New Delhi: The teaser of Vivek Agnihotri’s upcoming film The Delhi Files: The Bengal Chapter, begins with the Preamble to the Constitution recited by a haggard Mithun Chakraborty.
The Delhi Files, the first of the two-part series set against the backdrop of India’s freedom struggle, covers the Bengal riots of 1946. It’s the latest addition to a series of films by the director who is attempting to uncover the ‘truth’.
“The Delhi Files is probing all the sacrifices we made, and the kind of blood that has flown through the streets of Bengal and Punjab. It is one of the boldest attempts to uncover the truth that is systematically hidden by those with vested interests, even after all these years of Independence,” Agnihotri told ThePrint.
This is the third in a line of films with a similar theme. The first was The Tashkent Files in 2019. The latest, 2022’s The Kashmir Files was panned by critics and Opposition leaders for blatant propaganda and misinformation, but it went on to become a box office hit. Made on a budget of Rs 20 crores, the movie earned more than Rs 250 crore.
Aghnihotri’s search for truth in The Delhi Files: The Bengal Chapter was not without challenges, beginning with circumstances which made him erect a massive set in Mumbai, instead of shooting on location.
“The film needed to be shot in Bengal, but CM Mamata Banerjee has issued statements against me, and the party workers were provoked. So it has become physically unsafe to shoot in Bengal. We had to recreate Kolkata in Mumbai. Ironically, my film is about the right to life, and I do not have it under the CM’s leadership,” said Agnihotri.
The filmmaker has an ongoing defamation case against the West Bengal chief minister for her remarks calling his 2022 film The Kashmir Files a propaganda movie. Agnihotri said that his team had to face a lot of hurdles, including being detained at a hotel in Kolkata, when they were researching for The Delhi Files.
“I always face personal problems in Bengal. Shows are cancelled, I’m harassed, my team is also harassed,” said the director.
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Four years of research
In Bollywood, stars and commercial potboilers draw in the audience. According to Vivek Agnihotri, his decision to choose another path has made his filmmaking journey a struggle.
“In Bollywood, if you are not working with top stars or in commercial elements, then your life is hell,” said Agnihotri.
He also claims that being outspoken has led to his isolation in the industry. “Since the time I have said directors, and writers should be paid more than stars, a very strong lobby of stars has started running hate lobbies against me,” said the director.
Agnihotri said the film took four years of research to be made.
His team has travelled to parts of Bengal, Assam and Tripura to conduct interviews. He claimed that they were harassed in Bengal when on the lookout to interview people related to Gopal Chandra Mukhopadhyay. He was a gang leader who led the Hindu resistance against Muslims on Direct Action Day—16 August 1946.
These tensions in Bengal led him to reach out to production designer Rajat Poddar, the man behind the sets of movies like Barfi! (2012), Jagga Jasoos (2017) and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022), who suggested a movable set.
Poddar died in September 2024, but not before creating the massive set that showcases Delhi, Kolkata, Sevagram, Murshidabad and Noakhali. It was made on two massive pieces of land—of seven and 10 acres—rented in Madh Island, Mumbai.
The Delhi Files is jointly produced by Abhishek Agarwal and Pallavi Joshi, and will be released worldwide on 15 August.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)
It’s sad and disappointing that in our times anyone who tells the truth about Kashmiri Pandits gets labelled as a propagandist and accusations of misinformation and disinformation follow. It’s disheartening that even Ms. Tina Das, instead of acknowledging the truth as portrayed in the Kashmir Files, blames Agnihotri for propaganda and misinformation.
Kudos to Mr. Agnihotri for bending before the Left-liberal-secular cabal.