Vivek upset for lack of Bollywood representation for Padma Awards

As the winners of Padma Awards were announced on the Republic Day recently, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri felt that there was a lack of Bollywood representation in the list this time, which became a topic of discussion on social media platforms.

The filmmaker stated that he was upset about the lack of Bollywood representation for the Padma Awards.

"In fact, I had even tweeted about it whether it is a new 'new' that nobody from Bollywood has been awarded. But then I got a reply from someone responsible who said that it may be because nothing has happened in Bollywood in the last year," said Agnihotri.

Speaking on the theatrical release of certain films in the first quarter of 2020 on the OTT platforms, he said, "There were 'Coolie No. 1' and 'Laxmii', so nothing happened there."

"Also, these are done by the public and people vote for it. Maybe another reason could be that there was a lot of controversy around Bollywood and people did not find anyone worthy. But I seriously do not like it. I definitely want the film industry to be awarded as its contribution is immense. We influence people and we impact lives," he added.

Vivek further said that it was fine to criticise and gossip around the film industry, but one cannot ignore its contribution in the field of arts and culture.

"So I am definitely upset and also let us not forget the film industry's contribution to the economy. It showcases your culture, history, architecture and so much more," concluded Vivek.