Kolkata: Nandigram and Singur, two places in West Bengal that made headlines a decade ago, will now come alive on the silver screen. Directed by a former student leader of Trinamool Congress, who fell out of favour, "Comrade" will have song, dance and violence that had marked the upheaval over land.
The director, who was a reporter when protests erupted and later joined the Trinamool Congress and once even headed its students' front, wants to make sure the message is not forgotten.
"What happened shouldn't happen again. I could have made a documentary. But to reach out to ordinary people, to take the story of the movement to them, I decided to make a feature film," said Shankudeb Panda, who can't stop talking about his film.
What he doesn't want to talk much about is why he fell from grace in the party. In December 2015, Mamata Banerjee stripped him of all posts after he was called in for questioning by central agencies for links with the Saradha chit fund scam.
"I am not in politics right now," Mr Panda said, but added, "Once a politician, always a politician."
Clearly the villain in Comrade, the CPM suspects the former Trinamool leader is only trying to get back into Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's good books.
"Shanku is making a film I have heard but It is something I just cannot take seriously," said CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty. "Maybe it will make Mamata Banerjee take him back in the party."
But the cast and crew are upbeat about the film, including Anindya Banerjee, who plays a bad guy. "It is the director's and producer's duty to show the bad element in society. They are actually preparing the audience how to combat the bad things," said Banerjee.
Comrade is set to release on July 21, a big day in the Trinamool calendar... the "Martyr's Day" which the party observes every year. "I want all comrades to see the film," said Mr Panda. Will Didi buy a ticket? "I want everyone to see the film," he emphasized.
The director, who was a reporter when protests erupted and later joined the Trinamool Congress and once even headed its students' front, wants to make sure the message is not forgotten.
"What happened shouldn't happen again. I could have made a documentary. But to reach out to ordinary people, to take the story of the movement to them, I decided to make a feature film," said Shankudeb Panda, who can't stop talking about his film.
"I am not in politics right now," Mr Panda said, but added, "Once a politician, always a politician."
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"Shanku is making a film I have heard but It is something I just cannot take seriously," said CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty. "Maybe it will make Mamata Banerjee take him back in the party."
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Comrade is set to release on July 21, a big day in the Trinamool calendar... the "Martyr's Day" which the party observes every year. "I want all comrades to see the film," said Mr Panda. Will Didi buy a ticket? "I want everyone to see the film," he emphasized.
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