Vivek Agnihotri says his balcony sofa caught fire after stray Diwali rocket hit it, urges Mumbai Mayor to enforce safety rules strictly, saying, ‘Rockets are not cultural pride’; later deletes post | Hindi Movie News

Vivek Agnihotri says his balcony sofa caught fire after a stray Diwali rocket hit it, urges Mumbai Mayor to enforce safety rules strictly, saying, ‘Rockets are not a cultural pride’; later deletes post

Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri has revealed that the sofa on his balcony caught fire after a stray rocket hit it during Diwali celebrations. He said the incident could have turned serious, but his dogs alerted the family in time. The filmmaker shared the experience on X while addressing Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde.

Vivek Agnihotri‘s sofa catches fire on Diwali night

Vivek Agnihotri said the fire-resistant fabric of the sofa also helped keep the situation under control. He wrote, “Last night, our balcony sofa caught fire after being hit by an errant rocket. Thankfully, our dogs alerted us in time, and the fire-resistant fabric helped prevent a potentially serious accident. We had always feared something like this could happen. This time, we were lucky, but what about other victims?”

Vivek Agnihotri says the festival should not put lives at risk

The filmmaker raised concerns about the danger posed by stray rockets during Diwali. He pointed out that celebrating the festival should never come at the cost of safety for people and their homes.“Who doesn’t love celebrating Diwali? But errant rockets are not a cultural pride, they are a fire hazard. Our great culture doesn’t permit us to put innocent lives, homes and property at risk,” he added.

Vivek Agnihotri calls for strict enforcement and accountability

Vivek Agnihotri also asked for tougher action from the authorities. He acknowledged the mayor’s appeal but said that simply asking people to be careful is not enough without proper follow-up.“Your appeal may have come a little late, but it will mean little without strict enforcement. More importantly, accountability must not end with those bursting crackers. Those responsible for creating awareness, enforcing court orders, ensuring fire safety and preventing such violations must also be held accountable. I hope the authorities will investigate the fires across Mumbai and fix responsibility wherever negligence or failure to enforce the law is established.”

Message from the Bhagavad Gita

He ended his post with a Sanskrit verse from the ‘Shrimad Bhagavad Gita’. Its English meaning, as shared by him, reads: “Whatever a person in a position of responsibility does, others follow. The standards they set become the standards society lives by.”

Filmmaker deletes his post

Later, the filmmaker deleted his post and dropped another one which read, “I am deleting my previous tweet. Neither do I want to be the reason for anyone’s outrage nor do I want to enable or weaken anyone’s cultural or environmental narrative. Happy Diwali to everyone, once again.”

About Vivek Agnihotri

Agnihotri is known for directing films such as ‘The Kashmir Files’ and ‘The Bengal Files’.