Vivek Agnihotri’s upcoming film The Bengal Files is set to hit theatres on September 5. However, the film is caught in controversy especially in West Bengal where several theatre owners have reportedly refused to screen it. The film focuses on the events of Direct Action Day in 1946, the Noakhali riots, and the partition of Bengal.
During a conversation with NDTV, the filmmaker earlier claimed that exhibitors in Bengal were hesitant to show the film, fearing political unrest. A day before the release, Kolkata theatre owners told NDTV that they had prior commitments with other films like Baaghi 4 and Bengali titles, adding that multiplex chains could better answer why they were not screening it.
Actor-producer Pallavi Joshi, who also stars in the film, wrote an open letter to President Droupadi Murmu asking for protection. In her appeal, Joshi wrote, “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 further alleged, “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 Bengal Files is the third film in Agnihotri’s Files trilogy following The Tashkent Files (2019) and The Kashmir Files (2022). The cast includes Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Pallavi Joshi, Darshan Kumar and Saswata Chatterjee.
While the controversy deepens, the makers maintain that the film deserves to be seen by audiences without fear or restrictions.
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The post Pallavi Joshi Appeals To President Murmu: Can ‘The Bengal Files’ Release Peacefully In Bengal? appeared first on India’s Favourite Entertainment Network Since 1987 - Lehren.
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