I watched The Bengal Files (2025). Needless to say, I had to watch the film outside West Bengal, for it is one of those states in independent India where democracy exists only on paper. Freedom of expression and freedom of thought are anathema to the ruling class of good ol’ West Bengal, and, as a result, these constitutional rights are often punishable there. One has only to remember the cases of Prof Ambikesh Mahapatra (2012) and Dr Indranil Khan (2020), in which these individuals were hounded by the ruling dispensation for voicing dissent.

Though this has been the state of affairs in the state since the tumultuous 1970s, things have worsened since 2011. Be that as it may, since I managed to watch the film outside the state, I have written a short film review here for the benefit of my beloved but unfortunate state residents, who are yet to find a theatre screening the film in the state. At the outset, let me issue a statutory warning: The review may contain minor spoilers, so please proceed to read at the peril of your own first-hand discoveries.

Firstly, out of all the films that Vivek Agnihotri has made thus far, this film stands out as the most visually impactful one (keeping in mind Chocolate (2005)). In The Bengal Files (2025), the director has presented several scenes that are bound to stir the viewer’s mind just by the sheer power of visual craftsmanship. By unleashing the power of moving visuals, Vivek Babu has been able to stir the viewers’ Viveka, or conscience.

Symbolism — visual and verbal — is Agnihotri’s forte in this film. The filmmaker has intelligently deployed symbolism in The Bengal Files (2025), making good use of both linguistic as well as visual symbols. It would not be an exaggeration to say that here in this film, the director was able to harness the power of symbolism to a great extent, which has somewhat patched up the film’s weaknesses in editing, characterisation, screenplay and dialogue. As indicated earlier, visual storytelling is one of the strong points of The Bengal Files (2025). When one adds the power of symbols to visual storytelling, the result is bound to create a lasting impact.

Let us take some examples of this aspect — in the film, we see Abanindranath Tagore’s famous ‘Bharat Mata’ painting hanging on the wall of Rajendralal Roychowdhury’s residence; in another scene, we see Rajendralal being beheaded by Sarwar’s private militia ‘Miyar Fauj’ at the Kali Mandir in Noakhali — which clearly foregrounds the........

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