The Bengal Files Review: A Bold Entry in India’s Line-Up of New Movies

Landed on September 5, 2025, in theatres, The Bengal Files is not just another period drama but is a fully politically charged and emotional movie by Vivek Agnihotri that keeps the audience connected throughout. It is one of the best new movies on ZEE5 that brings up different legendary actors like Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher and Pallavi Joshi together on screen. The movie beautifully handles one of the darkest and most controversial chapters of Indian history and brings up a story that connects with the audience.

A Story That Spans Time And Trauma

The story of one of the best new movies on ZEE5, The Bengal Files, is connected to history. The movie beautifully brings the two timelines that are one that happened in 1946 Bengal, and the other, modern-day West Bengal. It is the story of Shiva Pandit (Darshan Kumar), who is a young Kashmiri Pandit and a CBI officer tasked to investigate the disappearance of a journalist named Gita Mandal.

Shiva starts finding different secrets related to the communal violence of 1946 as he goes deep into the investigation, especially those of the Great Calculated Killings.

Bharati Banerjee (Simrat Kaur) is a law student who became a victim of the brutal riots. Pallavi Joshi is older Bharati Banerjeet who is suffering from past guilt, horrors and present-day trauma of the survivors. Mithun Chakraborty is another senior in the movie who has witnessed those cruel riots closely and whose presence brings emotions and depth to the story.

Performances That Connect

The cast is one of the biggest strengths of the movie The Bengal Files. This new movie brings up Mithun Chakraborty in the main performance, where his presence delivers usual gravitas to the story, whereas Anupam Kher exudes both charm and menace. Pallavi Joshi has appeared as a strong voice of dissent and brought emotional weight and moral clarity to the story.

Simrat Kaur is the young Bharati and has gained huge appreciation for her performance in the movie. Namashi Chakraborty as Ghulam channels a chilling violence, bringing the communal division and radicalisation on screen.

Direction

Vivek Agnihotri has written and directed the movie beautifully, making it an absolute vision. The story of the movie is quite ambitious. It is a wonderful political drama that has brought the graphic violence and incendiary dialogues on screen perfectly.

The violence that happened during the communal riots was quite brutal and has taken many lives. The movie includes different scenes like public beheadings and gendered violence that appear quite realistic.

Cinematography

The Bengal Files is one of the best new movies on ZEE5 that connects with the audience throughout. The movie has a longest runtime of 204 minutes. Cinematographer Attar Singh Saini has set the story in two timelines with different textures. We can see the smoky streets of 1946 Kolkata, burning buildings and sepia-tinted memories along with present-day scenes that are quite sharper, older and more bureaucratic.

If we talk about the music, it beautifully brings the Bengali folk motifs with heavy percussion during the scenes of violence and revelation. This absolute contrast adds emotional weight to the story.

Controversies and Reception

The Bengal Files have sparked debates among the audience from the very first day of its release. Some of the critics have acclaimed it as a politically motivated movie and have said it is propaganda, as some tell it, just a perfect reflection of the cruel history that happened during the partition. The makers of the movie have faced a lot of political pressure during legal clarifications.

A lot of viewers have praised the movie for its powerful and realistic storyline that brings up the painful past along with a touch of modernity on screen. The movie has also gained a lot of appreciation for its technicalities and realistic screen experience. It has beautifully shown the complex historical truth on screen.

OTT Debut

After making a huge success in theaters the makers of the movie released it on ZEE5 on November 21, 2025. The movie beautifully brings a complex story on screen with a touch of today’s life. It is a real story that has been hidden from the audience for a long time.

Final Take

The Bengal Files is one of the best new movies on ZEE5 that aims to do what only a very few mainstream movies dare to. It has beautifully brought communal violence. Historical trauma and political power on screen. The movie beautifully tied the past and present on screen and has shown how history is not just about a closed book but an open wound that still bleeds into our politics. The real strength of the movie lies in its powerful performances.

If you are someone who believes in the power of cinema to challenge, to remember and to question, The Bengal Files is one of the best new movies you must watch.