'The Bengal Files' poster (L), Vivek Agnihotri.
Credit: X/@vivekagnihotri, PTI
Kolkata: Despite an “unofficial ban” on theatrical release in West Bengal, filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s movie ‘The Bengal Files’ is set to have its first screening in Kolkata on September 13, nearly a week after its nationwide release.
The special show, an invitation-only event, will be held at 4 PM at the Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Bhasha Bhavan auditorium on the complex of the National Library, which functions under the Union Ministry of Culture.
The film, which revisits the communal riots during Direct Action Day in August 1946 in Calcutta, is the concluding part of Agnihotri’s Files Trilogy, following ‘The Tashkent Files’ and ‘The Kashmir Files’. However, unlike its predecessors, ‘The Bengal Files’ has faced significant hurdles in the state.
The trailer launch of the film was initially cancelled by a prominent cinema chain in Kolkata. A subsequent attempt to release the trailer at a five-star hotel was disrupted midway due to police intervention.
According to Agnihotri and actor-producer Pallavi Joshi, the film has been facing an “unofficial ban” in the state due to “political pressure and intimidation”.
In a rare move, Joshi has also written to President Droupadi Murmu, raising concerns over the alleged curbs on artistic freedom.
Despite these setbacks, the organisers of Saturday’s screening remain defiant.
"All necessary permissions for holding the premiere at the National Library auditorium have been obtained," Swapan Dasgupta, president of ‘Khola Hawa’ and BJP National Executive Committee member, told reporters.
‘Khola Hawa’, though presented as a socio-cultural organisation, includes prominent BJP figures in its leadership. Apart from Dasgupta, Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari is a key figure in it.
"There is no illegality here. The film has been approved by the Censor Board and this is a private, invite-only screening, not a public event. If any further obstruction is attempted, it will clearly be politically motivated," Dasgupta said.
Over the years, several senior BJP leaders, including Union Ministers Amit Shah and Nirmala Sitharaman, have attended events organised by the group.
Party insiders, however, remain cautious.
“Even though this is a centrally-controlled venue, we can’t rule out last-minute disruptions,” a BJP youth leader said.
The organisers maintain that Saturday’s event is a “special premiere” and not a commercial release, and said that if successful, more such private screenings may follow in other parts of the country.