New Delhi: As turmoil rages in Dhaka, with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina forced to resign and flee after student protesters stormed her residence, the timing of filmmaker Srijit Mukherji’s upcoming Bengali film Padatik seems serendipitous.
Mukherji, never afraid to blend the personal, political, and cinematic, reflects this drama in his three latest Instagram posts. One features a drawing by his daughter depicting Bangladeshi student protesters—some bloodied and lifeless, others holding placards demanding “We want justice” and “We want freedom”. The other two promote Padatik (The Foot Soldier), a biopic on Bengal’s iconic filmmaker Mrinal Sen. The film is named after Sen’s 1973 political drama about a young guerilla and a woman in self-exile.
“It is remarkable that the release of the film coincides with the current political statement by students in Bangladesh, because Sen too was extremely political, in his personal life, and through his cinema,” Mukherji told ThePrint.
On Sunday, anti-government student protesters in Bangladesh clashed with police and members of the Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling Awami League, leaving over 100 dead and dozens injured. But the protests showed no signs of letting up. By Monday evening, Bangladesh army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman officially announced Sheikh Hasina’s resignation from the PM’s post.
Mukherji has a personal stake in the Bangladesh crisis too. His wife, singer and actor Rafiath Rashid Mithila, is from Bangladesh, and so is Chanchal Chowdhury, the National Award-winning actor who plays Mrinal Sen in the upcoming biopic.
“Friends and family in Bangladesh are safe. It is also heartening to see that the change in the country’s politics is being led by students,” Mukherji said.
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Convergence of reel and real
Mukherji’s film is set for an Independence Day release. It’s poignant timing given the ‘revolution’ in Bangladesh and Mrinal Sen’s deep connection with the country. Sen was born in 1923 in Faridpur, which is now part of Bangladesh. He went on to spend his college years in then Calcutta, and started his filmmaking career in the city. As a leading chronicler of his times and a realist, he and his cameramen would brave being in the thick of political and social unrest to document history as it played out.
Mukherji’s film, planned in 2020 and originally scheduled for release in 2023 to mark Sen’s centenary, was delayed due to its participation in multiple film festivals. Chowdhury’s stellar performance in the Bangladeshi web series Taqdeer convinced Mukherji to cast him as Sen in the biopic.
Padatik, which covers 78 years of Sen’s life, looks at many of the crucial moments that shaped the legendary director’s vision and his rise as one of the most revered filmmakers of Bengal. Sen’s 1969 film Bhuvan Shome is regarded as the start of India’s New Wave cinema, which subverted mainstream movie conventions.
“It was a challenging task to decide which events to choose and depict because I have finite time at disposal. But then, I have never played it safe in my filmmaking,” said Mukherji.
As a type of homage, he has used techniques Sen was known for, such as flashbacks, freeze frames, and breaking the fourth wall—the barrier between the worlds of the audience and the film.
The biopic comes close on the heels of two other films on Sen— Koushik Ganguly’s Palan (2023) and Anjan Dutt’s Chaalchitra Ekhon (2024)—but Mukherji’s film arrives at a dramatic moment for Sen’s birthplace.
“The violence in Bangladesh is unfortunate, especially with police firing on unarmed protesters,” Mukherji said. Given the ongoing chaos, it’s unclear if lead actor Chowdhury will join the promotions in Kolkata, but Mukherji is hoping he can join the rest of the cast and crew for the 15 August release.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)