After BJP’s electoral victory in West Bengal, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri’s The Bengal Files is finally set to release in the state on May 15 as reported by NDTV.
Although there were reports suggesting that the film would hit theatres on Friday, May 8, Agnihotri dismissed the claims through his Instagram Stories and clarified that the official release date in Bengal is next Friday.
The Bengal Files had originally released across India on September 5, 2025, but was notably absent from cinema halls in West Bengal. According to NDTV, the film will now finally be screened in the state following the BJP’s major political win.
Earlier, Vivek Agnihotri had alleged that theatre owners in Bengal were unwilling to screen the film. During a conversation with NDTV ahead of the film’s nationwide release last year, the filmmaker claimed that exhibitors in the state were refusing to allocate screens for The Bengal Files.
A day before the film’s release in September 2025, NDTV reportedly contacted several theatre owners in Kolkata to understand the situation on the ground.
Navin Choukhani, Director of Navina Cinema, told NDTV, "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."
Similarly, Priya Cinema owner Arijit Dutta also explained the logistical challenges associated with screening multiple films at once. Speaking to NDTV, he 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."
Despite these responses, theatre owners had not issued any official statement clarifying why the film was not screened in Bengal at the time of its release.
More recently, after the BJP’s victory in the state elections, Agnihotri shared a strongly worded social media post in which he alleged that The Bengal Files had effectively been banned 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. 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," a part of his post read.
The film’s release in Bengal next week is now being seen as a significant development amid the changing political landscape in the state.
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