SVF

Eagerly waiting for ‘Gumnaami’: Srijit has Madhur Bhandarkar’s backing

Srijit Mukherji’s most ambitious project till date ‘Gumnaami’ is in the eye of a storm for the last few months. The upcoming thriller has been opposed by a section of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s family and leaders of the All India Forward Bloc for its portrayal of Netaji as Gumnaami Baba. However, Srijit insists those who are opposing the film are misinformed about it.

Despite the war of words, the National Award winning director has found complete support from his fraternity who are waiting to see the final outcome of ‘Gumnaami’. One big name among those well-wishers is another National Award winning director Madhur Bhandarkar who even shared the poster of film on social media saying, “Superb Poster & Teaser. I am sure this will be @prosenjitbumba’s one Remarkable Performance!! Congratulations to the Entire #Gumnaami Team Looking forward to see this one.”

Picture courtesy: SVF Twitter

The renowned Bollywood director who turns 50 today says full credit should be given to Srijit Mukherji for choosing such a controversial issue as the subject of his film. “I just loved the poster. Srijit has picked up such a great subject. We all know Gumnaami is like a myth. We all have heard so many stories about the mysterious figure since childhood. So, it’s good to see someone has decided to make a film on it,” during a candid chat with ETimes said Madhur Bhandarkar who was in Kolkata to grace the mahurat of Subhrajit Mitra’s new Bengali film ‘Abhijatrik I The Wanderlust of Apu’.

Despite all these controversies surrounding the film, the ‘Chandni Bar’ director said he is eagerly waiting to see ‘Gumnaami’. “The moment you speak about Gumnaami it gives goosebumps. Moreover, it’s Netaji we are talking about. So, yes I am looking forward to watch ‘Gumnaami’. All the best to Srijit and his entire team,” added Madhur.

Madhur Bhandarkar was in Kolkata because he is the co-presenter of ‘Abhijatrik’. Being a huge admirer of Satyajit Ray, the director said he liked the subject of Subhrajit’s film and that’s why decided to be a part of it.

‘Abhijatrik’ starts from where the story of Ray’s classic ‘Apur Sansar’ ended based on a specific chapter of the iconic Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay novel ‘Aparajito’.

“I know how sensitive Bengalis are about this subject. But I can assure our film is inspired by the original novel. We are not remaking Satyajit Ray’s Apu Trilogy. Our story starts from where ‘Apur Sansar’ ended. We working on the last part of the novel and Subhrajit has a clear idea about it. So, there’s no pressure. We will go ahead following the footsteps of Satyajit Ray,” explained the noted director.

He also revealed he would love to do films on subjects which will touch one’s heart. “As a filmmaker, any subject which moves me and makes me think deeply can be the theme of my works. Whatever the language be. Also, I believe filmmaking itself is a language. We all now see so many foreign films, series.”

The seasoned director concluded saying his next directorial is based on sand mining mafia and it’s now in scripting stage right now. The cast hasn’t yet decided.