Uncomfortable

Pallavi Joshi, an Indian actress and producer is all set for the release of Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s The Bengal Files. With just days left until the political drama releases, Pallavi sat down for an exclusive interview with Bollywood Bubble. During this interaction, Joshi reacted to the buzz surrounding the upcoming film. She also stated that films like TBF are not to entertain the public but spark conversations around history and give clarity to everyone, including the kids. Scroll below to know all that she shared.

Pallavi Joshi On Why The Bengal Files Will Make People Uncomfortable

When asked about the cast not being aware that the film’s name changed to The Bengal Files, and how the controversy began, lead actress Pallavi Joshi recalled, “See, first of all, I must tell you ki hum jo filmein bana rahe hain, they make people uncomfortable. Okay. Aur yeh hum jaante hain, aur hum usi mindset se filmein banate hain, because we want to make people uncomfortable. There are certain facts jinko aapko face karna zaroori hai, kyunki wo systematically aapse chhupaye gaye hain. Jaise main humesha kehti hoon, agar koi ek incident hua hai aapki history mein jiske upar parda daal diya gaya — tab ki government ne, ya ruling party ne, ya jo bhi kings/rajaon ne pichle zamane mein — ho sakta hai unhe laga ho ki isse social fabric mein disturbance aa sakti hai, riots ho sakte hain.“

Talking about the historical significance of The Bengal Files, the actor said, “I understand, for the greater good, sometimes you have to hide things. Haan, ek incident, do incidents, teen incidents — but there has to be an end somewhere na. Aap puri ki puri history kaise chhupa sakte ho? Agar aapne puri history chhupai hai, iska matlab hai, there was no greater good. That means, this was an agenda. Aur agar yeh agenda hai, toh kis ke against hai? Kis se yeh history chhupai ja rahi hai? When kids came along, hum bhi young the, happy-going about our life, carefree. But when kids came along aur hum responsible parents bane, tab humein realise hua ki one day we will be gone, aur hum apne bachchon ke liye ek duniya chhod kar ja rahe hain.“

Pallavi Joshi On The Holocaust History

Referring to the history of holocaust, the actress said, “What kind of world do we want to leave behind? Tab humne yeh sochna shuru kiya ki agar aapko apne past ke baare mein pata nahi hai, toh aap apne future mein wahi galtiyaan repeat karoge. Aur shayad aapke saath wahi baar-baar hoga. So it’s better to know your past. Uske baad, you are free to make a choice — how you want to live your life, what decisions you want to take. Jaise Holocaust ki history — mujhe nahi lagta kisi bhi ek Jewish family mein koi bachcha aisa hoga jise Holocaust ke baare mein pata nahi ho. Ya America mein African-Americans hain, unhe slavery ke baare mein knowledge hai. Aisa toh ho hi nahi sakta.”

“Par hum hi aise hain jinhone apni slavery ki history kabhi nahi padhi. From Ibrahim Lodi, Mohammad Ghaznavi onwards, non-stop humare upar attacks hote rahe. Humein enslave kiya gaya, jaziya jaise taxes lagaye gaye jo log afford hi nahi kar paate the. Log bhookhe mar rahe the, auraton ko uthaya jaata tha. Aur jab laga ki ab sab settle ho raha hai, tab British aa gaye — with their atrocities. Unhone clubs ke bahar likh diya, “Indians and Dogs Not Allowed.” What kind of dignity did we have in the last 1200 years? We were slaves. Pehle slaves because of our non-violent way of life, baad mein slaves because of the colour of our skin.“, she stated.

Pallavi Joshi On The Importance Of Knowing Our History

Speaking about why we were never taught our history, she said, “Yeh sab humein kabhi nahi sikhaya gaya. Humein kya sikhaya jaata hai? Boston Tea Party. Maori aboriginals ki kahani. Australia ki history. Par Andaman ke log, Bastar ke tribes, jo abhi bhi kapde nahi pehente, yeh humare bachchon ko kyun nahi sikhaya jaata? So we thought, yeh agenda ka pardafash hona zaroori hai. Humare bachchon ko pata hona chahiye ki unke ancestors ke saath kya hua tha. Ek-ek karke humne socha aur apne creative juices use karke decide kiya kaise present karein. Tab humne teen lions ke concept pe socha — truth, justice, right to life. Truth ke liye humne Lal Bahadur Shastri ki mysterious death ka issue uthaya. Right to Justice ke liye Kashmiri Pandits ka, aur Right to Life ke liye Bengal ka issue uthaya.”

She further added, “Partition ke time logon ko bas Punjab ka massacre dikhaya jaata hai. Par asal mein two-nation theory ka playground Bengal tha. East Bengal ko 1905 mein British ne pehli baar divide kiya tha. Cultural renaissance aaya, phir 1947 mein dobara divide hua, East Pakistan bana, 1971 mein Bangladesh. Aur aaj bhi West Bengal mein demographic change ho rahi hai because of massive immigration. Do you think we are not sitting on a time bomb? How long before there is a demand for a separate country there? Kitne hisson mein aur todoge Bharat ko? So that’s why we thought ki is topic pe thoda light daalna zaroori hai. Aur tab humne yeh film banayi.”

Watch the full video interview here:

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Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Pallavi Joshi Reveals Why The Bengal Files’ Title Was Changed From The Delhi Files: The Bengal Chapter, States, “Every Actor Was Aware Of It”