Calcutta HC Petition Against The Bengal Files as Producer Alleges “Unofficial Ban” in Bengal
Kolkata: The release of Vivek Agnihotri’s latest film The Bengal Files has triggered a legal and political tussle in West Bengal. The film, scheduled for release on 5 September, is based on the communal riots of August 1946 in Kolkata, also known as the Great Calcutta Killings.
On Thursday, Santanu Mukherjee, grandson of freedom fighter Gopal Chandra Mukherjee, filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court seeking a stay on the film’s release. He alleged that the movie wrongly depicts his grandfather in a negative light.
According to his lawyer, the film shows Mukherjee, who ran a goat meat shop in Bowbazar, with the insulting nickname “Patha” (Bengali for goat). It also allegedly portrays him as a participant in Direct Action Day violence, which the family insists is false since he was an active freedom fighter.
Justice Amrita Sinha observed that the film might also be fictional but said no decision could be made without hearing the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and the Union government. The matter was postponed until their response. The court also noted the timing of the plea, filed just a day before release, questioning the urgency.
Meanwhile, producer-actor Pallavi Joshi has written to President Droupadi Murmu alleging an “unofficial ban” in West Bengal. She claimed that cinema hall owners were being pressured by Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers not to screen the movie. While no official ban exists, several theatres in Kolkata have refused to show the film, citing full schedules. Multiplex chains including PVR Inox, Cinepolis, and SVF Cinemas are also not screening it.
Joshi, in her letter, urged protection of the constitutional right to free expression, stating, “There is no official ban, yet an unofficial ban silences the film before people can see it.”
The controversy has added to political tensions. TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh accused Agnihotri of spreading propaganda to serve BJP’s agenda. Agnihotri, on the other hand, appealed to CM Mamata Banerjee to ensure a smooth release, alleging theatre owners are under political pressure.
The Bengal Files is the final film in Agnihotri’s “Files Trilogy”, after The Tashkent Files (2019) and The Kashmir Files (2022). The movie attempts to depict the Hindu genocide on Direct Action Day, the Noakhali massacre, and the Partition trauma. The cast includes Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Pallavi Joshi, Saswata Chatterjee, Darshan Kumarr, and Sourav Das.
