Police complaint filed in Mumbai against Vivek Agnihotri for 'Bhopali means homosexual' remark
Mumbai, Mar 26: A complaint has been filed against 'The Kashmir Files' director Vivek Agnihotri at a police station in Mumbai over his "Bhopali means homosexual" comment seeking registration of an FIR for defamation and other charges.
The complaint was submitted at Versova police station by journalist-cum-celebrity public relations manager Rohit Pandey through his lawyer Ali Kashif Khan Deshmukh, a police official said on Saturday.
The complainant alleged that the director of 'The Kashmir Files' insulted and disrespected his (Pandey's) native place Bhopal by "willingly, wantonly and maliciously calling Bhopalis as homosexuals" in an interview with media, the official said quoting the complaint.
The official confirmed the receipt of the written complaint.
The complainant has sought registration of an FIR against Agnihotri under sections 153 A and B for promoting enmity between different groups, 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 298 (Uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings), 500 (Punishment for defamation), 505-II (Statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill will between classes)
A video clip of Agnihotri's interview to an online channel had gone viral ahead of his Bhopal visit on Friday to participate in a film festival.
The clip, said to be three weeks old, shows Agnihotri saying in Hindi, I have grown up in Bhopal, but I am not a Bhopali. Because Bhopali has a different connotation. You can ask any Bhopali. I will explain it to you in private. If someone says he is Bhopali, it generally means he is homosexual, a person with Nawabi likings.
Agnihotri's comment had drawn flak from politicians and netizens who said it was made in bad taste and an insult to the people of Bhopal.
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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge met a high-level delegation from Chile, led by Chilean Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna, at Vidhana Soudha on Thursday to discuss collaboration in emerging technologies, clean energy, and startup ecosystems, officials said.
The delegation’s visit to Bengaluru, as part of its India engagements, underscores Karnataka’s growing prominence as a preferred partner for global collaborations in technology, innovation, and startup ecosystems, officials added.
The discussions reflected strong alignment between Chile’s evolving technology-focused growth strategy and Karnataka’s established leadership in innovation and deep-tech ecosystems, according to a statement.
Both sides explored opportunities to build partnerships that move beyond traditional sectors and focus on innovation-led growth, talent exchange, and market access.
The meeting focused on opportunities in renewable energy, including green hydrogen and sustainable industrial innovation.
Other potential areas of collaboration included marine biotechnology, aquaculture technologies, and AI applications across traditional industries.
According to the state IT minister, Karnataka is now a global hub for deep-tech, AI, biotech, aerospace, and advanced research, backed by one of the world’s strongest talent pipelines.
“As partners under the global innovation alliance, we must move beyond agreements on paper to actionable collaboration,” Kharge said.
“We are keen to work with Chile on startup exchanges, market access programmes, and building joint innovation corridors, including R&D centres, incubators, and accelerators. Chile’s position as a gateway to Latin America presents a significant opportunity for our startups to scale globally,” he added.
Officials said the engagement builds on the Letter of Intent signed between the Government of Karnataka and the Government of Chile during the Bengaluru Tech Summit, which established a framework for collaboration in startups, emerging technologies, research, and skill development under the Global Innovation Alliance.
Mackenna, Chile’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, said the country is actively advancing its transition toward a knowledge- and technology-driven economy.
“Our engagement with Karnataka reflects our interest in building strong innovation partnerships that enable technology exchange, talent collaboration, and access to dynamic startup ecosystems,” he added.
“We see significant potential to work together in sectors such as clean energy, digital technologies, and emerging industries, while also strengthening Chile’s role as a bridge between India and Latin America,” he said.
