Vivek Agnihotri: Everything About The Indian Filmmaker!

Vivek Agnihotri is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, and author who works in the Hindi film industry. A former advertising professional, Vivek stepped into the world of cinema by directing the movie ‘Chocolate’ in 2005. Later, he went on to win the National Film Award for Best Screenplay – Dialogues for the movie ‘The Tashkent Files’.

Vivek owns the production company ‘Vivek Agnihotri Creates’ and is also a member of the board of India’s Central Board of Film Certification. The director is also a cultural representative of Indian Cinema at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

Physical Stats

Vivek Agnihotri Family

Vivek was born on 10 November 1973 to Dr. Prabhu Dayal Agnihotri, a Sanskrit Scholar who worked at Jabalpur University, and Sharda Agnihotri.

Relationships

In 1990, Vivek met film and television actress Pallavi Joshi for the first time at a rock concert. Both of them were feeling bored of the program and Vivek brought Pallavi something to drink. During their first meeting, Pallavi didn’t like Vivek and felt that he was a bit rude.

Eventually, the couple got to know each other better on both personal and professional fronts. They later started dating and after three years, the couple got married on 28th June 1997 in Mumbai. They have two children, Maalika and Manan.

Education

Vivek is a science graduate and later completed post-graduation in Planning (Economics) from the School of Social Science, Bhopal University. Later, the director went on to study advertising at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi. Vivek also attended the ‘Organisation & Management’ course (CSS) at Harvard University.

Controversies

In September 2018, Bollywood actress Tanushree Dutta accused Vivek of misbehaving with her during the shooting of the film ‘Chocolate’ in 2005. According to Tanushree, the director demanded her to strip and give cues to costar Irrfan Khan.

The actress also said that though she was not even part of the shot, Vivek wanted her to give cues to Irrfan. However, Vivek later came out in public against Tanushree and said that the allegation raised by the actress was baseless. The director also served a legal notice initiating a defamation suit against the actress.

Vivek Agnihotri Profession

In the initial stages of his career, Vivek Agnihotri, an advertising professional worked with top-notch ad agencies of international repute such as J. Walter Thompson, Ogilvy & Mather, and McCann. He also worked in the role of Creative Director for advertising campaigns of leading brands such as Gillette and Coca-Cola. Later, in 1994, Vivek turned to the direction and production of television serials and received critical acclaim for his work. 

In 2005 he debuted in the Hindi film industry by writing and directing the film ‘Chocolate’. However, the film flopped at the box office. In the following years, Vivek went on to direct several movies such as Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal, Hate Story, Zid, Buddha in a Traffic Jam, and Junooniyat.

However, those films failed to create an impact on the movie-watching audience. Vivek also established the production company ‘Vivek Agnihotri Creates’ in 2000.

In 2019, Vivek turned producer, writer, and director for the film ‘The Tashkent Files’. The movie turned out to be a commercial success and he won the National Film Award for Best Screenplay – Dialogues. Vivek got a major break in 2022 with the film ‘The Kashmir Files. Though the movie stirred controversy, it turned out to be the highest-grossing Indian film of the year.

The upcoming films directed by Vivek include ‘The Delhi Files’ based on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and The Vaccine War, slated to be released on 15th August 2023.

Vivek Agnihotri Net worth

Vivek’s main source of income is from directing and producing films. Reportedly, his net worth stands at Rs.40 crore.

Lesser Known Facts About Vivek Agnihotri

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