Vivek Agnihotri’s much-anticipated film The Bengal Files, which is slated to release tomorrow, September 5, has been mired in controversy, particularly in West Bengal. The multiplex owners in the state have allegedly refused to screen it. On Thursday, producer and actor Pallavi Joshi wrote an open letter to the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, seeking intervention and protection of her constitutional rights.
‘You are my final hope’
Sharing the letter via Instagram, Pallavi captioned it as: “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 Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
In her letter, Pallavi 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. 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.”
She continued: “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 constitutional office, only you can truly understand what it means to endure such pain and turn it into purpose. 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.”
About The Bengal Files
The film stars Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, Simrat Kaur, Saswata Chatterjee, Namashi Chakraborty, Rajesh Khera, Puneet Issar, Priyanshu Chatterjee, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Sourav Das, and Mohan Kapur.
Notably, a trailer launch event for The Bengal Files was recently held in Kolkata. However, the screening was abruptly halted by Kolkata Police, further intensifying the ongoing controversy surrounding the film’s release in the state.
