Mamata cancelled me: Vivek Agnihotri celebrates BJP win, claims he showed The Bengal Files to public during election
Vivek Agnihotri reacted to Mamata Banerjee's defeat in West Bengal by the BJP and claimed that he was once not allowed to enter the state. He revealed how he has contributed towards the election to bring down the ruling party.
Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri is celebrating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s big win in the West Bengal Assembly elections on social media. Mamata Banerjee was defeated by BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari in Bhabanipur, followed by a surge of the BJP across the state.
Vivek Agnihotri on Mamata Banerjee
Amid this, The Kashmir Files director claimed that he was banned from entering West Bengal once. He took to X and posted an old clip of himself in which he talked about The Bengal Files not releasing in the state under the rule of Mamata Banerjee.
He shared, “NEVER AGAIN. For those who don’t know, @MamataOfficial cancelled me in Bengal after the release of #TheKashmirFiles. The film was taken out of cinema halls, and she said I would NOT BE ALLOWED TO ENTER Bengal."
Agnihotri said that Mamata Banerjee banned The Bengal Files in the state, and even the trailer launch in Kolkata was halted. "Last year, she BANNED #TheBengalFiles completely in West Bengal. Our trailer launch was blocked. We were attacked and assaulted. Dozens of FIRs were filed against me. I was cancelled in Bengal. I couldn’t even go to receive my award from the Governor," added Agnihotri.
Vivek Agnihotri continued, revealing how he contributed to Mamata Banerjee's defeat. He said that his film, The Bengal Files, was screened to people in secret during the election.
"But we never gave up. During these elections, we ensured that #TheBengalFiles was shown to as many people as possible (underground) across Bengal. I am glad we didn’t give and fought in our own little way. And finally… this unprecedented victory. Congratulations to the great people of Bengal. Now you can walk without fear, with your head held high," he concluded the note.
The Bengal Files banned in WB?
While there was no official ban on Vivek Agnihotri's The Bengal Files, the film didn't secure screens in West Bengal. Reportedly, theatre owners skipped the film release without citing any official reason.
Backed by Abhishek Agarwal Arts and I Am Buddha Productions, The Bengal Files is set against the backdrop of the unrest in Bengal during the 1940s, including the Great Calcutta Killings of 1946.
The film starred Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi, Darshan Kumar, Anupam Kher and Simrat Kaur.
The film received mixed reactions after its release. A section of people also criticised it over its alleged distortion of history. In the end, the film remained commercially unsuccessful at the box office.
When Vivek Agnihotri blamed TMC
At the trailer launch event of The Bengal Files, Agnihotri previously told Livemint, "Multiple FIRs have been filed against us.”
“We have taken all permissions. We took permission from ITC, ran tests, or else we would have never organised such an event. They are not telling us why it is being stopped. If this is not a dictatorship, then what is it? If this is not Fascism?”
“Law and order have failed, and that's why it is important that everybody supports this film, The Bengal Files. So many police have been deployed here as if we are thieves or smugglers. We are filmmakers. If we are being silenced in the land of Satyajit Ray, then you can imagine what the situation is in Bengal," he said.