Movie Review ‘Bengal Files ‘ by Vivek Agnihotri
R.K.Upadhyay 
I went to see Vivek Agnihotri’s movie ‘Bengal Files’ last night . The hall was only one third full . These days halls sell higher cost tickets first so that they can avoid huge losses . Movie is earning only Rs 2.3 crore / day and costed Rs 30 crore to produce . The producer may not be able to recover cost . The reason is obvious , The movie can’t be called entertaining and that keeps women and new generation away. An ordinary love story ‘Saiyaara ‘ earned Rs 404 crore rupees with absolutely new faces . Even my maid with her friends went to see the movie in hall , an expensive proposition otherwise .
Even with this warning do I recommend the movie to be watched , a definite yes !
The movie’s real heroine is Pallavi Joshi Joshi who does an excellent job as a woman now almost mad at say ninety years of age but who had shot governor as a student in British India , gone to Gandh ji ashram for penance and became a non violence practitioner at Noakhali in 1945 . Her father was a judge in high court .Her father was tortured and killed in public at Noakhali . Her mother along with 500 people taking shelter in a mill were killed. She too would have died but survived due to a sikh Amar Singh Arora .Who too was killed brutally in public at 12 00 hrs on 14 th night as Pakistan came into being .
The present time is juxtaposed with a new comer IPS CBI officer who is given task of investigating abduction of a young journalist Bharti Mandal by a local muslim strong man MLA who maintains a charitable face , unites muslims in his area in mosque but smuggles a large number of Bangladeshis and gives them false identity . They serve as captive vote bank of govt in power ie CPM and Trinmool now. He is suave but brutal and merciless in eliminating any one challenging his empire . CBI is made to apologise repeatedly to this muslim MLA criminal to quell communal riots instigated by him .
To make it more realistic ,Direct Action Day is relived in full with Jinnah , Gandhi , Nehru thrown in liberally . Anupam Kher as Gandhi , Mithun Chakravarty and Pallavi are such accomplished actors that their performance is riveting . Photography is excellent . Editing is little weak could have shortened some speeches .
Brought up In Delhi;s Moti Bagh , a govt colony , having gone to IIT . SCRA , worked in six states and Africa, I cannot be anything but believer and admirer of Secularism . I also am a great admirer of Nehru and devotee of Gandhi . But still like West , as seen in Lebanon , Sudan , UK or even recent Israeli massacre , I am firmly convinced that a time to revisit our old beliefs has come . We must protect our culture from demography assault by rabid rise in population living on free allowances without paying tax yet enjoying five year extra life due to good family income and urban living .
I at the end admire Vivek Agnihotri for displaying courage in producing such loss making but timely movie . If possible do see it in hall to absorb the full flavour.
