Days after the trailer launch of The Bengal Files in Kolkata was put on hold by the local police, actor Pallavi Joshi on Monday criticised the West Bengal administration for stopping the event in the capital city last week.
On August 16, 2025, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri claimed the trailer launch of The Bengal Files was stopped at a five-star hotel in Kolkata.
Kolkata Police sources later told NDTV that the director had not sought any administrative permission for public view of the trailer of his upcoming film. Visuals of policemen entering the venue had gone viral on social media.
Pallavi Joshi, who stars in her husband Vivek Agnihotri's movie The Bengal Files, described the action by the state government as "unconstitutional".
"Since the story is rooted in Bengal, we felt it would be most appropriate to launch the trailer in Bengal in August, but the government silenced us. We feel it is an act which is not only arbitrary but also unconstitutional," the actor said during the trailer launch event of The Bengal Files in New Delhi on Monday.
"What happened that day was not merely an assault on the film, but an assault on democracy itself. The voices of people and the voice of Bharat were suppressed and censored. The absence of dignity and the absence of the value of human life are the themes of our film. The government proved our theme is correct," she added, as quoted by India Today.
Pallavi Joshi said the launch event of The Bengal Files was halted on "laughable grounds".
"They said we didn't have municipal permission... The videos are about the chaos that followed. Many women journalists got hurt. I was also very uncomfortable. Thanks to Vivek, we managed to get out. We feel the police and the government are forgetting their basic duty, that is protecting its citizens, especially women, and their modesty. That should have been the sole priority of women," the actor said.
Vivek Agnihotri likened stopping the trailer launch of a CBFC-approved movie like The Bengal Files to "anarchy, dictatorship".
"Police had come so that we could not show the movie, the police are being used in Bengal because of some people's political ambitions. The film talks about demography change, and they don't want to show it because the state itself empowers demography change. I cannot be silenced," he told reporters on Saturday.
The ruling Trinamool Congress's spokesperson said Vivek Agnihotri's allegations were baseless.
The Bengal Files, based on the 1946 Great Calcutta killings, also stars Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, and Saswata Chatterjee. The film is set to release on September 5, 2025.
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