The Bengal Files faces no official ban, but Kolkata theatres decline screening
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Vivek Agnihotri’s The Bengal Files is set to hit theatres on September 5.
The film has stirred major controversy in West Bengal for its depiction of the "Hindu genocide" during the 1946 Calcutta riot.
While there is no formal ban, theatre owners in Kolkata are not screening it.
Many are citing prior commitments with Tiger Shroff’s Baaghi 4 and Bengali film Dhumketu.
Director Vivek Agnihotri earlier alleged that theatres in Bengal were backing out of screening the movie.
He explained that advanced bookings had opened and theaters had been confirmed, as informed by his distributors. He noted that the distributors in Bengal came from different religious backgrounds and believed the release would make history. However, he added that he had recently learned theaters were backing out due to fears of potential political unrest.
Meanwhile, actor-producer Pallavi Joshi has written to President Droupadi Murmu seeking protection and support for the film’s release.
In her open letter, she wrote, “Respected Madam President. With a heavy heart, I reach out to you, not for favours, but for protection. The Bengal Files, the final part of the Files Trilogy, releases on 5th September. It tells the long-suppressed truth of the Hindu genocide of Direct Action Day, the horrors of Noakhali, and the trauma of Partition. But in West Bengal, truth is under siege. Years before completion, the Chief Minister mocked the film.”
She further alleged, “Since then, baseless FIRs have been filed, police blocked our trailer, and even newspapers avoid carrying ads. My family is threatened every day by political party workers. Now, theatre owners have told us they are being intimidated, threatened, and are refusing to screen it, fearing violence by ruling party workers. There is no official ban, yet an unofficial ban silences the film before people can see it.”
The film is the third in Vivek Agnihotri’s Files Trilogy, following The Tashkent Files (2019) and The Kashmir Files (2022). It features Mithun Chakraborty, Saswata Chatterjee, Anupam Kher, Priyanshu Chatterjee, and Darshan Kumar.
