Complaint against Bengal Files director for wrongful depiction of Gopal Patha

Vivek Agnihotri’s newest addition to his Files trilogy of films, ‘The Bengal Files‘, has come under scrutiny once again after the grandson of Gopal Patha, a prominent Hindu leader involved in the Great Calcutta Killings in 1946 of undivided Bengal, filed a police complaint accusing the director of portraying Patha negatively.

Poster of Vivek Agnihotri’s upcoming movie- The Bengal Files

Shantanu Mukherjee alleged that the movie damaged the image of his grandfather, “a brave heart who had taken up arms to fight for the Bengalis.” He also sent a legal notice to Agnihotri for “tarnishing the image of my grandfather,” The Indian Express reported.

Patha’s grandson alleged that Agnihotri did not take any permission from the family nor approach them while making the movie. “He neither took any permission nor contacted us. Derogatory terms were used against my grandfather,” he said.

‘The Bengal Files’ delves into the communal violence in undivided Bengal, the penultimate year of India’s independence.

Three days ago, the Kolkata Police stopped its trailer launch, slated to be screened at a five-star hotel. Agnihotri alleged it was an attack on the democratic rights of people, as the censor board had cleared the film and “the Calcutta High Court stayed a ban on it.”

VIDEO | As trailer launch of 'The Bengal Files' was stopped in Kolkata, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) says, "It has happened in front of you, camera captured, the trailer launch of CBFC approved movie was stopped, this is an anarchy, dictatorship... Police had come… pic.twitter.com/bALRD8ihIA

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 16, 2025

The film is scheduled to release in theatres on September 5.

Also Read

Trailer launch of film ‘The Bengal Files’ ‘stopped’ by Kolkata Police Who was Gopal Patha

Gopal Chandra ‘Patha’ Mukherjee

On August 16, 1946, Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s All-India Muslim League called for ‘Direct Action Day’ to press its demand for Pakistan. Calcutta (present-day Kolkata) quickly spiralled into large-scale communal riots, leaving thousands dead and several displaced. Historians believe the violence deepened Hindu-Muslim divisions and is widely seen as a turning point that hastened the Partition of India in 1947.

Gopal Chandra ‘Patha’ Mukherjee emerged as a key Hindu leader who believed that Bengalis would face torture and repression if Bengal became a part of Pakistan.

Nicknamed ‘Gopal the Goat’ after his family’s meat shop on College Street, he was known as one of Calcutta’s most feared musclemen, with 800 boys at his disposal.

In a 1997 interview with the BBC’s Andrew Whitehead, Gopal Patha was asked, “If your boys found a Muslim woman alone, would they misbehave?”

“I had given strict orders not to misbehave with women because a person’s character is very important. In fact, we have seen in our history that after misbehaving with women, even Ravan was destroyed. So, I had given strict orders to my boys. One was do not loot, and another was do not misbehave with women,” he replied.

Gopal Patha passed away in 2005.

Gopal Patha’s depiction in ‘The Bengal Files’

Vivek Agnihotri’s ‘The Bengal Files’ paints Gopal Patha in saffron colour, with the trailer portraying him as a man spotting a tilak and carrying bloodthirsty eyes for Muslim killings. He is played by Bengali actor Saurav Das.

Das is seen sitting in front of an idol of Goddess Kali, addressing a gathering of Hindus, “Bharat Hinduon Ka Rashtra Hai. Par iss yuddh mein Hindu haar rahe hain. Aur jeet kaun raha hai? Jinnah. Kyunki hum sab nashe mein choor hain and iss nashe ka naam hai Gandhi ki ahimsa (India is a Hindu nation. But the Hindus are losing this war. And who’s winning? Jinnah. Because we all are intoxicated. And the name of that intoxication is Gandhi’s non-violence).”

Bengali actor Saurav Das plays Gopal Patha in Vivek Agnihotri’s upcoming movie, ‘The Bengal Files’

‘My grandfather saved innocents’

In sharp contrast, his grandson states that Patha saved many innocent Muslims during the riots. “He took up arms during the Great Calcutta Killings to save Hindus from marauding Muslim rioters that were killing men, raping women and burning down Hindu properties. But he bore no ill will towards Muslims,” Shantanu Mukherjee was quoted by NDTV.

He further said that an Instagram reel was brought to his notice where Agnihotri refers his grandfather as has “Ek Tha Kasai Gopal Patha (Once Upon A Time There Was A Butcher Called Gopal Patha).”

Speaking to India Today, Shantanu termed the reference as sheer disrespect and bad taste. “My grandfather was not a butcher. He was a wrestler, a freedom fighter, and a member of the Anushilan Samiti. His ideology was aligned with Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, and he worked closely with several other freedom fighters.

“How can anyone reduce him to such labels? Vivek Agnihotri should research more on this. From where did they get this wrong information?” he asked.

I will not go into his history: Vivek Agnihotri

Meanwhile, at the center of all this, Vivek Agnihotri underscores Gopal Patha’s character, saying he was “inspired.”

“I will not go into his history,” he said.

“I have nothing to do with Gopal Mukherjee’s life, politics. He was a hero and I have shown him as a hero… I respect Gopal Mukherjee a lot. His grandsons work with Trinamool Congress. There is a compulsion there… They have done it legally. We are giving a legal answer to that,” Vivek Agnihotri said.

Actor Saurav Das, who plays Gopal Patha, excuses himself, saying he was allegedly not aware of the script. “I only knew about my character. I was not aware of the script. That’s how work is done nowadays,” he told a local Bangla channel, distancing himself from the controversy.

Get the latest updates in Hyderabad City News, Technology, Entertainment, Sports, Politics and Top Stories on WhatsApp & Telegram by subscribing to our channels. You can also download our app for Android and iOS.