Producers get relief, Calcutta HC rejects plea to stop release of 'The Bengal Files'

Vivek Agnihotri's film 'The Bengal Files' is running in theaters these days. The film was released on 05 September. The film has been embroiled in controversy even before its release. Shantanu Mukherjee, grandson of Gopal Chandra Mukherjee, the popular Bengali warrior who stopped the riots in 1946, had filed an FIR against Vivek Agnihotri. Apart from this, Shantanu had filed a petition to stop the release of the film, which the Calcutta High Court has rejected.

According to news agency PTI, the Calcutta High Court on Monday rejected a petition filed by Gopal Chandra Mukherjee's grandson, seeking a ban on the release of the film 'The Bengal Files'. It was alleged that Gopal Chandra Mukherjee has been portrayed in a wrong manner in the film.

Justice Amrita Sinha dismissed the petition, terming it as not maintainable. The film 'The Bengal Files' is based on the communal riots that took place in Kolkata in August 1946, which are known as the 'Great Calcutta Killings'. The counsel for the petitioner submitted before the court that Gopal Chandra Mukherjee's grandson Shantanu Mukherjee had filed an RTI application to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), in which he questioned the role of the board in assessing how his grandfather has been depicted in the film.

Shantanu's counsel argued that the information sought was not provided despite the expiry of the stipulated period. At the same time, the counsel for the CBFC said that due to no response to the RTI, the petitioner did not file any appeal against the release of the film within the stipulated time. The counsel for one of the respondents said that since the film has already been screened across the country, the petition has become infructuous. After hearing all the parties, Justice Sinha said that the petitioner should avail the remedy prescribed under the RTI Act and refused to entertain the writ petition.

In his petition, Shantanu Mukherjee claimed that his grandfather was a freedom fighter and has been wrongly portrayed in the movie. Presenting a photograph, he alleged that Gopal Chandra Mukherjee has been derogatorily referred to as 'Patha' in the movie. He further argued that the movie also wrongly portrays his grandfather as being involved in the events of August 16, 1946.