Pallavi Joshi Becomes First Indian Actress to Portray a 100-Year-Old Onscreen in ‘The Bengal Files’

Veteran actress-turned-producer Pallavi Joshi is set to captivate audiences once again with her performance in ‘The Bengal Files’, directed by Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri. In what’s touted as a first for Indian cinema, Joshi portrays a 100-year-old woman onscreen — a feat achieved through months of emotional and physical preparation. Her character, Ma Bharati, is a symbolic representation of the Indian spirit: enduring, loving, and dignified.

Joshi revealed the grueling process behind the transformation, saying, “Most prosthetics made me look scary, but we needed Ma Bharati to look innocent and lovable.” Inspired by her own grandmother, she abstained from skincare for months to achieve the character’s aged appearance, while also studying the mental and emotional patterns of dementia.

Six Months of Dedication to Embody a Nation’s Spirit

The role of Ma Bharati required six months of intensive research and makeup trials, as Pallavi Joshi worked with her technical team to perfect every detail. “Every day, I sat down working on Ma Bharati’s character, her dementia, until it became a muscle memory,” she shared.

Produced by Abhishek Agarwal and Pallavi Joshi under the banners of I Am Buddha and presented by Tej Narayan Agarwal,’The Bengal Files’ releases in theatres on September 5, 2025. The film features a stellar cast including Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, and Darshan Kumar, and is part of Vivek Agnihotri’s acclaimed Files Trilogy, following The Kashmir Files and The Tashkent Files.