Bollywood director Vivek Agnihotri said Javed Akhtar may be a communist but he is tied to the roots of India. He went on to praise the veteran writer by saying his stories reflected India's social issues.
He told The Carvaka Podcast that even a man like Javed Akhtar wrote bhajans in pure Hindi for Lagaan. "There is not a single word in it because these were well-read, intelligent people who were tied to the roots of India."
"He (Javed Akhtar) may be a communist. He may fight against the right wing. It doesn't matter," added Agnihotri.
Praising Akhar's work over the years, Agnihotri said all his heroes are either a labourer's son or a teacher's son fighting a dacoit, mill owner, or a zamindar. He criticised current Bollywood films saying they do not reflect the issues of India.
Akhtar's heroes were seen fighting a corrupt police inspector or MLA. "In which movie of recent times would you find MLAs, MPs, Police inspectors, IAS officers as the villains? It's as if India has no issues at all." He further said that Bollywood has come to a phase where the only issues seen in movies are "whether you are sleeping with this person or that person."
He also slammed Karan Johar and Ayan Mukerji. He said Karan Johar has been mocking the LGBTQ+ community in his films and Ayan doesn't even know the pronunciation of brahmastra. Agnihotri also slammed Aamir khan's latest flop Laal Singh Chaddha and asked: "Can anyone tell what Laal Singh Chaddha is about? No one knows that."