Despite the absence of an official prohibition, filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s The Bengal Files has struggled to find theatres in West Bengal. The film will finally be screened in Kolkata on September 13, but only through a special, invitation-only showing at the National Library.
The event, scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Bhasha Bhavan auditorium, comes nearly a week after the film’s nationwide release. Organisers confirmed that all requisite permissions had been obtained for the private screening.
The film revisits the communal violence of Direct Action Day in Calcutta, August 1946, and serves as the concluding chapter in Agnihotri’s Files Trilogy, after The Tashkent Files and The Kashmir Files. Unlike its predecessors, however, this release has encountered a series of hurdles in West Bengal.
The trailer launch was first cancelled by a leading cinema chain in the city, and a subsequent attempt at a five-star hotel was halted midway following police intervention. Both Agnihotri and actor-producer Pallavi Joshi have described these events as part of an “unofficial ban” in the state, citing “political pressure and intimidation”. Joshi has even petitioned President Droupadi Murmu, alleging curbs on artistic freedom.
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The premiere is being organised by Khola Hawa, a socio-cultural platform with strong links to the Bharatiya Janata Party. Its president, Swapan Dasgupta, who also serves as a BJP National Executive Committee member, asserted that the screening was entirely legitimate.
"All necessary permissions for holding the premiere at the National Library auditorium have been obtained," Dasgupta told reporters. "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."
Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, is also closely associated with Khola Hawa, whose programmes have previously drawn senior BJP figures such as Amit Shah and Nirmala Sitharaman.
Party insiders remain wary of potential disruptions. “Even though this is a centrally-controlled venue, we can’t rule out last-minute disruptions,” said a BJP youth leader.
Organisers have clarified that Saturday’s programme is being held as a “special premiere” rather than a commercial release. Should it proceed smoothly, similar private screenings may be planned elsewhere in the country.
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