Sanatan Prabhat > Post Type > News > National News > ‘The Bengal Files’ film based on historical research

‘The Bengal Files’ film based on historical research

Director Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri gives clarification after a case registered against the film

Kolkata – A case has been filed against director Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri after the trailer of his film The Bengal Files was released. He has been accused of misrepresenting Gopal Mukherjee in the film. Responding through a press conference, Agnihotri clarified that the film was made after detailed research.

1. Vivek Agnihotri said, ‘This is not a film that someone could have just written out of imagination. We conducted extensive research and spoke to people. We gathered nearly 18,000 pages of information. When the film was shown to the Central Board of Film Certification (Censor Board), historians were also invited. After several stages of review, the film received certification without any cuts. We even showcased it to various communities in the US. The West Bengal Government should have invited us, because until now, no such film has been made on Direct Action’.

2. On the release date, Agnihotri said, ‘In Bollywood, filmmakers release their films on Eid, 15th August, or on an actor’s birthday. If a film based on Direct Action is released on 16th August, how is that considered a crime ? No permission is required to release a trailer. When I arrived at Kolkata’s ITC Hotel to launch the trailer, I was told I could not release it. The hotel management opposed us’.

3. Speaking about the film, Pallavi Joshi said, ‘We came here because Kolkata Police did not allow us to release our trailer’.

What happened during the trailer launch ?

On 16th August, the trailer was scheduled to be released at Kolkata’s ITC Hotel. However, it faced opposition beforehand, and the Police denied permission for the launch. Agnihotri expressed strong displeasure at the incident. He said, ‘I want to share something very important with you. I just learnt that some people came here and cut all the wires. Have you ever seen such a thing before — someone entering a private hotel and cutting off wires ? I don’t know under whose orders this happened, or why it was done. The Bengal Files is a film that will make every Bengali proud of knowing this truth about India. Who are the people who don’t want the public to know the truth ?’

What is ‘Direct Action Day’ ?

Targeted killings of Hindus

The film depicts the massacre of Hindus in undivided Bengal in 1946. It portrays the Direct Action Day called by Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Muslim League in 1946, as well as the Noakhali riots. The massacre lasted five days. In Kolkata alone, nearly 6,000 Hindus were killed within just 72 hours. Over 20,000 Hindus were grievously injured, and nearly 1,00,000 people were forced to abandon all their belongings and flee.

Mass killings of Hindus

Hindus were selectively killed, Hindu women were raped, and Hindu property was burnt down. The massacre of Hindus in Noakhali (East Bengal) is etched in history in black letters. It lasted for several months. Thousands of Hindus were killed. An estimated 75,000 Hindus were forced to flee Noakhali alone, while more than 20,000 fled from Tippera.

Latest Articles