‘The Bengal Files’ Trailer Launch Cancelled In Kolkata Amid Political Pressure, Alleges Agnihotri

Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri on Saturday alleged that Kolkata Police prevented the launch of the trailer of his upcoming film The Bengal Files, which is based on the 1946 Calcutta Riots. The trailer was scheduled to be released at a five-star hotel in the city on Saturday afternoon, PTI reported.

Police personnel present at the venue declined to comment on the matter.

"If this is not dictatorship or fascism, then what is? Law and order in your state has failed, and that is why everyone supports The Bengal Files," Agnihotri told ANI. He further claimed that unknown individuals entered the event venue and cut off all the wires. "I don't know on whose orders this is happening. You know who those people are behind us. After all tests and trials, this program was being held. Yet the hotel managers still can't tell us why we are not allowed to continue with our program," he alleged.

A day earlier, Agnihotri had released a video on his X account claiming that a leading theatre chain had cancelled the trailer launch event of his film, citing "political pressure."

The Bengal Files explores the communal violence that took place in undivided Bengal during the 1940s and is scheduled to release in theatres on September 5.

Pallavi Joshi raises concerns over freedom of expression

Actor Pallavi Joshi also voiced her disappointment over the cancellation of the trailer launch.

"I absolutely did not like the way my film was stopped. Is there freedom of expression in this state? As filmmakers and actors, we are not able to screen what we have made. What is the threat they are feeling? Such a thing did not happen even in Kashmir. Can we derive that the situation in Kashmir is better than in Bengal?" she asked, as quoted by ANI.

She added, "See what is happening in Bengal today. And this is why films like The Bengal Files are important. I want every person in India to watch this film to know the truth about Bengal. It is the state's responsibility to give respect to artists."