Kolkata: The release of filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri’s highly anticipated and controversial film, “The Bengal Files” has hit a roadblock in West Bengal, with no movie halls in Kolkata and across the state screening the film despite its nationwide release on September 5.
The absence of the movie from local theatres has ignited a fierce political battle between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with accusations of an “unofficial ban” dominating the discourse. While the TMC insists there is no formal prohibition, the film’s makers and BJP leaders allege that pressure from the state government and police has coerced theatre owners into avoiding the screening, raising questions about freedom of expression and censorship in the state.
Director Vivek Agnihotri’s “The Bengal Files,” the concluding part of his Files Trilogy, revisits the bloody August 1946 riots in Calcutta, sparked by the Muslim League’s call for Direct Action Day. Set against the backdrop of communal unrest, the film claims to expose the “genocide of Bengali Hindus,” and features a cast led by Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Pallavi Joshi, and Darshan Kumarr. The nationwide release, however, quickly became a point of contention in West Bengal.
The BJP seized the opportunity to criticise the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government. BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya took to social media, stating, “The Bengal Files, a film on the genocide of Bengali Hindus, has released worldwide, except in West Bengal and Pakistan. Mamata Banerjee should wear this as a badge of honour: not only has she insulted the sacrifice of Bengali Hindus who fought for their own homeland, but she has also placed them in the same bracket as a radicalised nation.” The party accused the TMC of suppressing historical truths to appease political interests, turning the film’s non-release into a rallying point for its supporters.
The TMC, for its part, rejected claims of a ban. Party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh maintained: “There is no ban on the movie in West Bengal. We are a democratic state. The decision to not release the film was made by distributors and multiplex owners. The government and the party had no role to play in this.”
However, Agnihotri and his team contest this narrative. Both Agnihotri and co-producer Pallavi Joshi allege that theatre owners in Bengal are refusing to screen the film under duress, purportedly receiving “threats from the police” and warnings of “serious consequences.” Joshi has personally appealed to President Droupadi Murmu for intervention, describing the situation as an “unofficial ban”—a silencing of creative freedom by intimidation rather than law. Agnihotri has publicly said that such measures are unconstitutional and that a writ petition may be filed if conditions do not improve.
Efforts to obtain clarity from theatre owners have yielded mixed responses. Navin Choukhani, director of Navina Cinema, cited previously booked shows for other films as reason for not screening “The Bengal Files”, while Arijit Dutta of Priya Cinema said: “In a single screen, we can’t run several films. We will run Baaghi 4 along with two Bengali films. You can ask the multiplex owners why they are not running The Bengal Files.”
Major multiplex chains such as PVR-INOX have refused to screen the film, furthering Agnihotri’s claims that the state government is indirectly ensuring that the film does not reach Bengal’s audiences. A senior member of the Eastern India Motion Picture Association, when pressed, declined to specify why the film was not slotted for screening.
The controversy surrounding “The Bengal Files” extends beyond political allegations. The film’s portrayal of Gopal Mukherjee, known as Gopal Patha, a key figure during the 1946 riots, has drawn ire from his family. His grandson recently filed a legal complaint against Agnihotri, alleging disrespect and misrepresentation of Patha’s legacy. Gopal’s granddaughter, Niharika Mukherjee, expressed disappointment.
“We are not against the film. We are against the way his character has been portrayed… He has been called ‘Ek tha Kasai’ (There was a butcher), which misrepresents him. He resisted Muslim rioters for the country’s benefit, not out of communal intent,” she told The Sunday Guardian. The family alleges that the filmmakers failed to consult them, further complicating the narrative. Agnihotri has defended the depiction, claiming Gopal is portrayed as a hero and that the film aims to highlight suppressed historical truths.
TMC leaders accuse Agnihotri of using cinema to provoke unrest and serve partisan ends ahead of elections, even alleging that his work is designed primarily to divide people, not illuminate history. Agnihotri has responded passionately, posting on social media about the pain and trauma the film seeks to reveal. He insists that “The Bengal Files” is art and historical storytelling, not propaganda, and appeals for release rights under the freedom of expression guaranteed in a democracy. “#TheBengalFiles is in cinemas now, except W. Bengal & Pakistan,” he wrote, urging that the film will ultimately reach every mobile screen—a hint at possible OTT release or alternative distribution strategies.
Pallavi Joshi, meanwhile, has positioned the issue as a struggle for creative freedom beyond mere box office numbers. She maintains the film was dubbed in Bengali because “lakhs of Bengali people want to watch it,” voicing disappointment that political barriers are keeping it from the very audience it was made for.
