Censorship petition for The Bengal Files dismissed by the Calcutta High Court

In what could be termed as a huge relief to the makers of The Bengal Files, the Calcutta High Court on Monday dismissed a censorship request petition which was filed by one Santanu Mukherjee. Mukherjee has claimed that his grandfather, Gopal Chandra Mukherjee, has been depicted in a defamatory manner in Vivek Agnihotri’s film, which was released in theatres on September 5.

Petition against The Bengal Files dismissed

The petitioner, Santanu Mukherjee, had sought a probe into the censor certification weeks before the film’s theatrical release. He sought a probe into what parameters were taken up by the censor board before certifying the movie.

The Bengal Files is based on the communal riots of August 1946 in Kolkata – often known in history as the ‘Great Calcutta Killings.’

"The petitioner intended to obtain certain information under RTI. The time period under which the information was sought has expired," Justice Amrita Sinha said.

During the hearing last week, the petitioner had claimed that Mukherjee's character had been termed 'Patha', a Bengali connotation for goat, in the movie. The term is also used for butchers.

Mukherjee ran a goat meat shop in the 1940s at the Bowbazar area in central Kolkata.

The petitioner submitted that his grandfather was an eminent freedom fighter. Gopal Patha is one of the key characters in Agnihotri’s film. Alleging that the filmmaker has depicted him as being involved in the events of August 16, 1946, Santanu claimed that the depiction was wrong.

The Bengal Files in West Bengal

While Vivek Agnihotri has allaged that the film has got an ‘unofficial ban’ in West Bengal, reports state that the film is running in theatres across the state. In a video shared on social media, the filmmaker has alleged that the film is facing political pressure and intimidation by the ruling Trinamool Congress.

The film is currently not being screened in theatres across West Bengal. Vivek Agnihotri has alleged that political pressure and intimidation by the ruling Trinamool Congress were behind what he called an "unofficial ban".

The movie features Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Pallavi Joshi, Saswata Chatterjee, Darshan Kumarr and Sourav Das in leading roles.

WION’s review of The Bengal Files

In her review of the film, WION’s Shomini Sen called the film graphic and divisive. While she praised the actors, she called out the maker for the message he tried to convey. “The Bengal Files, touted as one of the ‘boldest films’ from Agnihotri, is also perhaps the most convoluted film in his repertoire. It plays to the gallery; it is too graphic and divisive to be taken seriously. It may be telling an important story, but its implementation is awfully convoluted,” wrote Sen. Read full review of The Bengal Files here