Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri is on track to make waves with his upcoming film ‘The Delhi Files.’ Engaged in a meticulous research process, the filmmaker is traveling across the nation and beyond to craft a compelling narrative. Recently, he heightened anticipation by announcing a pan-India casting call for the roles of Mahatma Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Now, he has revealed a significant chapter of Bengal’s violent history discovered during his research.
Agnihotri took to social media to share his findings, including a photo from the National Museum and a painting gifted by a Bengali artist. He wrote:
“#TheDelhiFiles Update:
बंगाल की असली कहानी, बंगालियों की ज़ुबानी।
For the last 6 months, I have been on the road visiting different cities and villages, interviewing people, studying local culture, its history, and trying to understand the root cause of Bengal’s violent history for our next very important film.
Bengal is the only state that was divided twice.
Bengal is the only state where a series of genocides took place back to back – pre and post-independence.
In Independent India, the conflict was between two mainstream national ideologies – Hinduism & Islam. In Bengal, there were four mainstream ideologies – Hinduism, Islam, Communism, and its radical offshoot Naxalism. Also, there was a very strong sense of loss of the great heritage of nationalism, social reform, philosophy, art, literature, and spirituality of renaissance times. All were in conflict with each other.
As a result, the state decayed in all aspects. What was left?
The LEFT.
No other state has seen such massive, continuous religious and political violence like Bengal.
Partition never ended in Bengal. There still exist two nations. And three constitutions.
Bengal needs a true leader with empathy and vision who can lead Bengal to #IndicRenaissance 2.0.
My commitment: बंगाल की असली कहानी, बंगालियों की ज़ुबानी।
Pic 1: National Museum
Pic 2: A Bengali artist gifted this to me.”
#TheDelhiFiles Update:
बंगाल की असली कहानी, बंगालियों की ज़ुबानी।
For the last 6 months, I have been on the road visiting different cities and villages, interviewing people, studying local culture, its history, and trying to understand the root cause of Bengal’s violent history… pic.twitter.com/BlTivILGmp
— Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) July 1, 2024
Agnihotri’s extensive research took him from Kerala to Kolkata to Delhi. He delved into over 100 books and 200 articles, traveling across 20 states, and examining more than 7000 research pages and 1000 archives to ensure an accurate portrayal of historical events for his film.
Following the success of ‘The Kashmir Files,’ Agnihotri has once again partnered with prolific producer Abhishek Agarwal and his production banner, Abhishek Agarwal Arts, to bring ‘The Delhi Files’ to life. This new film promises to take audiences on another profound journey through India’s complex history.
