Revisiting History through Visual Narrative: Politics and Representation in The Bengal Files
Keywords:
Visual Narrative, Political Cinema, Historical Representation, Cultural Memory, Trauma Studies, Nationalism, Historiography, Indian CinemaAbstract
Cinema has increasingly emerged as a significant medium for revisiting contested histories, reconstructing collective memories, and shaping public consciousness in contemporary India. The Bengal Files, situated within the broader trajectory of politically charged Indian cinema, presents an important site for examining the intersections of history, ideology, trauma, nationalism, and visual culture. This paper examines how the film uses visual narrative to reinterpret historical events and how cinematic representation constructs political memory. Drawing on theories of historiography, trauma studies, nationalism, representation, and memory studies, the paper analyses the film's narrative strategies, symbolic structures, ideological framing, and aesthetic techniques. The study further explores how the film negotiates the relationship between historical documentation and cinematic imagination while participating in contemporary discourses surrounding identity, nationhood, and cultural memory. Through textual and contextual analysis, the paper argues that The Bengal Files operates not merely as entertainment but as a cinematic archive that attempts to intervene in public historical consciousness. The paper also examines the ethical implications of representing violence and trauma through visual media and situates the film within the evolving landscape of Indian political cinema.`
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