SVF

‘We should keep questioning Netaji’s disappearance’

It took director Srijit Mukherji more than two years to complete the research on Netaji for Gumnaami. Since its release on Wednesday, his phone hasn’t stopped ringing. As we contacted the director on Thursday, he said that the audience response to Gumnaami has left him overwhelmed.

Srijit added that after Gumnaami’s release, it’s the theatre owners who are calling him rather than him having to call them up to ask for feedback. “This will probably have the biggest opening among all my films and I am hoping that it garners the biggest box-office collection,” he said, adding, “Within Kolkata, a number of shows were houseful yesterday. I’ve heard that most people are coming out of halls crying and giving standing ovations too,” said Srijit. Producer Mahendra Soni is overwhelmed with the audience reaction. “With Gumnaami, we are again on our way to offering a Puja release that has been showered by audience’s love.”

Meanwhile, Prosenjit Chatterjee said, “On Wednesday, at a multiplex, there was a very old lady who waited for me after watching the film. She said the film gave her goosebumps. I think the experiment I did by coming out of my comfort zone is my greatest success.”

For actor Anirban Bhattacharya, Gumnaami is not just a Puja release, but an incident. “The research that has gone into the film is rare even in Indian cinema,” he added. Amidst all the applause, Srijit doesn’t want to shift his focus from the main reason why he made the film. With Gumnaami, he wants the young generation to continue asking questions about the disappearance of Netaji. “People should keep questioning Netaji’s disappearance,” he added.

Gumnaami, Bengali film with English subtitles that is produced by SVF Entertainment, is running in theatres nationally. The Hindi version is releasing on October 11 nationally.