Mumbai: Following the BJP’s electoral victory in West Bengal, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri has announced that his upcoming film ‘The Bengal Files’ will hit theatres in the eastern state on May 15.
The announcement has sparked political as well as cinematic discussions online, given the film’s subject matter and the timing of its release.
Taking to his Instagram Stories, Vivek dismissed reports claiming that ‘The Bengal Files’ would be released on May 8 and clarified that the film is instead scheduled to hit theatres in West Bengal a week later.
The announcement comes months after the filmmaker alleged that ‘The Bengal Files’ was not being allowed to screen in West Bengal.
Although the film was released across India on September 5, 2025, it did not hit theatres in West Bengal at the time.
Agnihotri had claimed that cinema owners in Bengal were unwilling to screen the film.
“It’s a single screen. We had a prior commitment with Tiger Shroff’s Baaghi 4. The Bengali film Dhumketu is already doing well for us. So, we are not running The Bengal Files,” Navin Choukhani, Director of Navina Cinema was quoted as saying by NDTV at the time.
Sharing a similar view, Priya Cinema owner Arijit Dutta had said, “In a single screen, we can’t run several films. We will run Baaghi 4 along with two Bengali films. You can ask the multiplex owners why they are not running The Bengal Files.”
However, theatre owners did not give any official explanation regarding the film’s absence from cinemas in West Bengal.
Now that the saffron party has stormed to victory in West Bengal for the first time, Agnihotri shared a post on social media claiming that ‘The Bengal Files’ had effectively been banned in the state.
“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. But we never gave up. During these elections, we ensured the film was somehow shown to as many people as possible across Bengal. I am glad we didn’t give up and fought in our own little way,” he wrote.