Vivek Agnihotri urges Mamata to ensure smooth release of ‘The Bengal Files’

Director Vivek Agnihotri appealed to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee to ensure the release of The Bengal Files, alleging TMC workers threatened theatre owners. He stressed free speech, CBFC clearance, and the importance of portraying historical events.

Kolkata: Director Vivek Agnihotri appealed to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to ensure the smooth release of his film ‘The Bengal Files’, alleging that Trinamool Congress workers were threatening theatre owners against screening it.

The film, the concluding chapter in Agnihotri’s The Files trilogy after The Tashkent Files (2019) and The Kashmir Files (2022), revisits the communal riots of August 1946 in Kolkata, known as ‘Direct Action Day’.

---

In a video message on X, Agnihotri requested Banerjee “with folded hands” to listen to his words and not to “suppress an important part of history”. Claiming that he is getting feedback from theatre owners in the state that they were being threatened not to go ahead with the screening, Agnihotri reminded Banerjee of her constitutional duty.

“You have taken an oath on the Indian Constitution to protect the rights of every citizen, the right of free speech, and it is your responsibility to see to it that the film does not face any disruption. Please consider the fact that the CBFC has cleared this film,” he said.

Recalling that Bengal led the country on the cultural front and was the soul of India, Agnihotri said the state and its people made maximum sacrifices in 1905 and 1947.

Debunking the argument about not reopening the wounds of riots and violence by the screening of the film, he asked, “If a Japanese child should know about Hiroshima and Nagasaki holocausts, why not the new generation be made aware of an important part of the state’s and nation’s history?” “A true Bengali will not ban the movie. This film cannot be banned in Bengal,” he said.

Agnihotri further asked if Muslim, Christian and Dalit persecutions can be projected in films worldwide, “why should we keep under wraps Hindu genocide. Why should we wish to keep lies alive?” The filmmaker also recalled the physical stopping of the film’s trailer launch at a five-star hotel in the city on August 17, which he termed an attack on the freedom of expression.

The film, which is slated to be released on Friday, features Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Pallavi Joshi, Saswata Chatterjee and Darshan Kumarr.