The Bengal Files, directed by Vivek Agnihotri and produced by Pallavi Joshi, is set to hit theatres on September 5. However, just a day before release, the film has been caught in controversy in West Bengal, where multiplex owners have allegedly declined to screen it.
On Thursday, Pallavi Joshi took to Instagram to share an open letter addressed to President Droupadi Murmu, pleading for intervention. Captioning her post as an “urgent appeal,” she wrote, “As Producer of #TheBengalFiles, I am pained that multiplex chains in Bengal have refused the film’s release under political pressure and threats by the ruling party. I plead for your intervention to uphold my constitutional rights and ensure its release in Bengal.” She also tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
In her letter, Joshi expressed deep concern, stating, “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.”
She highlighted that long before the film’s completion, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee mocked the project. Since then, she noted, “baseless FIRs have been filed, our trailer was blocked by police, 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.”
Referring to the support the film has garnered, Joshi added, “Legendary actor, Padma Bhushan Victor Banerjee, along with many Bengali organisations in India and abroad, have already petitioned you. Their support proves that truth still has allies.” She concluded, “This is cinema of truth. But truth also needs protection. Madam President, I seek not a favour for a film but space for art, for truth, for Maa Bharati’s soul to speak without fear. You are my final hope. Please protect our constitutional right and let The Bengal Files be shown in West Bengal peacefully.”
The Bengal Files stars Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, Saswata Chatterjee, Namashi Chakraborty, and several others. Recently, the film’s trailer launch in Kolkata was cut short by police, further intensifying the controversy surrounding its release.
