Bollywood director Vivek Agnihotri, who often courts controversies for his comments, has once again taken potshots at Bollywood stars, calling them "dumb". In a recent podcast, Agnihotri slammed Bollywood actors and said he was far more intelligent than them.
The Kashmir Files director said that he stopped working with Bollywood actors because they were 'not educated" and “dumb”. "I am not saying it arrogantly, but I am telling the truth. I started feeling that the stars I worked with were not educated and had no idea about the world," Vivek Agnihotri said.
"I am far more intelligent and my worldview is better than theirs. So their dumbness was pulling me down. They are so dumb that they will pull you down with them," the filmmaker was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
Why is Indian cinema so dumb? Agnihori further asked, and then answered the question. "Bollywood films are dumb because of the stars. The stars are so dumb that they make every director and writer dumb."
He continued, "The film is never known because of me, the film is always known because of the dumb actor. So I resigned mentally from Bollywood."
Agnihotri made his directorial debut with the 2005 crime thriller Chocolate, a remake of the 1995 Hollywood neo-noir crime thriller The Usual Suspects. In his filmmaking career, Agnihotri has worked with many notable actors, including Anupam Kher and Pallavi Joshi, who is also his wife.
Recently, Vivek Agnihotri helmed The Kashmir Files, which won the Nargis Dutt Award in the category of Best Feature Film on National Integration at the 69th National Film Awards.
Agnihotri is currently preparing for the release of his next film, The Vaccine War, starring Nana Patekar, Anupam Kher, Raima Sen and Pallavi Joshi in pivotal roles. The film is all set to hit the theatres on September 28.
