Vivek Agnihotri reacts on John Abraham's comment on propaganda movies; says, 'He can eat protein, ride bikes'

Vivek Agnihotri’s movie The Bengal Files is going to release on September 5, 2025. It is already embroiled in a number of controversies. Actor Saswata Chatterjee who is playing a pivotal character said that when he signed the movie it was known as The Bengal Files. He also stated that he was not given a complete narration of the script of the movie. We also know that the grandson of Gopal Chandra Mukherjee, known as Gopal Patha has filed a case. He said his late grandfather being projected as a butcher is an insult to his legacy. A case has been filed in the Bow Bazaar Police Station.

The filmmaker did an interview with NDTV where he was asked about John Abraham’s comments on these kind of movies creating communal tension. Vivek Agnihotri said that John Abraham was not a historian, an intellectual or a writer. He said that the macho actor was himself a part of jingoistic films like Satyameva Jayate. Vivek Agnihotri said John Abraham’s claim to fame was riding bikes and eating protein. He said he should focus on the same. Vivek Agnihotri said no one can escape a hyper-political atmosphere. He said there is politics all around them. He said his film is against those who make common people suffer in the name of terrorism associated with religion.

“John is not a historian, an intellectual, a thinker or a writer. He has been making very, very jingoistic films like #SatyamevaJayate, #Diplomat, etc. He must have made that comment for a variety of reasons…. He is known for driving motorbikes and showing his body and eating protein, he should focus on those things.”

- Vivek Agnihotri to NDTV

Vivek Agnihotri said the common man cannot escape politics. John Abraham had said that he could never be a part of films like The Kashmir Files or Chhaava. He said society is already in tumult with the hyper-political atmosphere. The Bengal Files is about the Direct Action Day that led to terrible communal riots in Bengal. A number of Bengali Hindus and Muslims died in the events the epicentre of which was Noakhali. Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files made close to Rs 300 crores at the box office.