‘Makes me feel like a criminal…’: The Diary of West Bengal director Sanoj Mishra opens up on legal notice

After 'The Kerala Story' faced backlash for hurting religious sentiments, 'West Bengal Daily' is facing the same. After the Hindi trailer of the film was released, it created a controversy for trying to defame West Bengal.

Soon after, the film's director Sanoj Mishra was served a legal notice by the West Bengal Police. The filmmaker finally decided to address the issue and said in an interview that the film only has facts.

Sanoj Mishra on film controversies

Mishra said that he and his crew started researching the plot and facts of the film about two years ago. The film is about the upheavals in Bengal, the poverty and misery of its people. The residences there cannot get government help because Bengal practices the policy of appeasement and does everything to get votes. The filmmaker also says that the plot of the film is based on real facts and that he has verified all the evidence.

"The legal notice issued against me makes me feel like a criminal," he said. “I believe in the law, but I also believe that it should not be broken. The Bengal police want to arrest me without reason, even though I am not a criminal. I'm talking to the media today because anything could happen to me, I could be arrested and never come back."

Mishra was served a legal notice on 11 May 2023 and charged under U/s 120B/153A/501/504/505/295A of the Indian Penal Code read with Section 66D/84B of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and Section 7 of the Cinematography Act '1952 . He also said that Mishra would be questioned to find out the facts and circumstances of the case.

According to the trailer, "West Bengal Daily" claims that mass murders, rapes and Hindu exodus were taking place in West Bengal and that the state is the new Kashmir of India.