Actor Pallavi Joshi has lashed out at Saswata Chatterjee, who recently alleged that he was misled by her and her husband, director Vivek Agnihotri, about the content of their film The Bengal Files. She called him a ‘liar’, and said that he was made fully aware about the film, its story, and the character he was playing, prior to production. She admitted that the film’s title was changed, but challenged the Kahaani actor to ‘be a man’ and stand up for the truth instead of presumably caving under government pressure. Pallavi said that she assumes he was pressured by the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal to distance himself from the film, which is critical of the policy-making in the state.In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, she was asked about Saswata’s comments, and she said, “I’ll tell you how we work. We don’t do star-based films. Every actor is given a bound script; a physical script. That’s because they all need to work on their characters. There are others in the film industry who don’t share full scripts, because they are very protective of their stories, but we give our actors the full script because we expect them to understand the entire story.”Also read – Depicting historical trauma requires sensitivity. Unfortunately, filmmakers like Vivek Agnihotri fail to recognise thatShe said that Vivek doesn’t give too much direction to actors, but gives them the responsibility to mould their own characters. So, for someone to say something like this is a complete lie. I’m ready to believe that what he said was misconstrued, I am even ready to accept when certain actors feel uncomfortable promoting films because of outside pressure. They should, ideally. But I understand. However, to badmouth your own project before release is unacceptable.” She admitted that the film’s title was changed from The Delhi Files: The Bengal Chapter to The Bengal Files, but said that the actors were told that it would be not only about Direct Action Day but also contemporary Bengal politics.She said, “Saswata was even told who his character is based on. He came to our house, we showed him sets, he read the script, he read the scenes, he came for the look test, he came for parties. He must be under pressure from the party. But I’m a little disappointed, because if I can stand my ground as a woman, surely he can too by virtue of being a man. If this is a man’s world, then let him show his mardaangi.”Also read – Vivek Agnihotri’s Bengal Files: Who was Gopal ‘Paantha’ Mukherjee, and what did he do on Direct Action Day?In an interview with The Wall, Saswata had claimed that he wasn’t told the entire story of The Bengal Files, and that it isn’t his job to ensure historical accuracy. “Let me tell you this. Nowadays, it’s a trend, the whole story won’t be told to anyone. You only get to know your track, your character. And when I was told about the role [in The Bengal Files], I found the character to be amazing. It’s a villain’s character and very few people get such characters to play. While the shooting was going on, the name of the film was Delhi Files and after the shooting was completed, I came to know that it was changed to The Bengal Files. That is not in my hands,” he said. The Bengal Files will be released in theatres on September 5.Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd