Celebrating Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay on his birth anniversary

Time of India

2 days ago

The Devi Chowdhurani team, including Prosenjit Chatterjee and Srabanti, honored Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay at his Naihati home on his birth anniversary. Prosenjit discussed his role as Bhavani Charan Pathak, requiring extensive training and Sanskrit learning. Srabanti likened Devi Chaudhurani to a Bengali Robin Hood, praising Chattopadhyay's progressive portrayal of a female freedom fighter. The visit marked the film's promotional start.
The cast and crew of
Devi Chowdhurani
directed by
Subhrajit Mitra
visited Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's residence in Naihati on his birth anniversary to pay their respect to the legendary writer.
Calcutta Times spoke to the cast to know about the film and their character.
Read on:
Prosenjit Chatterjee
:
In my long career I have done about 370-375 films. But for the first time, I am doing a film which is an adaptation of legendary writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel Devi Chaudhurani. The story is a timeless saga of courage and revolution and I would want to call it our film Devi Chowdhurani directed by Subhrajit Mitra – a classic period film made in a commercial and entertaining way which will be enjoyed by all kinds of audiences breaking the multiplex, single plex myth barrier.
Also, the youngsters will be aware of the treasure trove we have in our history through this historical reconstruction in this film.
I had conveyed to the team before even the shoot started that I want to start the film's promotion by visiting Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's residence in Naihati. And what a coincidence that our visit coincided with his 187 th birth aniversary.
To play Bhavani Charan Pathak which was previously essayed by Basanta Choudhury in the 1974 film adaptation, I underwent a lot of extensive training.
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From stick fighting, sword fighting to martial arts- I did it all in this film. No authentic photograph or image of him exists. What we have are only imagined sketches—found in old editions of the novel, film posters inspired by the story so we designed my character keeping all this in mind so that it looks authentic on screen.
Also, I learned Sanskrit for this film as there are a lot of dialects in Sanskrit, even it is being used in songs too.
So, Bhavani Charan Pathak was a wise and knowledgeable man who was respected by all.
Bhavani Charan Pathak is more than a dacoit as it is with his help Prafulla transforms from an abandoned wife to a powerful leader – Devi Chaudhurani who fights against injustice. Bhavani Thakur adopts her, educates her in maths, philosophy, science, literature and even wrestling to become the queen of the dacoits.
Srabanti:
To me,Devi Chaudhurani is the Bengali version of Robin Hood who regularly takes money from the rich and helps out the poor.
But she herself leads a very ascetic lifestyle and stays humble to her roots. I feel deep inside every woman is Devi Chaudhurani who is fighting their own battle be it within the four walls or in the outer world. I just wonder how Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay boldly wrote about a woman leading a fight for freedom at a time when most women stayed behind purdah and didn't even show their faces to men outside their family.
My mother told me that his stories became a powerful source of inspiration for many women, encouraging them to step out of their homes and take part in the freedom movement in the years that followed.
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's residence is a tourist spot in Naihati. I never had the chance to visit the place but I am happy that we started our journey with his blessings today on his birth anniversary.
Subhrajit Mitra:
Devi Chowdhurani
is a 'personal homage to the Motherland' in the 75th year of independence. The story follows a humble village girl's transformation into India's first recorded woman freedom fighter, long before Rani Lakshmibai, as well as the rise of armed Hindu ascetics who challenged the British East India Company under the leadership of Bhavani Charan Pathak.
I feel this is a part of our lesser-known history, and it deserves to be told. It's a larger canvas than I've ever attempted—akin to the historic epics by Kurosawa or Ridley Scott. I want to bring the same cinematic rigour and international appeal to Indian historical storytelling, without going overboard as we often tend to.