How The Bengal Files Became a Turning Point for Namashi Chakraborty

Namashi Chakraborty reveals how The Bengal Files Became a Turning Point for him on The spiritual show The Vedas Speak

Mumbai: Namashi Chakraborty recently came on The Vedas Speak, a podcast produced by Ajinkya Jadhav’s Paparazzi Entertainment and hosted by Dr. Sammeer Arora. The Star Of The Bengal Files, who played the brutal and layered character of Ghulam in the film . Also another movie with Sanjay Dutt, Aakhri Sawal releasing on 15 May, says the love coming his way has been overwhelming and unlike anything he has experienced before.
He said, “The Bengal Files has been a very special film. Ghulam was not a tough guy to play, he was a very brutal man, but he was a real man. I justified the character honestly. The response since the film released has been extraordinary. I think this is the film I’ll be remembered for, at least for the next few years.”
Talking about the film’s subject and director Vivek Agnihotri’s vision, he said, “The film spoke about the Hindu genocide, something that very little has been discussed about. It was a very brave and courageous film. Vivek sir made it against all opposition and conflicts, and he made it beautifully.”
The actor had earlier played the lead in Bad Boy, directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. Though the film did not work commercially, he believes it became an important turning point for him. He said, “The film released very late because of COVID, so by the time it came out, it felt outdated. But people who watched it appreciated my work. Rajkumar Santoshi sir brought out the best in me.”

Asked how he bagged the role in The Bengal Files, he spoke about meeting Vivek Agnihotri and said, “He asked me which role I wanted to do. I told him I would do any role as long as he was directing me. Then he asked if I would do the negative lead, and I said yes immediately. They were brutal auditions, just like the character. In between, I also tested for a positive role in the same film, but honestly, I hoped I got Ghulam because I could already sense where the character was going.”Once he was selected, Namashi immersed himself fully into the process. He revealed that Vivek Agnihotri guided him away from playing the role like a typical villain. He said, “When we first started reading the scenes, I played him a little villainous. But Vivek sir told me, ‘For his people, he is a hero. Don’t play him like a villain.’ That completely changed my approach.”
From there, the actor worked extensively on the body language, dialect and overall physicality of the character. He learned Urdu and Bangladeshi Bengali and even developed the limp seen in the film on his own during takes. He said, “I shot for 16 days as Ghulam, and every single day the character caused pain in the film. There wasn’t one scene where he wasn’t doing damage.”
While audiences are seeing him in an intense negative role on screen, he is also stepping into a new phase on the professional front. He recently completed work on his directorial debut, A Haunting Love Story. He said, “It’s a very ambitious and intense film, but also very sweet and simple. We finished shooting last year and the post-production is officially over. We’re hoping to release it very soon. It’s a passion project for me.”The film has been shot across Los Angeles, Chicago, Palm Springs and Mumbai, and features a strong ensemble cast including Mithun Chakraborty, Johnny Lever, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Ananth Mahadevan, Priyanshu Chatterjee and Mimoh Chakraborty. Despite the title, Namashi clarified that the film is not a horror project. “It has that ring to it, but it’s actually a romantic drama,” he said.
But his mother Yogita Bali is not a part of the project. Commenting on that, he shared, “She has officially retired. I’ve tried to pull her back many times, but she’s happy in her solitude.”