On Friday, September 5th, the Indian box office saw a clash of Bollywood and Hollywood titles. ‘Baaghi 4’, an action thriller starring Tiger Shroff and Sanjay Dutt, debuted alongside Vivek Agnihotri’s political drama, ‘The Bengal Files’. Also entering the mix were the Hollywood releases ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ and another major international film. Despite lower pre-release anticipation and mixed audience reviews, ‘Baaghi 4’ managed to outperform ‘The Bengal Files’ in terms of earnings.
‘Baaghi 4’ began its box office run with a respectable start, collecting an estimated Rs 12 crore net in India on its first day. However, this figure fell short of the previous installments in the franchise. ‘Baaghi 3’ had opened with Rs 17.5 crore on its first day, and ‘Baaghi 2’ had a massive debut with Rs 25.10 crore. Even the original ‘Baaghi’ had earned Rs 11.85 crore.
Directed by A Harsha, ‘Baaghi 4’ marks his Bollywood debut and is scheduled for release on September 5, 2025. The film faced competition at the box office, particularly from ‘The Bengal Files’.
The ‘Baaghi’ franchise launched in 2016 with Tiger Shroff and Shraddha Kapoor. The first two films were commercially successful, though ‘Baaghi 3’ received a more lukewarm response, partly due to the pandemic’s impact on theater attendance.
‘The Bengal Files’, a political drama by Vivek Agnihotri featuring Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi, and Darshan Kumaar, had a slow start, earning only an estimated Rs 1.75 crore net in India on its opening day. Despite pre-release discussions and its sensitive subject matter, the film struggled to attract large audiences on its first day.
The film’s release was marked by controversy, especially in West Bengal, where the trailer was not shown at the Kolkata launch, and reports indicated that no theaters in the state screened the movie. Director Vivek Agnihotri alleged pressure on theater owners to avoid showing the film. Actress Pallavi Joshi took the matter further, writing an open letter to the President of India, calling it an “unofficial ban,” despite the censor board’s lack of objections.
‘The Bengal Files’ is written and directed by Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, produced by Abhishek Agarwal, Pallavi Joshi and Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri. It stars Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi, Anupam Kher, and Darshan Kumar. The film is a worldwide release by Zee Studios, and it is presented by Tej Narayan Agarwal & I Am Buddha, forming part of Vivek’s ‘Files’ trilogy, which includes ‘The Kashmir Files’ and ‘The Tashkent Files’.