Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, and author known for his work in Hindi cinema. He was born on November 10, 1973, in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. Agnihotri started his career in advertising, working for agencies like Ogilvy and McCann, and later transitioned into directing and producing television serials.

In 2005, Agnihotri made his directorial debut in Bollywood with the crime thriller "Chocolate," which received negative reviews and performed poorly at the box office. He went on to direct films like "Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal," "Hate Story," "Buddha in a Traffic Jam," and "Junooniyat," which had mixed to poor reception both critically and commercially.

However, Agnihotri achieved commercial success and critical acclaim with his film "The Tashkent Files" in 2019. The film emerged as a sleeper hit and earned him the National Film Award for Best Screenplay - Dialogues. He continued his success with "The Kashmir Files" in 2022, a film based on the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus, which became a blockbuster hit.

Apart from filmmaking, Agnihotri has also been involved in film certification. He served as a member of the Central Board of Film Certification and as the convenor of the preview committee of the International Film Festival of India.

Agnihotri is known for his book "Urban Naxals: The Making of Buddha in a Traffic Jam," which explores alleged collusion between individuals in academia and media with Naxalites in India.

He is married to Indian actress Pallavi Joshi and is a supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Agnihotri has received the National Kishore Kumar Samman and has been appointed as a cultural representative of Indian Cinema at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

In 2022, Agnihotri underwent knee surgery after suffering a cartilage tear, which he had ignored while producing "The Kashmir Files." He has also delivered a speech in the Parliament of the United Kingdom on the theme of "India, world peace, and humanism