BJP Vs Trinamool As Kolkata Gives Controversial Film 'Bengal Files' A Miss

The hugely controversial film "Bengal Files" was released today amid a huge political row between the state's Opposition BJP and the ruling Trinamool Congress. The film has sparked a massive political controversy in the state, as it allegedly portrays Hindu genocide in a distorted manner against the backdrop of the 1946 riots in Calcutta.

The film, concluding part of director Vivek Agnihotri's Files Trilogy, revisits the August 1946 killings in the city, triggered by the Muslim League's call for Direct Action Day. It had led to widespread communal violence, mass casualties, and eventually Mahatma Gandhi's fast for peace at Beleghata.

While the film was released across the country, none of the movie halls in Kolkata are screening it.  This has provided the BJP with an opportunity to attack Trinamool Congress. 

"The Bengal Files, a film on the genocide of Bengali Hindus, has released worldwide, except in West Bengal and Pakistan. Mamata Banerjee should wear this as a badge of honour: not only has she insulted the sacrifice of Bengali Hindus who fought for their own homeland, but she has also placed them in the same bracket as a radicalised nation," the BJP's Amit Malviya posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The Trinamool has pointed out that there is no ban on the movie and the decision to pick and screen movies does not belong to the government. 

"There is no ban on the movie in West Bengal, we are a democratic state. The decision to not release the film was made by distributors and multiplex owners," said senior Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh.

But the makers of The Bengal Files have also alleged that the state government is deliberately preventing its release. 

Producer-actor Pallavi Joshi claimed that theatre owners in Bengal were being "threatened by the police" and warned of "serious consequences" if they screened the film. "We have appealed to the President as well. As a woman, I have written to her personally, seeking a smooth release for our film," she said.