Director Vivek Agnihotri says it was filmaker Vikram Bhatt who inspired him to make "Freedom".
"Freedom" is a socio-political saga set in the backdrop of 1970s to 2000s. It features Salman Yusuf Khan in the lead.
"I always wanted to make 'Freedom', but I had to drop the idea due to financial crisis. I would have never made an erotic thriller like 'Hate Story' if I had finance for 'Freedom'. Vikram gave me 'Hate Story' as a challenge. Apart from Vikram, one of my friends also encouraged me to make a film on this subject," Agnihotri told IANS.
"While thinking about 'Freedom', I took 'Hate Story' as a challenge and did justice to it. We shot it like a beautiful international thriller. I am happy people loved the film and it also earned good money to start my ambitious project," he added.
"Hate Story" released in 2012.
