07/09/2025
Review of The Bengal Files (2025)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5/5)
🪔 "The Bengal Files is not just a movie—it’s a Molotov cocktail thrown at the comfort zone of Bengali intellectualism."
Set in post-2010 Bengal, The Bengal Files is a gritty political thriller that attempts to "reveal" the hidden chapters of Bengal’s political violence, ideological suppression, religious appeasement, and media manipulation. Told through the eyes of a conflicted journalist (Parambrata) who returns to Bengal after a decade, the film navigates through flashbacks of political pogroms, bureaucratic rot, and ideological witch-hunts allegedly ignored by the mainstream narrative.
The screenplay is loosely inspired by real incidents—Nandigram, Sandeshkhali, Park Circus protest, and even Birbhum violence are referenced—though heavily dramatized.
✅ What Works (The Best Things):
🔥 Performances:
Saswata Chatterjee as the manipulative party handler is phenomenal—calm, sinister, and terrifying. Sw****ka brings emotional depth, and Parambrata carries the film with a grounded, almost documentary-like presence.
🎥 Cinematography & Background Score:
Dark, grainy visuals with overcast tones suit the grim mood of the film. The background score is haunting, often using distorted Rabindra Sangeet in chilling ways.
🧾 Narrative Boldness:
The film doesn't shy away from taking names—politicians, party ideologies, activist groups, and even media channels are caricatured or directly referenced. It dares to "show the other side," which makes it refreshing for some and infuriating for others.
🎭 Realism over Melodrama:
No over-the-top nationalism or chest-thumping patriotism. It tries to question hypocrisy rather than preach ideology, which keeps it somewhat intellectually engaging.
❌ What Fails (The Worst Things):
⚖️ Lack of Balance:
While it claims to show "the truth," the film clearly leans toward a right-wing narrative, making it feel less like truth-telling and more like ideological revenge cinema.
(“A Bengali The Kashmir Files, but with more nuance and less impact.”)
🧃Overstuffed Subplots:
Too many characters and subplots (student politics, conversion rackets, media bias, urban Naxals) are crammed in, and some feel underdeveloped.
📢 On-the-Nose Dialogues:
At times, the script sounds like a Twitter thread or WhatsApp forward. Dialogues could have benefited from more subtlety and craft.
🚫 Controversial for the Sake of It:
A few scenes—especially one involving a communal riot in Basirhat—feel exploitative rather than informative.
First The Kerala Story. Now The Bengal Files. Is Indian cinema becoming truth-telling or just picking political sides with better lighting?”
🏁 Final Verdict:
If you loved The Kashmir Files or Accidental Prime Minister, you’ll probably find The Bengal Files bold and eye-opening. If you lean liberal or secular, it might feel like a political hit-job disguised as art. But one thing's for sure—you’ll leave the theatre talking about it.
It’s not perfect cinema, but it is effective cinema.
