Vivek Agnihotri’s The Bengal Files has found itself in hot water after Mamata Banerjee expressed disappointment towards the content and banned the release in the state. Now, actress-producer Pallavi Joshi has penned an open letter to the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, pleading to protect her constitutional right and let film be shown in West Bengal peacefully.

Pallavi Joshi’s appeal to Droupadi Murmu

Pallavi took to Instagram, where she shared the note with the headline: “AN OPEN LETTER TO HER EXCELLENCY, SMT. DROUPADI MURMU JI (sic). She wrote: “Respected Madam President, With a heavy heart, I reach out to you, not for favours, but for protection.” She shared that the film, which releases on September 5, is the final chapter of the “Files Trilogy”. She went on to mention that the film portrays the “long-suppressed truth” of the Hindu genocide during Direct Action Day, the horrors of Noakhali, and the Partition trauma.

Pallavi further added, “But in West Bengal, truth is under siege. Years before completion, the Chief Minister mocked the film. Since then, baseless FIRs have been filed, our trailer was blocked by police, and even newspapers avoid carrying ads. My family is threatened every day by political party workers.” In her letter, Joshi claimed that despite no official ban, The Bengal Files is facing an unofficial ban in West Bengal as “theatre owners have told us they are being intimidated, threatened and are refusing to screen it, fearing violence by ruling party workers.”