Cinema has always been more than entertainment in India—it is a weapon, a mirror, a battlefield of memory and imagination. With the rise of politically charged films like The Kashmir Files (2022), audiences have become accustomed to movies that claim to “unveil hidden truths” while in reality presenting a selective narrative. The upcoming The Bengal Files falls squarely into this category. Its title alone suggests a daring exposé, but the truth is far more complex: the film is not a faithful retelling of historical fact, but rather a fictionalized, politically loaded narrative woven out of real fragments of Bengal’s history.
To understand where The Bengal Files stands between reality and
imagination, one must first revisit the turbulent history of West Bengal.
The Historical Backdrop of Bengal
Bengal has never been free from turmoil. Partition in 1947 tore the region
apart, dividing Bengal into West Bengal (India) and East Bengal (later East
Pakistan, and after 1971, Bangladesh). The scars of Partition—displacement,
refugee suffering, and communal violence—continue to shape Bengal’s collective
memory.
In 1971, the Liberation War in East Pakistan triggered another massive
influx of refugees into West Bengal, aggravating communal and economic
tensions. This was followed by decades of political upheaval: from the Naxalite
movement of the late 1960s to the long rule of the Communist Party of India
(Marxist), and eventually the rise of the Trinamool Congress. Each regime
carried with it its share of controversies, allegations of violence, and
authoritarianism.
So yes, Bengal’s history is soaked in trauma. But that trauma is complex,
layered, and often entangled with questions of class, caste, ideology, and
migration—not the simplistic victim-perpetrator binaries that films like The
Bengal Files tend to present.
What the Film Might Claim
From its title and early buzz, The Bengal Files positions itself as
a revelation of “suppressed truths.” It seeks to emulate the formula of The
Kashmir Files, which dramatized the 1990 exodus of Kashmiri Pandits but
also faced sharp criticism for communal overtones and selective storytelling.
Similarly, The Bengal Files may highlight:
- Political violence
in Bengal, often bloody and
ruthless.
- Communal tensions, portrayed as systematic persecution.
- Illegal immigration
from Bangladesh, framed as a
demographic threat.
- Government
complicity or apathy, a favorite trope in films meant to showcase
victimhood.
But are these depictions factually accurate? Not entirely.
The Reality Behind the Fiction
Political Violence – True, but Misrepresented
It is undeniable that Bengal has seen decades of political bloodshed. From
the 1970s “Syndicate Raj” of the CPI(M) to today’s TMC-BJP clashes, stories of
murders, booth-capturing, and intimidation are common. In fact, post-poll
violence in 2021 drew national attention and even reached the Supreme Court.
Yet, portraying this as a targeted extermination of one community by
another oversimplifies the truth. Much of Bengal’s violence is political, not
communal. Villages are divided along party lines, not strictly religious ones.
This distinction is crucial but is likely to be blurred in the cinematic
portrayal.
Communal Tensions – Historical, but Localized
Bengal has witnessed several communal riots: the infamous Noakhali riots of
1946, clashes during Partition, sporadic incidents in the 1980s, and more
recent flare-ups in places like Basirhat (2017) and Howrah (2023). However,
these incidents, tragic as they are, do not add up to an organized, long-term
“genocide” as some film narratives suggest. They were localized, politically
manipulated, and often quelled by state intervention.
Illegal Immigration – Politicized Reality
Migration from Bangladesh is indeed a sensitive issue. For decades, porous
borders have allowed inflows, leading to social and political anxieties. Both
the Left and the Trinamool governments have been accused of turning a blind eye
for vote-bank politics. The BJP has weaponized this issue nationally through
the NRC (National Register of Citizens) debate.
But again, cinema exaggerates. What is a complex mix of economics,
identity, and politics may be shown as a one-dimensional “invasion” story,
fitting neatly into majoritarian anxieties.
Partition Memories – Selectively Highlighted
No other region in India has been so deeply marked by Partition as Bengal.
Families torn apart, Hindu refugees settling in colonies, Muslims migrating
eastward—this trauma is real and well-documented. A nuanced film on Partition
would be a valuable contribution. Unfortunately, The Bengal Files is
unlikely to present nuance. It may cherry-pick refugee stories that fit its
desired narrative while erasing others.
Where Fiction Takes Over
What distinguishes propaganda cinema from serious historical drama is not
what it includes but what it excludes. The Bengal Files may speak of
Hindu suffering but ignore Muslim victimhood during the same periods. It may
present Bengal’s ruling parties as villains but leave out the violence
committed by its own ideological patrons.
The “files” device is a cinematic gimmick. There are no secret archives
suddenly revealing suppressed truths; history is available in libraries, court
judgments, and academic research. What these films do is not “uncover” but
“repackage”—repackage memory into a simplified, emotional, and politically
useful story.
Why Now? The Political Timing
No film of this kind is released in a vacuum. The Bengal Files
aligns neatly with ongoing political battles:
- The BJP’s attempts
to expand its base in Bengal.
- The debate over
illegal immigration and NRC.
- The need to present
Bengal as a site of Hindu victimhood, paralleling the Kashmir narrative.
The timing, therefore, is not cultural but electoral.
Cinema as a Tool of Polarization
One cannot deny the emotional power of such films. They strike at identity,
grievance, and victimhood. Audiences leave theaters not merely entertained but
often agitated, convinced that history has been hidden from them and only now
revealed.
But that conviction itself is the problem. Cinema is not history. Cinema is
storytelling. When films like The Bengal Files blur the line between the
two, they risk weaponizing memory for present-day politics.
The Real Bengal Story Deserves Better
Bengal’s story is not a single “file.” It is a vast archive of
struggles—Partition, refugee crises, Naxalite uprisings, communist experiments,
cultural renaissance, economic decline, and revival. Reducing all this into a
communal narrative does injustice to Bengal’s people.
The truth is that both Hindus and Muslims, communists and nationalists,
elites and peasants—all have been victims at different times in Bengal’s
turbulent history. To erase this complexity is to erase Bengal itself.
Conclusion
The Bengal Files is not based on a
singular true event. It borrows from real incidents—political violence,
communal riots, migration issues—but stitches them into a fictionalized
narrative designed to shock and polarize. While it may succeed at the box
office and in political messaging, it will fail as history.
Bengal deserves cinema that captures its layered truth, not propaganda
masquerading as revelation. The files that matter are not secret dossiers but
the lived memories of millions—memories too complex to be reduced to a single,
partisan script.
Author: Siddhartha
Shankar Mishra
Advocate, Supreme Court of India. Writes on law, politics, and society with
a critical lens on propaganda, authoritarianism, and the misuse of history in
public discourse.
Email : - ssmishra33@gmail.com
