The Bengal Files finally heads to Bengal after flop run in rest of India

The Bengal Files, the final instalment in filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri’s so-called ‘truth trilogy’, is finally expected to hit theatres in West Bengal next week — close on the heels of the BJP coming to power after a landslide victory in the recent state Assembly elections. The film had earlier been denied a commercial release in the state during the Trinamool Congress regime, with police and sections of the administration citing concerns that its content could inflame communal tensions.

Confirming the development, Kolkata actor Sourav Das, who played a prominent role in the film, told National Herald: “Contrary to some media reports, it’s not being released tomorrow (8 May) but next week.”

Agnihotri, whose political alignment with the BJP is well known, has built a reputation for politically charged cinema that sharply divides opinion — drawing praise from Hindutva supporters while facing criticism from others for allegedly distorting history and pushing propaganda. After relatively low-profile films such as Chocolate: Deep Dark Secrets and Zid, he found major commercial success with The Tashkent Files and The Kashmir Files, but flopped with The Vaccine War.

The Bengal Files, which released across India last year, sought to revisit the communal violence surrounding the ‘Great Calcutta Killings’ and the Noakhali riots of 1946. The film claimed to present an overlooked chapter of pre-Partition Bengal and prominently featured characters inspired by historical figures linked to the riots.

Critics, however, accused the film of selectively interpreting history and amplifying communal narratives. Several reviews described it as divisive propaganda, while historians and commentators questioned its handling of archival material and historical nuance.

Commercially too, the film failed to replicate the blockbuster success of The Kashmir Files. Mounted on a reported budget of over Rs 50 crore, the film is estimated to have earned only around Rs 16–20 crore net in India, with worldwide collections of roughly Rs 23 crore during its theatrical run. The weak box-office performance also became a subject of online discussion after Agnihotri repeatedly appealed to audiences on social media to watch the film, sharing posts urging people to “book your tickets” and support what he described as an important historical project.

One of the sharpest controversies centred on the portrayal of Gopal Mukherjee, popularly known as Gopal Pantha or Gopal Patha, a controversial and polarising figure associated with the 1946 Calcutta riots. His grandson Shantanu Mukherjee publicly objected to the film and later moved court against its release, alleging that Agnihotri had depicted his grandfather in a defamatory and “dishonourable” manner without the family’s consent. The family particularly objected to references allegedly portraying Mukherjee as a “butcher”, arguing instead that he had organised resistance groups to protect Hindus during the violence.

After the Mamata Banerjee government blocked the film’s commercial screening in Bengal over fears of communal unrest, Agnihotri and the distributors organised a special invitation-only screening last September at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee Bhasha Bhavan within the National Library of India premises.

Addressing the controversy then, Agnihotri said: “We opened advanced booking and the theatres were finalised. I came to know through my distributors that theatres representing different communities in Bengal chose not to screen it due to fears of political unrest.”

The political change in the state has now paved the way for the film’s commercial release. Das — who plays Gopal Pantha in the film — said audiences should be allowed to decide for themselves.

“At the end of the day, a film is the result of a lot of hard work and money by many people, and I want to leave it to the people of Bengal to accept or reject it. Speaking from a personal point of view, I was very keen that my own audience should get an opportunity to watch it on the big screen, especially as my work was appreciated a lot in Bollywood,” Das said.

Written by Agnihotri and produced by Pallavi Joshi along with Abhishek Agarwal, the film features an ensemble cast including Mithun Chakraborty, Joshi herself, Anupam Kher and Darshan Kumar.