The Bengal Files Movie Review: Vivek Agnihotri’s Film Falters in Its Loose, Confused, and Overstretched Execution
Star Cast: Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Pallavi Joshi, Simratt Kaur Randhawa, Saswata Chatterjee, Namashi Chakraborty, Eklavya Sood, Rajesh Khera
Director: Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri
Review Rating: 2.0
Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s The Bengal Files arrives with the ambitious promise of illuminating a forgotten chapter of history, particularly the role of local strongman Gopal Patha in the 1946 Great Calcutta Killings. However, viewers hoping for a deep dive into his story will likely be disappointed. Patha’s intervention, including his chilling order to “kill ten” for every one killed by the rioters, is depicted briefly before he vanishes from the narrative. This scattered focus is a major weakness of the film.
Instead of a coherent historical account, the movie is a sprawling, three-and-a-half-hour narrative that jumps between the turbulent 1940s and a present-day mystery. The film’s primary goal seems to be connecting the “unfinished business” of Partition to contemporary political and religious tensions. It uses a modern-day investigation into a missing girl as a device to flashback to the horrors of Direct Action Day and the Noakhali riots. This link, however, feels forced and disjointed.
The film takes a critical stance on historical figures, portraying Gandhi as helpless against the violence, a view that aligns with recent political messaging. Performances are often melodramatic, mirroring the heavy-handed writing. The present-day plot portrays authorities bowing to a powerful Muslim MLA, with justice only being sought by characters like the frail Ma Bharati (Pallavi Joshi) and Shiva Pandit (a clear nod to Agnihotri’s previous film, The Kashmir Files), who carries the trauma of Kashmiri Pandit displacement.
The violence depicted is graphic and disturbing, showcasing brutal scenes of mutilated bodies. The film portrays the historical villain, Ghulam Sarwar Husseini (Namashi Chakraborty), as a ruthless enforcer of communal terror. His modern counterpart, a politician played by Saswata Chatterjee, is implicated in a recurring theme of demographic engineering through illegal immigration.
Thus, The Bengal Files is a confused and overstretched film. Its narrative is sprawling, its focus is uneven, and its messaging is heavy-handed. Despite its ambitious scope to explore a pivotal moment in history, the film’s execution falls short, leaving many questions unanswered and failing to deliver a nuanced or coherent story.
