Vivek Agnihotri reacts to Saswata Chatterjee’s claims of not knowing The Bengal Files story: ‘Saswata mere ghar aaya…’
On the new episode of The Right Angle with Sonal Kalra, Vivek Agnihotri broke his silence on The Bengal Files actor Saswata Chatterjee’s claims of being misled
Actor Saswata Chatterjee, who will next be seen as a villain in Vivek Agnihotri’s The Bengal Files, made headlines earlier this week. The actor claimed that he was unaware of the title change from The Delhi Files to The Bengal Files, and also stated that the makers had only explained to him what his role was during shoot, not the full story of the film. So what made him say yes to Vivek’s project? Saswata shared that the strong and villainous character excited him, which is not a role many actors are offered in their career. Vivek has now broken his silence on the controversy that stemmed from Saswata’s claims.
During a recent interview on The Right Angle with Sonal Kalra, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri asserted that actor Saswata Chatterjee was aware of The Bengal Files’ plot. However, the director also admitted that he understands why some Bengali artists want to distance themselves from his film. Vivek shared, “Aisa bilkul bhi nahi hai, yeh galatfehmi hai logo ko. The local media is twisting all this news. Yes, it is true that all, there are a lot of Bengali actors from Bengal, and they have been... mujhe shuru se hi bolte aaye the ki 'bohot pressure hai, sir bohot zyaada expect mat karna ki hum aapki film ko promote karenge, humein jeena toh Calcutta mein hai'. Actually ek toh bada popular actor hai usne kal hi mujhe phone kiya aur bola 'sir bas mujhe kisi tarah se aap Bollywood mein yeh film chal jaaye toh main yahan se bhaag jaaun aur main Bollywood mein ruku'. Aur yeh wohi nahi, young ladke sab bolte hain ki kisi tarah hum bhaag jaaye Bengal se. Toh aisa nahi hai. Aapne Saswata ji ki baat ki. He's one of the greatest actors, I respect him. Aur iss film mein jo unka role hai, matlab itna achha villain kisi ne play nahi kiya, he'll get a National Award for this, I promise you.”
The filmmaker went on to explain, “Lekin dekhiye kya hai fir defensive ho, unhone yeh bola aur usne bola, main padhna nahi chahta hun. But he has no issues. Meri film mein possible hi nahi hai ki bina table reads ke aur bina poori script padhe hue, jo bhi humaare saath ek line ka bhi role karta hai woh jaanta hai humaara work culture kya hai. Hum toh bohot detail mein karte hain. Saswata mere ghar aaya tha, party mein, sab kiya, humaare saath kaafi time bitaya. Aur Saswata jaise actor, jo method actors hain, aapko lagta hai woh role karenge ki sirf apna suna do phone pe aur kar lein? Toh aisa nahi hai. And his work is being handled by Anupam Kher's company, toh woh possible hi nahi hai. He's okay, but in Bengal there are certain limitations. Wahan jeene ke liye kuchh strategies adopt karni padhti hain jo main samajhta bhi hun. Toh mujhe usse koi problem nahi hai.”
{{/usCountry}}The filmmaker went on to explain, “Lekin dekhiye kya hai fir defensive ho, unhone yeh bola aur usne bola, main padhna nahi chahta hun. But he has no issues. Meri film mein possible hi nahi hai ki bina table reads ke aur bina poori script padhe hue, jo bhi humaare saath ek line ka bhi role karta hai woh jaanta hai humaara work culture kya hai. Hum toh bohot detail mein karte hain. Saswata mere ghar aaya tha, party mein, sab kiya, humaare saath kaafi time bitaya. Aur Saswata jaise actor, jo method actors hain, aapko lagta hai woh role karenge ki sirf apna suna do phone pe aur kar lein? Toh aisa nahi hai. And his work is being handled by Anupam Kher's company, toh woh possible hi nahi hai. He's okay, but in Bengal there are certain limitations. Wahan jeene ke liye kuchh strategies adopt karni padhti hain jo main samajhta bhi hun. Toh mujhe usse koi problem nahi hai.”
{{/usCountry}}The Bengal Files, set to release on September 5, will mark the third and final instalment in Vivek Agnihotri’s ‘Files Trilogy’, after The Tashkent Files (2019) and The Kashmir Files (2022).
