Vivek Agnihotri’s The Bengal Files Trailer Launch Halted Twice in Kolkata Amid Chaos
The trailer launch of filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri’s upcoming film The Bengal Files was disrupted twice on Saturday at the ITC Royal Bengal in Kolkata, leading to major confusion and heated confrontations.
The event, which had just begun, was first interrupted when electrical wires inside the hotel were reportedly cut, halting the screening. According to eyewitnesses, the chaos escalated when police entered the hotel ballroom for a second time to stop the launch, sparking tense exchanges between officials and the organizers. Agnihotri was eventually escorted out of the venue by his private security team.
Hotel authorities later clarified that the event was conducted without official permission from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, which became a key reason behind the intervention.
Condemning the disruption, Agnihotri described the incident as an attack on freedom of expression and Bengali identity. “It is autocracy. My theatre trailer launch was stopped. Twice the trailer launch was stopped inside the hotel. Bengal is demographically changing,” he told the media.
Speaking further to ET, he called the interference a direct blow to Bengali “asmita,” particularly at a time when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee continues to highlight cultural issues in her political campaigns. He expressed concern that demographic shifts, which he linked back to the violence of the 1946 Bengal killings, remain an ongoing threat to the state’s identity. Calling the incident a “sad commentary on our democracy,” Agnihotri said the disruption raises larger questions about freedom and cultural expression.
Despite the interruptions, the teaser of The Bengal Files was eventually unveiled. The film delves into the upheavals of 1946 Bengal, including communal violence and the partition, and serves as the final installment in Agnihotri’s “Files Trilogy,” following The Tashkent Files (2019) and The Kashmir Files (2022).
For now, the exact reasons behind the repeated halting of the trailer launch remain uncertain.