Amid the growing controversy surrounding his film, director Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri has revealed why he changed the film’s name from The Delhi Files to The Bengal Files. The filmmaker also claimed that he has received “threats” over the film's release.
Speaking to ANI, Vivek revealed that he, along with his family, has become a target of the threats. "My daughter and my son are being targeted. They have dragged my family. After the release of The Kashmir Files (2022), three fatwas were issued in my name. Since then, I haven't sat in the car with my children. Not even once. We haven't done anything together. I didn't have as much trouble making The Kashmir Files as I am having with this film," he said.
"I am being attacked and subjected to a sort of social media lynching," the filmmaker added.
Noting that his film sheds light on the Bengal culture, music, and food, Agnihotri condemned the threats toward his family, including his daughter and wife.
The filmmaker also opened up about changing the film's title from The Delhi Files: Bengal Chapter to The Bengal Files. Stating that the original name was used in the posters initially, he explained that the changes were made to avoid miscommunication.
"When I went to America in March-April, for the first time, I started the film's networking and marketing because I wanted to do shows there. As soon as I delivered my first speech in New Jersey, there were a lot of people. I announced that my film is coming, The Delhi Files: Bengal Chapter. Many of them came to me and asked if the film was based on the Sikh riots or the Delhi riots. I realised that there was a massive communication problem," he said.
It was then that the filmmaker reached out to the audience and took suggestions for the film's title, before finalising The Bengal Files.
Directed by Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, The Bengal Files explores the communal violence that took place in undivided Bengal during the 1940s, including the events of the Direct Action Day and the Noakhali riots of 1946. The film will hit theatres on September 5.