The Bengal Files movie review
Director: Vivek Agnihotri
Cast: Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi, Darshan Kumaar, Simrat Kaur, Anupam Kher, Saswata Chatterjee, Namashi Chakraborty
Rating: ★★★
Vivek Agnihotri‘s The Bengal Files takes its own time to get to the point. In an age when films rarely breach the three-hour mark, Vivek delivers a three-hour 20-minute runtime. Some might rue this, but cinema has never truly been bound by time. Sometimes, technical aspects can be ignored when the subject is something that has never been explored by any filmmaker before, especially in the sensitive times we live in today.
The Bengal Files plot
A cinematic retelling of the horrific Direct Action Day in Kolkata (then Calcutta) in 1946, the story unfolds through the perspectives of two characters, Shiv Pandit (Darshan Kumaar) and Bharati Banerjee (Pallavi Joshi). Both are haunted by ghosts of the past: one who lost everything in the Kolkata riots, the other who still carries the scars of the Kashmiri Pandit exodus of the 1990s. Their worlds converge in the present day with the disappearance of a young girl, and suspicion falls on Bharati and MLA Sardar Husseini (Saswata Chatterjee).
The first half is devoted to an elaborate depiction of the 1946 riots. While the premise is inherently compelling, the prolonged riot sequences feel indulgent. This is not a comment on the events themselves but on Vivek’s cinematic treatment. Editor Shankh Rajadhyaksh seems to have had little role in trimming down the excess. The narrative is not disjointed, but it begins to drag a bit before reaching intermission.
The makers also hold nothing back in the blood and gore department, which explains the ‘A’ certificate. A beheading is shown in full detail without a single cut, so viewers should be prepared.
The second half gathers momentum, but what could have been avoided are the long speeches. Even a simple question posed to a young Muslim girl spirals into a monologue. Characters rarely converse like real people.
The content is unavoidably triggering. The film’s central question emerges late, when a girl asks: why does everything today become about Hindu vs Muslim? The narrative never provides a convincing answer. The conclusion might give audiences the closure they seek. The film prompts reflection: art can be an escape, but it is also a mirror to society. The Bengal Files attempts to be the latter.
At some places, a few actors are made to overact to drive home the point, and it impacts the storytelling.
The Bengal Files performances
What makes you stay, though, are the performances. Pallavi Joshi has hit it out of the park, not missing a single beat. Darshan is a very good actor, and here he carries the film on his shoulders as the tormented Shiv, torn between truth and duty. Simrat Kaur gets a meaty role as the young Bharati, and she makes the most of it. She looks the part, most importantly. Saswata is menacing, as required.
In the end, The Bengal Files is less a film and more a statement. It has power in its performancesand moments where the weight of history hits hard, but the length and indulgence make it an exhausting watch. If you go in, go in for Pallavi Joshi and Darshan Kumaar because without them, the film would collapse under the burden of its own intent.
