Vivek Agnihotri alleges multiple FIRs against him by WB ruling party members to hamper release of The Bengal Files

Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri released a video on social media making serious claims against members in the West Bengal ruling party. Here's what he said.

Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri took to his social media on Tuesday to make serious allegations against members of West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress party. He claimed that multiple FIRs have been filed against him in different cities to hamper the release of The Bengal Files, which is slated to hit theatres on 5 September. Here’s what he said.

Vivek Agnihotri took to social media to claim that certain entities are trying to stop him from focusing on The Bengal Files.

Vivek Agnihotri alleges multiple FIRs filed on him

Vivek began his video by stating that he is sharing his message from the US, where he is promoting The Bengal Files. He then claimed that despite a stay granted by the Calcutta High Court, FIRs continue to be piled on him.

“I am in the USA promoting The Bengal Files. I must tell you, it’s one of the most defining, one of the most important films on Hindu genocide. It uncovers so many dark chapters of our history, which some vested interests had covered up for a very long time. But while I am here, the ruling party of West Bengal and their members have been filing so many FIRs against us in different cities, in different cities and thanas,” said the filmmaker.

He also claimed that while he initially chose to stay silent and pursue this only legally, an attempt was being made to derail the film’s publicity. “I have great faith in the Indian judiciary, especially the Calcutta High Court, and I have some good news to give you. The Calcutta High Court has given a stay on all these FIRs. But as the case was being heard in the High Court, at the same time, they filed more FIRs. I think this is their strategy. The ruling party wants to trap us with so many legal hassles, so many legal battles, so that we cannot focus on the promotion of the film,” said Vivek.

Questions motive behind the FIRs

Vivek also questioned if the FIRs were being filed to ‘stifle dissent or hide inconvenient truths. “This strategy has been deployed by them for a very, very long time. Are they against me? Are they against the film? Or are they against the truth?" he asked. He also alleged that they were denied permission to shoot The Bengal Files in West Bengal and had to shoot it in Mumbai. “Now, with our limited resources, we want this film to reach every citizen of India, especially the young people,” he said.

Vivek also speculated that the FIRs might have been filed on him because the ruling party fears the film’s ‘influence’. He ended by saying that he will release the film’s trailer in West Bengal and that nobody could silence him.

While sharing the video, Vivek captioned it: “Important & Urgent: Multiple FIRs have been filed against me by the West Bengal govt for making #TheBengalFiles. The Hon’ble High Court has stayed them. Why do they want to silence us? Why are they so scared of the truth? I will not be silenced.”

The Bengal Files is written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri and produced by Abhishek Agarwal and Pallavi Joshi. It features Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi, Anupam Kher, and Darshan Kumar and forms part of Agnihotri’s Files trilogy, which includes The Kashmir Files and The Tashkent Files.