The Bengal Files, the highly awaited film directed by Vivek Agnihotri and scheduled for release tomorrow, September 5, has been enmeshed in controversy, especially in West Bengal. The multiplex owners have refused to premiere the movie, due to political pressure from the state. Pallavi Joshi sumitted an open letter to Droupadi Murmu, the president of India, on Thursday, requesting protection of her constitutional rights and intervention.
The Bengal Files Producer Pallavi Joshi called on the President to step in and protect the constitutional right to free speech, accusing the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government of intimidating theater owners and preventing the film’s release.
Pallavi Joshi shared an elaborate note on Instagram and the caption read – “URGENT APPEAL Your Excellency, @presidentofindia, 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 PM Narendra Modi, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Pallavi Joshi 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. Since then, baseless FIRs have been filed, our trailer was blocked by police, and even newspapers avoid carrying ads.”
Pallavi Joshi revealed that their 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,” she shared.
Pallavi Joshi’s open letter further read – “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. The Bengal Files is the cry of Maa Bharati, scarred yet unbroken, a story of survival and hope. As a woman who rose from the margins to the highest constitution office, only you can truly understand what it means to endure such pain and turn it into purpose.
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In her concluding words, she seeked favour from the President of India. “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.”
All About The Bengal Files
The Bengal Files a part of Vivek Agnihotri‘s Files trilogy, which also includes The Kashmir Files and The Tashkent Files. The hard-hitting political drama is presented by Tej Narayan Agarwal and I Am Buddha Productions. It will be released in theaters on September 5, 2025. The cast of The Bengal Files includes Rajesh Khera, Puneet Issar, Priyanshu Chatterjee, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Sourav Das, Mohan Kapur, Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, Simrat Kaur, Saswata Chatterjee, and Namashi Chakraborty.
The Noakhali riots, the division of Bengal into West Bengal and Bangladesh (East Bengal), and Direct Action Day in Calcutta in August 1946 are the events that form the basis of The Bengal Files. The directors accused the TMC of abusing its authority to censor the ‘truth of Hindu genocide’ when the police in Kolkata canceled the trailer releasing event.
