The Bengal Files: The Right to Life Narrative
A comprehensive look at the Vivek Agnihotri film: plot, release details, ban controversy in West Bengal, and box office results.
The Bengal Files (2025) is an Indian Hindi-language political drama film directed and written by Vivek Agnihotri. Marketed as part of Agnihotri’s debated "Files Trilogy," the movie follows The Tashkent Files (2019) and The Kashmir Files (2022). With a runtime of 204 minutes, it ranks among the longest Bollywood films. Released on 5 September 2025, the film sparked controversy for alleged historical distortion, propaganda-driven narrative, and its depiction of communal violence.
Starring Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Pallavi Joshi, Darshan Kumar, and Simrat Kaur, the film dramatizes the Direct Action Day (1946), the Great Calcutta Killings, and the Noakhali riots, portraying them as episodes of genocide in Bengal prior to Indian independence and partition.
Plot Overview — The Bengal Files (2025)
The movie begins with the Direct Action Day massacre of 16 August 1946, also known as the Great Calcutta Killings. Violence spreads across Bengal, including Noakhali, Tipperah, and Comilla, leaving stories of brutal communal clashes.
Parallel to these historical recreations, the narrative follows a criminal investigator searching for a missing person. His inquiry uncovers a network of political corruption while drawing parallels to partition-era violence that shaped India’s destiny.
Release & Certification
Director Vivek Agnihotri publicly warned of legal action if West Bengal authorities prevented the film's release.
Controversy in West Bengal
One day before the theatrical release, Pallavi Joshi alleged the film was unofficially banned in West Bengal, claiming theatre owners were being intimidated. Amit Malviya (BJP IT Cell head) accused the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government of blocking screenings, while the TMC denied involvement, saying the decision was with theatre owners and multiplex operators.
Theatre owners in Kolkata stated they had no available slots, citing other releases such as The Conjuring: Last Rites, Baaghi 4, Bohurupi, and Dhumketu. Ultimately, a special invitation-only screening was held on 13 September 2025 at the Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Bhasha Bhavan (National Library) in Kolkata.
The Bengal Files — Box Office Collection
Despite widespread media attention, the film underperformed commercially.
- Budget recovery: Less than one-third earned in the first week
- India collection: ₹7.86 crore (US$930,000)
- Overseas collection: ₹2.2 crore (US$260,000)
- Worldwide total (till 12 Sept 2025): ₹10.06 crore (US$1.2 million)
These figures made it one of the most commercially unsuccessful films of 2025, despite dominating headlines for its controversial subject matter.
Final Verdict
The Bengal Files (2025) is a polarizing Hindi movie that ignited nationwide debate. While it failed at the box office, it succeeded in generating conversations around Indian history, partition-era violence, censorship, and freedom of expression in cinema. Some praised it as "uncovering hidden truths," while critics lambasted it for propaganda and historical revisionism.
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