Case against director Anurag Kashyap over social media remark on Brahmins

Jaipur: An FIR has been registered against filmmaker Anurag Kashyap at the Bajaj Nagar police station for allegedly making derogatory remarks about the Brahmin community on social media, police said on Sunday.

The complaint was lodged by Anil Chaturvedi, a resident of Barkat Nagar, on Saturday night. According to Sub-Inspector Ram Kripal, the plaint accused Kashyap of using abusive language towards Brahmins in response to a social media user, reported PTI.

The controversy stems from Kashyap’s upcoming film ‘Phule’, based on the lives of social reformers Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule. The film has already faced backlash for its portrayal of caste issues. Kashyap had questioned the criticism surrounding the film and, in doing so, made a remark that sparked outrage online.

Following a wave of trolling and threats directed at him and his family, Kashyap issued an apology on Saturday via Instagram: "This is my apology, not for my post but for that one line taken out of context and the brewing hatred. No action or speech is worth your daughter, family, friends and colleagues getting rape and death threats from the kingpins of sanskar."

"I won't take back what I said. Abuse me all you want. My family didn't say anything. If you want an apology, here it is," he added.

In another post on Instagram Stories, Kashyap shared a screenshot of the controversial comment. "Everyone has read the response, and they're all outraged as well. At least look at the context before you write," the director wrote in the caption.