The Bengal Files Director Vivek Agnihotri, Pallavi Joshi Question Freedom Of Expression In West Bengal As Trailer Launch Event Turns Into Political Battlefield

A ruckus erupted during the release of The Bengal Files trailer in Kolkata today. The first footage of the much anticipated movie was released as planned on social media, however, as per the team, it appears to be a battlefield on ground. Pallavi Joshi, actress and wife of The Bengal Files director, Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri of The Kashmir Files fame, alleged that the trailer launch in Kolkata was not allowed and eventually disrupted on Friday even after they postponed the event from Thursday, further alleging the state government's intervention.

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The film explores the communal violence in undivided Bengal during the 1940s, including events like 1946 Direct Action Day and the Noakhali riots of 1946, a Hindu genocide. A video from the allegedly cancelled event organised for the The Bengal Files trailer launch saw Vivek and his team walking out of a theatre with cameras trained at them.

Actor Pallavi Joshi shared, "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? 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."

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The Bengal Files will release on September 5. The trailer was initially supposed to be launched on August 15 but the team alleged that the venue owners in Kolkata withdrew permission at the last moment. Vivek and team were steadfast about releasing the movie's trailer in West Bengal even as the ruling party TMC led by state CM Mamata Banerjee is allegedly opposed to the depiction of violence in the movie.