Actor Pallavi Joshi is gearing up for the release of The Bengal Files, in which she plays a key role. Directed by her husband and frequent collaborator Vivek Agnihotri, the Hindi movie is slated to be released on September 5, 2025.
She also is pulling double duty on The Bengal Files as a producer alongside Vivek Agnihotri and Abhishek Agarwal.
In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Pallavi Joshi responded to the questions around why The Bengal Files is releasing months ahead of the West Bengal Assembly Elections.
"What do I say... There are always elections in India. No matter which film you make, people will say the film is releasing after that election. Vivek always says that we should actually make The Bihar Files as the Bihar Elections are nearing. had we thought that we would make a film with the Bengal Elections in mind, why would we release The Bengal Files ahead of the Bihar elections? That way we should have released the film in January or February.
"It also took us time for research. We can't make a film without collecting all facts. It's our responsibility as filmmakers. We can't make a film according to what one person's version has to say. We have made a film on truth (facts). I'm not that big a producer that I think, 'Ok, let's release the film after the Bengal elections'. The interest will mount, I won't have money to live," the actor-producer told NDTV.
The Bengal Files is courting controversy over the depiction of the Calcutta riots of August 16, 1946, which were triggered after the All-India Muslim League called for Direct Action Day to demand a separate homeland.
The film is the third title in Vivek Agnihotri's Files trilogy after National Award-winning movies The Tashkent Files (2019) and The Kashmir Files (2022). It also stars Mithun Chakraborty, Saswata Chatterjee, Anupam Kher, Priyanshu Chatterjee and Darshan Kumar.
