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EYE ON BOLLYWOOD AUGUST 29, 2025 | The Indian Eye 44

‘THE BENGAL FILES’

Movie Sparks Firestorm: Vivek Agnihotri’s

Film Caught in Political and Legal Crosshairs

The upcoming film The Bengal Files, slated for a September 5 release, has ignited a storm

of political tussles, legal disputes, and censorship debates even before its premiere.

OUR BUREAU
Mumbai / Kolkata

hen filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri
announced The Bengal Files, he posi-
Wtioned it as his boldest work yet — a cine-
matic attempt to revisit the horrors of Direct Action
Day and the communal riots of 1946 Bengal. But
instead of smooth promotions, the film has found
itself entangled in political backlash, FIRs, and ac-
cusations of historical distortion, turning it into one
of the most controversial releases of the year.
The controversy erupted on August 16, when
the trailer launch in Kolkata descended into cha-
os. Agnihotri and the cast — including Mithun
Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar,
and Pallavi Joshi — had gathered at ITC Royal
Bengal to unveil the film. But midway through the
event, the visuals were abruptly cut. The filmmaker
claimed the police and ruling party workers inter-
vened, with hotel authorities suddenly refusing per-
mission despite prior clearances. “If this is not dic-
tatorship, then what is?” Agnihotri asked, calling it
an “unconstitutional attack” on free expression.
The disruption didn’t end there. Multiplexes in
Kolkata allegedly backed out under political pres-
sure, forcing the team to relocate the event to a
hotel. Even then, Agnihotri alleged, “people came Director Vivek Agnihotri speaks during a press conference for his upcoming film ‘The Bengal Files’, in New Delhi on Monday.
and cut the wires,” preventing the trailer from be- Actress and producer Pallavi Joshi was also present (ANI Photo/Amit Sharma)
ing screened. FIRs, reportedly filed by members of
the ruling Trinamool Congress, further complicat-
ed matters. For the director, this was not merely served to know about forgotten chapters of history. Yet the pushback has also generated public-
about a film but “a threat to democracy.” The controversy reflects deeper tensions ity. The film’s trailer was reportedly well received
Adding fuel to the fire, Shantanu Mukherjee, around cinematic portrayals of sensitive historical during private screenings in the US, even earning
grandson of Gopal Mukherjee — a historical fig- episodes. Agnihotri’s earlier work, The Kashmir an invitation to Capitol Hill. Supporters believe the
ure portrayed in the film — filed a police complaint. Files (2022), courted similar storms while emerging controversies will only fuel curiosity, much like with
He accused the filmmakers of misrepresenting his as a box-office hit. With The Bengal Files, he has The Kashmir Files.
grandfather’s legacy. Agnihotri responded cau- again chosen a subject loaded with communal and Still, legal hurdles loom. The FIRs and the com-
tiously, saying the matter would be handled legally. political sensitivities. The film revisits the Calcutta plaint over Gopal Mukherjee’s portrayal could de-
“No one has even seen the film yet,” he argued, in- killings of 1946 and the Noakhali riots, which he lay or complicate the film’s release in Bengal. Agni-
sisting that Gopal Mukherjee had been presented terms a “Hindu genocide.” Critics argue that such hotri, however, remains defiant. “I have faith in the
as a hero, and that the movie would in fact bring his framing risks stoking fresh divisions, while support- Constitution of India and the law of India,” he de-
story to national prominence. ers hail it as overdue truth-telling. clared, vowing to fight any attempts to block the film.
Actor Mithun Chakraborty, who plays a key The West Bengal government, though not is- For now, The Bengal Files stands at the cross-
role in the film, also lashed out at critics. “Every- suing an official ban, has been accused of tacitly roads of cinema and politics. Its September 5 release
thing was planned,” he said, expressing disbelief suppressing the trailer launch. Agnihotri insists the will test not only audience appetite for politically
at the backlash against a film unseen by the public. chain of disruptions — multiplex cancellations, ho- charged history but also the resilience of free ex-
In characteristic candor, he compared the spate of tel refusals, police intervention — could not have pression in India’s polarized landscape. Whether it
FIRs to kurmura (puffed rice), claiming they were happened without “top-level involvement.” For becomes another box-office phenomenon or a flash-
casually distributed in Bengal. “Everybody is scared him, it demonstrates how state power can be used point of further controversy, one thing is certain:
of the truth,” he said, adding that young Indians de- to curb dissenting narratives. the battle over The Bengal Files has already begun.

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