17 September,2026 04:13 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Pallavi Joshi and Vivek Agnihotri (Picture via X)
Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri has called out a news portal for referring to actor-producer Pallavi Joshi primarily as his wife while reporting her appointment to the newly reconstituted Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Agnihotri criticised the description on social media, calling it 'third-rate, malicious and deeply misogynistic journalism'.
Joshi is among the 18 members appointed to the new CBFC board, which was announced by the Centre on Wednesday, September 16. The panel also includes names such as Preity Zinta, Pankaj Tripathi, Suniel Shetty, Priyadarshan, Rupali Ganguly, Prosenjit Chatterjee and music composer Ricky Kej. The board will have a three-year tenure.
Following Joshi's appointment, a news portal shared a post about the development on X and described her as the "wife of outgoing board member and filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri". The reference did not sit well with Agnihotri, who responded by highlighting his wife's independent career and achievements in the entertainment industry.
In his long post, Agnihotri pointed out that Joshi began acting when she was only four years old and went on to become one of India's recognised television and film actors. He also highlighted her work as a producer, stressing that her professional identity was established long before their association as a couple.
He wrote, "What kind of third-rate, malicious and deeply misogynistic journalism is this? Pallavi Joshi is a four National Award-winning actor. She started acting at the age of four. She had already become one of India's most recognised television stars at a time when many of the journalists writing this story weren't even born. (sic)"
Agnihotri further recalled Joshi's work on Arohan, a women-centric television show based on the Indian Navy. He said that at the time she produced the show, he had not even entered the field of production.
The filmmaker argued that introducing Joshi through her relationship with him overlooked decades of her individual work. According to Agnihotri, she has spent around four decades building her own identity across acting, television, cinema and production.
He also questioned the framing of stories about accomplished women, saying that reducing a woman's professional identity to the man she is married to reflects what he described as a "deeply patriarchal lens". Agnihotri maintained that Joshi had not borrowed her identity from anyone and had established herself independently.
Joshi's appointment to the CBFC comes alongside the reconstitution of the board after more than six years. The new panel is headed by former Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati, who was appointed CBFC chairperson earlier this year.
