Vivek Agnihotri cites Karan Johar's SOTY to point out portrayal in some films is disrespectful to 'sensibilities of the audience'

Vivek Agnihotri has been quite vocal about his opinion on the film industry. Recently in an unfiltered chat with Afwaah director Sudhir Mishra, he opened up about how he feels being boycotted in the film industry. He also expressed concern about how middle-class audiences fail to relate to movies being made in the current times. Citing the example of filmmaker Karan Johar’s film, Student Of The Year, he said that such films are disrespectful to the sensibilities of the audience.

“Nobody talks to me in the industry, I feel I am totally boycotted. So whom do I talk to? Hence I have found my solace in middle-class people. And when I talked to the housewives, they mentioned having issues with this over-exposure and vulgar display of physical attitude. People are irritated because films do not address the real concerns,” The Kashmir Files director said. He mentioned Student of The Year and questioned its relatability to the people of India. “I am saying it without malice, but Student of the Year, and films after that, just see the youth in those films and the youth on the roads of the country, you won’t find the youth shown in the movies. But today, there is no relatability. Why are you disrespecting the sensibilities of the audience?” he added.

Also read: 'Why don't you produce films by casting them': Vivek Agnihotri receives backlash over his reaction to Karan Johar's old video 

For the unversed, Karan's SOTY featured Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra in lead roles. The film was released in 2012 and was commercially successful. Furthermore, Vivek pointed out how he and Kangana Ranaut are the only ones in the industry who question the workings of the film industry. “If the establishment does something wrong, we have the right to question it, at least the intellectuals and liberals should do it. So, the film industry is also an establishment. Those who are questioning the state, should they not first question the establishment from which they are earning a living. So, who has questioned Bollywood besides Kangana and me? And, why should I be bothered if I question the practices of the industry?” the filmmaker asked. Meanwhile, the filmmaker is busy working on his upcoming film, The Vaccine War which also stars Anupam Kher.