Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri announces release date of new movie about Bengal; social media says, ‘Waiting for Manipur files'

Mint

2 days ago

Bollywood filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri has announced the release date of his new film, The Bengal Files. The movie, based on communal violence in the 1940s, is all set to be released on September 5.
'They turned Bengal's wisdom into ashes. The land that once lit up Bharat's soul with Indic renaissance… was silenced by communal hate,' the director wrote on social media, not revealing the identity of 'they'.
'The streets of Bengal were drowned in blood. India forgot. But we remembered. And now the world will know,' Agnihotri wrote while announcing the release date.
Social media users, especially those from West Bengal, reacted to the announcement.
'Tell your boss that they will lose again in Bengal,' came from one Bengali user.
One user claimed, 'The movie was called Delhi Files earlier. When BJP came to power in Delhi, the name change happened.'
'We are good here. Can you please stop doing this Publicity Stunt?' wrote another Bengali.
One of them wrote, 'B-Grade movies ka C-Grade director…'
'How about the Gujarat files? It could solve why a popular public leader does not give interviews for 2 decades!' commented another.
Another remarked, 'Waiting for Manipur files.'
One user predicted that it would be a 'Maha Flop communal movie'. Another called Agnihotri 'The film director from WhatsApp University'.
Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri is no stranger to controversy. In October 2013, he tweeted, 'What makes NANO the SAFEST car for Women. THERE IS SIMPLY NO WAY TO GET GANG R*PED IN HERE.'
Earlier in 2025, he reacted to the Samay Raina controversy and compared it to Kashmiri Pandits 'getting lynched'.
Samay Raina 'must have experienced how it feels when people who don't agree with you come to lynch you', he wrote.
Vivek Agnihotri's film The Kashmir Files (2022) became a massive box office success. However, it faced criticism for showing communal violence in an allegedly biased manner.
Kashmir politicians like Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti slammed the film. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called it 'false propaganda'. Agnihotri sent her a legal notice seeking an apology.
Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid called it a 'propaganda, vulgar movie'. The jury head at the 2022 International Film Festival of India sparked a major controversy with his comments.