SVF

Don’t think my films can be categorized into a particular type: Srijit Mukherji

In a candid chat with us, Mukherji shares his views on and experiences of working on his upcoming films Ek Je Chhilo Raja and Shah Jahan Regency.

National Award winning filmmaker Srijit Mukherji is one of the few directors who have given Bengali Cinema a new shape with diverse contents and cinematic experiences. Mukherji became actively associated with the theatre circuit in Delhi while he was working there as an economist and a statistician. He acted in and directed various plays until he formed his own troupe Pandora’s Act in Bangaluru in 2008. Their first production Feluda Pherot, first ever non-canonical dramatization of Satyajit Ray’s Feluda was a runaway success.

Mukherji assisted Anjan Dutta on Madly Bangali (2009) and Aparna Sen on Iti Mrinalini: An Unfinished Letter… (2011) and received critical and commercial success for his first feature film Autograph (2010), starring Prosenjit Chatterjee.

Most of his films since then, including, Baishe Srabon (2011), Hemolock Society (2012), Jaatiswar (2014), Chotushkone (2014), Rajkahini (2015), Zulfiqar (2016) and Uma (2018), have received positive reviews and were commercial successes as well. He received four National Awards for Jaatiswar at the 61st National Film Awards and two National Awards for Chotushkone at 62^nd National Film Awards.

In a candid chat with Cinestaan.com, Mukherji, shares his views on and experiences of working on upcoming films Ek Je Chhilo Raja and Shah Jahan Regency. Excerpts.

What inspired you to make a film on Bhawal Sanyasi court case?

It is very difficult to state a single reason. I heard the story of Bhawal Sanyasi from my grandmother and have been very fascinated with it since then. A king returned from the clutches of death and then there was a confusion regarding his identity – whether he was the real king or not — involving conspiracy, palace politics and intrigue.

Ek Je Chhilo Raja is based on one of the most cited cases in legislative history

Also, it was set in the British period and the British rule played an important part in it. In short, the historical court case is far more fascinating than a fairy tale or a fictional story and is a very potent material to make a film on. Then I read Partha Chatterjee’s A Princely Imposter? The Kumar of Bhawal and the Secret History of Indian Nationalism, and Dead Man Wandering: The Case that Shook a Country.

Is there a contemporary relevance to the film?

Maybe there is a contemporary relevance in terms of self-governance in a broader sense, but the film is primarily a period drama and a court room thriller….Click here to read the full story