Exclusive - The Bengal Files director Vivek Agnihotri on repeating actors in his movie: 'I don’t work with stars, I work with...'

Vivek Agnihotri is the director of The Bengal Files

Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri is returning to the silver screen with yet another politically strong movie, The Bengal Files. The movie is at the center of debate even before its release.

After The Kashmir Files, Vivek has taken on another politically loaded subject, this time focusing on Bengal’s history, its pain and heritage.

Vivek was in Delhi recently for the film's promotion and during an exclusive conversation with Moneycontrol, the noted director spoke about the making of The Bengal Files and the controversies around it. He further spoke about the struggles of releasing films without stars and his philosophy of working with good actors and not 'stars.'

Vivek Agnihotri admitted he did not expect the uproar that followed the trailer launch of The Bengal Files in Kolkata.

“I did not expect it. I thought it was a democracy and I am a filmmaker and they should be happy. The Bengal government and people in Bengal should be very happy because there is the first film on Bengal mainstream film. And this movie talks about the glory and great heritage of Bengal and, at the same time, the pain of Bengal. So, I think they should not have any problem, but this was unexpected. I have made political films, so it is part of the life I signed for," he told us.

The film’s title itself went through changes before release. Vivek did a crowdsourcingfor the title suggestion. Initially the movie was titled Delhi Files: The Bengal Chapter but later on, due to suggestions from the audience, he renamed it to The Bengal Files.

“It was called the Delhi Files, the Bengal Chapter. But then it was creating communication issues because the moment I said, "Delhi Files," people thought that it was about the Sikh riots or something like that. So, it was creating communication problems, and I requested people to tell me what the name should be. I did crowdsourcing of the name. And 90% said The Bengal Files. So, then we decided to change the name and once we changed it to The Bengal Files, nobody asked me what this film is all about.”

Like his previous films, 'The Bengal Files' too has been accused of being divisive. Vivek Agnihotri responded, “See, the controversy is not about my film; the controversy is about the truth. Truth is the most controversial thing in this film. You tell a person, "Oh, you are the most beautiful person," and he will say, "Thank you." If you say that you are an ugly guy, then he will create controversy. So, controversies basically are about the truth, not about the film.”

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On criticism that the film is communal, his stance was blunt: “Yes, it is about a communal subject. What can I do? Schindler's List was about how Jews were persecuted and the Holocaust. Here, this is about Hindu history and the film is an untold story of Hindu genocide. India's partition happened on, and we were divided. Before saying that the film divides, some people should think; it is about a division of India. So, the film will have the logic of division, the story of division.”

When asked about budgets and financing, Vivek Agnihotri drew a sharp contrast with mainstream Bollywood. "See, our budget is equal to the lifestyle budget of a star in a commercial Hollywood film. We make, and I have a very low budget.We make very tight, small-budget films. Whatever money we made from The Kashmir Files, we have invested in this film. And so, according to Bollywood commercial standards, it is a very low budget. From our standards, they're some mega-budget films. The first one was made at a budget of Rs 15 crore and this one was made at double its budget (Rs 30 crore)," he says.

Distribution, too, has always been a battle for his films, especially when there is no big star in the movie but Vivek says it was easier for The Bengal Files since his last movie The Kashmir Files, was a hit.

"See, generally films without stars are very difficult to release in this country. So, I have faced this problem with Buddha in a Traffic Jam, the tasking files, the Kashmir files, and all these films faced a lot of problems. And this film did not face as many problems, but you won't believe it that our distribution and our OTT have just bee signed. Actually, Friday will be the day this week itself. So, just two weeks before the release, so, thanks to the great trailer.”

We also asked him about repeating actors across his films; to this, Vivek explained his approach and said, "Oh, of course. See, if you love somebody, would you like to wake up with that person every day as long as the love is there? I love great actors. I fall in love with them. In this case, I have worked with some of the greatest living actors. There aren't many great actors left now in Bollywood. So, Mithun Da (Mithun Chakraborty) is a Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner, and Anupam Kher is there. Pallavi Joshi is there, Saswata Chatterjee is there, Priyanshu Chatterjee is there, Simrat Kaur is there, and above all, the mind-blowing hero of the film, Darshan Kumar, is a great actor. I don't work with stars; I work with great actors.”

Vivek also spoke about veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty’s role in the film and clarified it was not about his Bengali roots. “No, no, it had nothing to do with him being a Bengali. That didn't even occur to me. He is not playing a Bengali; he doesn't have a tongue. Somebody burnt his tongue in the film. So, he is a madman who cannot talk. So, it doesn't matter whether he's Bengali. It's not the kind of act. In Tashkent Files, he played Sham Sunder Tripathi, a UP politician. In the next film, we played Bharmadutt, a Punjabi. And now, in this film, he has no language and no identity. He's an identitylessman. He's a representative of the people of Bharat. That's what he's playing in the film. "Who has left with no identity," said Vivek.

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Looking ahead, Agnihotri confirmed The Bengal Files was planned as a two-part story. “Yeah, this film is supposed to be in two parts. And I've got a kind. And if this film, people like it. And if this works, if we get some money out of this, we'll invest in that money, making the second part of this film. Otherwise, let's see," he added.

He also revealed his global ambitions: "See, I am very keen to do an international collaboration on a project. I'm making Mahabharata. It's called Parv. The epic war of Dharma, which is Mahabharata. It's like history, the real one, because Mahabharata's history, Bollywood has made a fantasy and kind of mythology. So, I want to collaborate because I want the epic story of Mahabharata to reach every home in the world. So, I would like to collaborate. Again, if God is kind, I will find somebody," said Vivek.

On AI’s growing role, he offered a cautionary view and said AI seems to have taken over the creative field already.

"Isn't it already interfering in the creative world? I mean, I heard in some films, the climax was recreated with AI. Now, time is going to come. You go to the top star and say, "Hey, you charge 100 crore rupees for working 100 days." Now, you take 10 crore rupees and don't even show your face on my set. Just say, "I will use your name and I will take a scan of your face and I will use that." I can create anyone I want, you know. And AI figures—sometimes people think they are real. And so, AI is going to change in two ways. If you are a generally creative person, then it will give you wings and avenues to express your creativity in a vivid format. You can just think of anything and can create it. But destructive people will use AI to divide the society, to create confusion and chaos and for ulterior selfish motives. "It's very, it's dangerous at the same time, but every technology has byproducts," he said.

Despite the rise of streaming platforms and the audience shifting to viewing movies and shows on OTT, Vivek Agnihotri remains committed to the big screen experience.

Vivek says he is sure that people are ready for theaters and watching movies on the big screen is an 'experience.'

“People are always ready to return to theaters. You know, how long can you just sit down in your shorts? But watching a movie in the cinema hall is an experience. The Bengal Files is an experience. It's an experience in theater. One thing I will tell you: when you see 'The Bengal Files' in the theater, you will feel you are there inside the scene of 1946. You will feel it's happening to you. I've seen reactions in the theater when we showed in the US, when some people go like this as if they are being attacked. I've seen people doing like this in the theater. I've made it with a very small budget, but in such a manner, I've used a certain kind of cinematic, expressive technique so that you feel you're part of the scene.”

Vivek Agnihotri's The Bengal Files has been made at a budget of Rs 30 crore and the director says he is confident that the movie will touch people's hearts.

Written and directed by Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri and produced by Abhishek Agarwal and Pallavi Joshi.

The film features Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, and Pallavi Joshi amongst the ensemble cast. The film will hit theaters on September 5, 2025.