The Bengal Files: Moviegoers Demand Screening Of Vivek Agnihotri's Film in West Bengal, Protest Outside A Theatre

Vivek Agnihotri's The Bengal Files was released on Friday, September 5, 2025. The film has hit the big screens across the country, but it has been unofficially banned in West Bengal. Agnihotri, on Saturday, took to social media to inform everyone that moviegoers are protesting outside a theatre in West Bengal, and they are demanding the screening of The Bengal Files.

He tweeted, "Finally, Bengalis in Bengal are protesting at cinema halls against the unofficial ban of #TheBengalFiles. You can also protest by tagging all big multiplex chains."

The protest took place outside Rupkotha Cinema in West Bengal.

Pallavi Joshi's Open Letter To President Of India

Ahead of the film's release, Pallavi Joshi, the producer of The Bengal Files, had written an open letter to the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, regarding the unofficial ban of the film in West Bengal.

In her letter, Joshi had written, "Respected Madam President, With a heavy heart, I reach out to you, not for favours, but for protection. The Bengal Files, the final part of the Files Trilogy, releases on 5th September. It tells the long-suppressed truth of the Hindu genocide of Direct Action Day, the horrors of Noakhali, and the trauma of Partition. But in West Bengal, truth is under siege. Years before completion, the Chief Minister mocked the film. Since then, baseless FIRS have been filed, our trailer was blocked by police, and even newspapers avoid carrying ads. My family is threatened every day by political party workers. Now theatre owners have told us they are being intimidated, threatened and are refusing to screen it, fearing violence by ruling party workers. There is no official ban, yet an unofficial ban silences the film before people can see it (sic)."

The Bengal Files Review

The Bengal Files has received mostly positive reviews from the critics. The Free Press Journal reviewer gave the movie 3 stars and wrote, "The Bengal Files is an emotionally haunting, hard-hitting film. But, it is not for faint-hearted people. The amazing performance of the female leads take the movie a notch higher."