EntertainmentPosted at: Sep 8 2025 11:42AM


Filmmaker alleges TMC, police pressure on malls in Bengal

Bengaluru, Sept 8 (UNI) Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri today alleged that in West Bengal, police personnel themselves are intimidating multiplex chains and mall owners to prevent the release of his latest film 'The Bengal Files'.
He described this as the most disturbing aspect of the entire controversy, saying that when law enforcement begins to act like a political arm, the space for freedom of expression and cinema shrinks dangerously.
In a video appeal released on social media, Agnihotri said, “At first, the police were directly calling the CEOs of multiplex chains, warning them not to screen the film. Many of them backed out. When some finally agreed, the police shifted pressure to mall owners, since multiplexes are tenants in malls. Mall landlords are now being threatened not just by the police but also by TMC workers. This is happening on the orders of the state leadership.”
He alleged that the ruling establishment’s “politics of fear” was aimed at ensuring that the truth about Hindu genocide and historical suffering “never reaches the public.” According to him, 'The Bengal Files' is being singled out precisely because audiences are relating to its subject matter.
The filmmaker said he and his team, including producers Abhishek Agarwal and Pallavi Joshi, have fought hard to get screenings, but institutional support is completely absent. “Pallavi Ji even wrote to the President of India. Yet, no political party, no intellectual class, no media organisation has come forward to support us. Those who call themselves defenders of free speech are silent today,” he remarked.
Agnihotri added that the isolation of his team in this struggle is deeply painful. “We are fighting alone. Bollywood voices that often speak about freedom and dissent are now silent. This silence is tragic and dangerous.”
Appealing directly to citizens, he urged a nationwide social media campaign to pressure authorities. “Tag the multiplex chains, the Chief Minister, the union Home Minister, Kolkata Police, the President of India, and the Home Ministry. Make your voices so strong that they are compelled to allow the release,” he said.
The filmmaker warned that failure to release the film in Bengal would have wider implications. “If 'The Bengal Files' is not allowed, it will be such a defeat that no filmmaker in future will dare to take up such subjects. If films cannot reach audiences, how will truth-based cinema survive?”
He made a special appeal to the Bengali community, saying the issue was personal for them. “This is your story, your film. Why are you silent? If you don’t stand up, who else will? I beg you: let 'The Bengal Files' release in Bengal.”
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