SVF

Jhargram is the real star of Durgeshgorer Guptodhon

JHARGRAM PALACE

It was the late 16th century when two generals under Raja Man Singh’s army — Sarveshwar Singh and his elder brother — conquered parts of Bengal by defeating the local Mal tribal kings. After the war, Man Singh granted mansabdari of the region to his victorious generals. The Jhargram palace was built in 1592 and the Singh family became the local rajas, and later zamindars, in the British era. Since then, 18 generations have passed and presently Vikramaditya Malla Dev is the co-owner of the entire estate. According to him, the old palace was more of a fort. Built on 10 acres, the new palace was constructed in 1921 following European architecture. Dhrubo, who stayed for more than 10 days at the palace during the shoot, said that they have shot in every corner of the building. “Vikramaditya was so generous that he also allowed us into the andarmahal. We had some excellent scenes there,” he added.

THE SETS

In the film, Jhargram has been shown as Durgeshgor — an imaginary place. To make it look convincing, Dhrubo and his team made numerous sets in the area. After the shoot, those sets are now being used by the locals. For instance, this shade was used as a prop of the film and now it is used as a prominent adda joint by the locals.

ROYAL FOOD

Guests are served a meal called the rajokiyothali. Along with postor bora,the main attraction is the desi chicken. “We have another thali called the shahi thali, which includes biryani and several kebabs,” said Vikramaditya, adding that these thalis are served to guests on special orders. A foodie as well as a good cook, Dhrubo was more than happy to get a platter like this. “Food plays an important part in Durgeshgorer Guptodhon because Abir (Arjun Chakrabarty) has been shown as a foodie. During the shoot, we literally survived on desi chicken. The situation was such that the local chickens would run away on seeing our unit members!” Dhrubo said.

ANDARMAHAL

In the past, important visitors used to wait here before entering the main chamber. “Besides, the first rice ceremony of every child in the family takes place here. After feeding him, the child is given a pen and then a sword. This has been a family tradition for more than 300 years,” Vikramaditya said. Dhrubo was interested in the place to shoot a couple of scenes because this would be the first time the andarmahal will be seen in a film. “After a couple of bad experiences, the Singh family stopped renting the place for shooting. However, they made an exception for us and I’m glad they did,” Dhrubo said.

KALACHAND TEMPLE

This temple and the palace belonged to the Dhal rajas of the past. “This temple and palace have been shown in the film. This is the temple of Lord Krishna, who is worshipped as ‘Kalachand’ among the tribals. In the film, we have shown this as the temple of Kalachand himself,” said Dhrubo.

STATE GUEST HOUSE

After the new palace was constructed, Raja Narasingha Malla Dev felt the need of a guest house, where he could house and entertain his British guests. “So, in 1922, this outhouse was made in Indo-Saracenic style. “The walls have handmade murals and there is also a very old gramophone set,” Vikram said. In the film, when Sona Da (Abir Chatterjee) comes to Durgeshgor with Abir (Arjun Chakraborty) and Jhinuk (Ishaa Saha), they stay here. “This guest house is extensively shown in the film and has some brilliants sequences,”

Dhrubo added.

THE BALCONY

This balcony was mostly used by the raja of the time to see his people. During a festival, when a large crowd would gather, the raja would go to the balcony and wave to the crowd. “Besides, when an important announcement was to be made, the raja would do it from here,” said Vikramaditya, adding that all the stained glass was brought from Belgium. In the film, a couple of shots were taken from here. “A prominent one is when the villain stands here and secretly looks at something very important. We used different camera angles to capture the mood,” Dhrubo said.