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Vivek Agnihotri calls The Bengal Files his final “truth cinema” chapter
The Indian filmmaker said his work responds to misrepresentations of Indian history in global discourse.
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Staff Reporter - Tue, 08, Jul 2025
- 03:19 EDT
- 38
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Vivek Agnihotri / Facebook
Filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri has described ‘The Bengal Files’ as the final installment of his trilogy aimed at reshaping global narratives about Indian history. The film is set to premiere on July 19 in New Jersey, with screenings in nine other U.S. cities to follow as part of the “Never Again Tour.”
Speaking to New India Abroad, Agnihotri said, “One of the reasons I have previewed all my films of the trilogy first in the U.S. is because USA is the capital of the grand global narrative. And what narrative US promotes or believes in, the whole world follows that.”
Agnihotri said his work responds to misrepresentations of Indian history in global discourse. “I have observed that the narrative about India is very, very lopsided and biased, because of the mainstream films, mainstream fiction, mainstream history books,” he told New India Abroad. “So I made this trilogy—first The Tashkent Files, then The Kashmir Files about genocide, and now the truth about India's Partition, who was responsible, how communal violence played its role—The Bengal Files.”
He added that his intent is not just artistic but political. “My films are not just films. They are kind of activism. They are kind of a mission. And they are my way of protesting against this biased narrative, and I want to correct it.”
The Bengal Files focuses on Direct Action Day, observed on Aug. 16, 1946, which saw widespread communal violence in Calcutta following a call by the Muslim League for a separate Pakistan. The film seeks to depict the events and consequences of that day, which Agnihotri describes as a “very important chapter of not just Indian history, but the world’s history.”
ALSO READ: Global Indian Diaspora Foundation to host pre-screening of ‘The Bengal Files’
Explaining his goal for the film, Agnihotri New India Abroad, “I want my film to create awareness, that Hindu community is one of the most persecuted communities in the world. We are the only community in the history of humanity which was enslaved and persecuted for a straight thousand years.”
He added, “I want the world to look at us with compassion, with empathy, and give us a little space rather than always blaming us. This is the kind of grand narrative I want to contribute to through my art, through my truth cinema.”
Nikunj Trivedi, president of CoHNA, said the film addresses a historical silence. “Just like the genocide in Kashmir, the atrocities on Hindus during the partition of India are either whitewashed or at best discussed in whispers,” he said. “Today’s generation must remember the trauma of their ancestors and pledge ‘never again.’”
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