Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri has often drawn polarized reactions for his work, the most recent being The Bengal Files. While his subjects are frequently termed controversial, Vivek says he isn’t afraid of backlash.

“I don’t know why I’m not afraid. I have nothing to lose because I have no needs and I don’t care about glamour, money, and all those kinds of things. That’s why I don’t get losing anything and that’s why I’m able to do that,” the 51-year-old tells us.

But confidence in his storytelling, he admits, also makes him prone to being misunderstood: “Anyone who has met me says I am a very different person. People think I am a certain way, but in reality, I am very chilled-out and philosophical. I’m a poet at heart, but because of my films, there is a persona that is created and people misunderstand me because of that.”

However, the National Award-winning filmmaker sees an upside to such perceptions being created.

“I don’t spend time creating an image, and I don’t have a social circle that can announce that fake image like typical Bollywood film stars do. That’s perhaps why I’m misunderstood, but I’m also very happy because it gives me space to make these sort of films. It’s better to be misunderstood but my films are not misunderstood, and that is important,” he ends.