KOLKATA: A major controversy was sparked off on Saturday after the official trailer launch of ‘The Bengal Files’, the upcoming movie of filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, was stopped in Kolkata.
The official trailer of the film was originally scheduled to be launched at a five-star-hotel in Kolkata on Saturday. However, due to some alleged ‘political pressures’ the venue was changed to a luxury hotel on EM Bypass.
Everything was fine in the morning. But as soon as the event started, a problem surfaced.
At one point, the director was seen arguing with the Kolkata Police. A senior Kolkata Police officer got on the stage. Allegedly, it was his intervention that stopped the trailer launch of the film.
Amidst the chaos in the room, the Agnihotri stood on the stage and said, “This is Bengal. Everything happens here with the direction of some invisible fingers. The truth is not allowed to be shown.”
Allegedly, the laptop used to show the trailer of the film was confiscated by the police.
In response to a question from journalists, Agnihotri said that he would not care if he was arrested. Although he was not arrested, by then the director and his actress-producer wife Pallavi Joshi were surrounded by the police. They were allegedly prevented from talking to journalists. After that, they were taken out of the hotel under tight police security.
“The electricity connection to the room has been cut for no reason. A lot of police have gathered here since morning. We are not thieves and robbers. We make films. I did not imagine that we would have to face such a situation in Satyajit Ray's land. If this is not dictatorship, then what is it? If this is not fascism, then what is it?” Agnihotri alleged.
However, the police said that they came here after receiving some information and no official complaint has been filed yet.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress IT cell chief Debangshu Bhattacharya has hit back at the allegations of Agnihotri.
“If any hall does not want to show such content, then it is the decision of that hall. The Trinamool Congress has not asked the hall not to show the trailer. The director should provide proof of such allegations,” he countered.
Meanwhile, a complaint was filed at Lake Town police station against Agnihotri and producers Pallavi Joshi and Abhishek Agarwal of ‘The Bengal Files’. A case was filed in the Calcutta High Court demanding the dismissal of the FIR. However, the court issued an interim stay order on it on Monday. Justice Joy Sengupta has issued a stay order on the FIR till August 26. The next hearing of the case is scheduled on August 19.
The Hindi-language controversial film ‘The Bengal Files’ follows the communal violence in undivided Bengal during the 1940s. According to producers of the film, it is set to be released in theatres on September 5, 2025, coinciding Teachers Day.
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