Pallavi Joshi seeks President Droupadi Murmu’s intervention for The Bengal Files release in West Bengal
Actress Pallavi Joshi has written a letter to The Bengal Files appealing her intervention after theatres in West Bengal refuse to release film in the state.
New Delhi: Vivek Agnihotri’s directorial, The Bengal Files, is scheduled to release on September 5, 2025. The film, which is being labelled as a ‘propaganda’ film, has courted massive controversy, is not releasing on West Bengal. After Vivek Agnihotri made an appeal to West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, now Pallavi Joshi wrote an open letter to the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, seeking intervention and protection of her constitutional rights.
Pallavi Joshi writes open letter to Droupadi Murmu
Sharing the letter via Instagram, Pallavi captioned the post, "URGENT APPEAL Your Excellency, @presidentofindia, As Producer of #TheBengalFiles, I am pained that multiplex chains in Bengal have refused the film’s release under political pressure and threats by the ruling party. I plead for your intervention to uphold my constitutional rights and ensure its release in Bengal."
Her open letter read, "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,” the letter further read.
The letter concluded with, "Legendary actor, Padma Bhushan Victor Banerjee, along with many Bengali organisations in India and abroad, have already petitioned you. Their support proves that truth still has allies. The Bengal Files is the cry of Maa Bharati, scarred yet unbroken, a story of survival and hope. As a woman who rose from the margins to the highest constitutional office, only you can truly understand what it means to endure such pain and turn it into purpose. This is cinema of truth. But truth also needs protection. Madam President, I seek not a favour for a film but space for art, for truth, for Maa Bharati’s soul to speak without fear. You are my final hope. Please protect our constitutional right and let The Bengal Files be shown in West Bengal peacefully."
About The Bengal Files
The film revolves around the Calcutta Riots of 1946. It stars Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, Simrat Kaur, Saswata Chatterjee, Namashi Chakraborty, Rajesh Khera, Puneet Issar, Priyanshu Chatterjee, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Sourav Das, and Mohan Kapur.