Vivek Agnihotri tweets against period show cliches ‘kotha, curly hair, trams’ but doesn’t name Jubilee

Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri is seemingly taking potshots at Vikramaditya Motwane’s Jubilee in his latest tweet. The recently released show stars Aparshakti Khurana, Sidhant Gupta, Aditi Rao Hydari and others and is based in 1950s Mumbai. (Also read: Jubilee review: Sidhant Gupta delivers star-making performance in Motwane’s sad, slow burn about movies)

While Vivek added a disclaimer to his tweet that he wasn’t talking about any particular film or show but simply sharing general observations, the similarities between his post and tropes used in Jubilee were uncanny.

He wrote, “Why is it that the moment Bollywood makes period stories, they become slow, lethargic and lifeless. Even in that period people found their lives very busy like we find today’s life. And why everyone is always dressed up in retro fashion of today not of that period? Why cant we make period where everyone acts normal and not like they are burdened with doing period.”

He added, “And why Bollywood’s period stuff can’t be made without old gramophone, trams, kotha, curly hair and speaking dialogues as if everyone is hungover or stoned. Is it because they are trying to impress critics and their peers rather than engaging the audience?” Jubilee does indeed have kothas, gramophones, trams and men in curly hair.

His disclaimer also read, “General observations as a viewer, not about any particular film/web series/TV.”

Jubilee chronicles the lives of a studio bigwig, his movie-star wife, his trusted aide, a rising star, a nautch girl and a refugee in 1940s and 50s. Co-created by Vikramaditya and Soumik Sen, the series also stars Wamiqa Gabbi, Prosenjit Chatterjee and Nandish Sandhu.

Hindustan Times review of the show read: ‘There have been long series with longer episodes in the past as well but in Jubilee’s case, its slow burn quality doesn’t help its case. Perhaps closest in pace and visual style to Motwane’s Lootera, it takes its sweet time to explore the story of a man’s murder and another’s guilt at the core of it. It meanders far and wide to the pastures of filmmaking in post-Independence India, star-making film studios, a refugee from Pakistan dreaming big, a sex worker finding new opportunities, and somehow, even Russians and Americans warring for clout in India. There is a lot going on in Jubilee at all times, however, only a few bits are able to justify the long run time.’