[2] All single and multiple screen theaters were stopped from showing the film immediately after release citing "orders from upper management".

[3][4][5] Various leading newspapers quoted unnamed sources, as well as Dutta, saying that the West Bengal police had issued these instructions to the theatres.

[9][10] The de facto ban was accordingly criticised as "fascist" (by noted actor Soumitra Chatterjee[11] and actor-director Aparna Sen[12]), "condemnable" (by director Srijit Mukherji[13]), "extremely undemocratic" (by economist and London School of Economics Professor Maitreesh Ghatak),[14] and as an "infringement on one’s fundamental right to view a film" (by an editorial in The Statesman (India)).

[15] Other scholars and commentators termed the de facto ban "clearly unconstitutional" and in violation of Indian Supreme Court precedents,[8] and an example of "liberal hypocrisy" (considering the ostensibly left-liberal credentials of the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee).

[20] The Supreme Court ordered the West Bengal government to pay compensation of Rs 20 lakh to Kalyanmoy Billy Chatterjee, producer of the film Bhobishyoter Bhoot, for imposing a “virtual ban” on the screening of the movie.