekOfficl & Pallavi Joshi, sent a LEGAL NOTICE to the Chief Minister, Bengal @MamataOfficial for her false & highly defamatory statements made with malafide intention to defame us & our films #TheKashmirFiles & upcoming 2024 film #TheDelhiFiles.”

Through their advocate, Vivek has said that Mamata called The Kashmir Files “a conspiracy” and that it is mostly fiction and planned. Addressed to Mamata, the notice read: “You had tweeted the same and also made statement on floor of the assembly without taking the name of the movie. You further stated that the movie is funded and created and that there is conspiracy to create unrest. You also urged the people not to watch the movie.” It is stated that her statements caused great amount of damage to the filmmaker’s reputation and the profit of the film.

It is also stated that the filmmaker had planned to make a movie on Bengal Genocide in 1946-47 and 1971 titled Delhi Files but when they announced the project in Kolkata, they were “attacked, abused, threatened of FIRs” by Mamata’s party members.

It claims that with stroke of single statement made by her, “all the hard work, commitment, truthfulness” of the filmmakers got damaged bringing bad name to movie and them and “the same is irreparable.” As per the notice, Mamata prevented the making of The Delhi Files only to “gain easy popularity among the so called seculars in the country” and “to see that the Bengal genocide does not see the light of the day and to keep the public at large in dark on the said issue”.

Demaning an apology from her, the notice read: “It is required that either you substantiate the allegations made by you against my clients and their movie by producing authenticated proof or to withdraw your statements by addressing media in similar manner and tendering unconditional apology to them. You need to give equal amount of publicity for withdrawing the accusations made against my clients.” It is mentioned that in absence of the same, the filmmaker will go ahead with legal proceedings against the West Bengal CM.