The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday criticized filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri after a Kolkata-based organisation announced the first screening of his controversial film The Bengal Files in the city on September 13.

The screening, organised by BJP-backed group Khola Hawa, will take place at Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Bhasha Bhavan in the National Library. The film, starring Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi, is set against the backdrop of the 1946 Great Calcutta Killings and will be shown behind closed doors, with attendance by invitation only.

Speaking at a press conference, Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu said, “They have the right to screen the movie. But The Bengal Files has been rejected nationwide. Its box office performance is poor, and the director is not receiving support from media or party, which is why he is complaining.”

Since its all-India release on September 5, Agnihotri has repeatedly raised concerns about screening issues in West Bengal. In an interview with NDTV, he claimed that even after booking theatres in advance, distributors have refused to screen the film, citing fears of political unrest.

Former BJP Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta, associated with Khola Hawa, confirmed the Kolkata screening.

The film, which portrays the communal riots of August 1946 in Kolkata, faced a censorship petition, which the Calcutta High Court dismissed on September 8. Despite this, The Bengal Files is yet to be screened in theatres across West Bengal. Agnihotri has alleged political pressure and intimidation by the ruling TMC, calling it an “unofficial ban.”

Source: NDTV