After completing a theatrical run spanning more than two months, Vivek Agnihotri's much-debated film The Bengal Files is preparing for its digital debut. The historical-political drama, which first arrived in cinemas on 5 September, will soon be accessible to a wider audience through online streaming platforms.
OTT Release Details and Platform
The eagerly awaited digital premiere of The Bengal Files is scheduled for 21 November 2025 on the popular streaming service Zee5. The platform officially confirmed this news through its social media channels, generating excitement among viewers who missed the cinematic experience.
Accompanying the announcement, Zee5 shared the film's trailer with a powerful message: "The buried voices find their fire. Bengal's boldest chapter is here to roar." The post was tagged with #TheBengalFilesOnZEE5, creating significant buzz around the digital release.
Exploring The Bengal Files Narrative
Directed and written by Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, the film investigates one of the most devastating periods in India's pre-Independence history. It focuses specifically on the 1946 Great Calcutta Killings and the subsequent Noakhali riots, presenting narratives of violence, mass displacement, and human suffering that have frequently been absent from mainstream historical accounts.
The movie generated substantial controversy even before its theatrical release, resulting in its ban in Kolkata due to the sensitive nature of its subject matter. Produced by Abhishek Agarwal and Pallavi Joshi, and presented by Tej Narayan Agarwal and I Am Buddha Productions, the film continues Agnihotri's tradition of creating politically charged cinema.
Cast Ensemble and Box Office Performance
The Bengal Files showcases an impressive ensemble cast featuring numerous respected actors:
- Mithun Chakraborty
- Pallavi Joshi
- Anupam Kher
- Darshan Kumar
- Simrat Kaur
- Priyanshu Chatterjee
- Saswata Chatterjee
- Dibyendu Bhattacharya
- Namashi Chakraborty
- Puneet Issar
- Madalsa Sharma
- Sourav Das
This film represents the concluding installment of Agnihotri's The Files trilogy, following The Tashkent Files (2019) and the massively successful The Kashmir Files (2022).
Despite creating considerable discussion and debate, The Bengal Files received mixed critical responses and achieved a lifetime worldwide collection of approximately ₹26.36 crore. This performance notably fell short of the extraordinary box office success demonstrated by The Kashmir Files.
Audiences can watch The Bengal Files streaming exclusively on Zee5 beginning 21 November 2025, providing an opportunity for those who couldn't experience it in theaters to engage with this controversial historical narrative.
