The Hungry Tide
on celluloid by Bengali playwright
Celebrated writer Amitav Ghosh's novel The Hungry Tide with
the tiger-land of the Sunderbans is now being turned into a
film. Director Suman Mukhopadhyay is now on a fund-raising campaign
which will have an international cast and crew. Shooting is
scheduled to begin in November this year. Mukhopadhyay's first
feature film, Herbert ( 2005) based on a novel by Nabarun Bhattacharya
had won the National award for the Best Regional Film.
Before he stepped into films, Suman was a noted name in Kolkata's
theatre circles. He has done some major theatre productions
ranging from European drama to adaptations of Bengali masterpieces.
Among these are Teesta Paarer Brittanto and Samay Asamayer
Brittanto, adapted from the novels by Debesh Roy. He also
directed Mephisto, based on Klaus Mann's German novel. Teesta
is one of the most celebrated productions in contemporary
Bengali theatre. This year he directed Fireface, a play by
Marius Von Mayenburg with Goethe Institute, in a Bengali adaptation
called Agunmukho .
Bow Barracks courts controversy
Bow Barracks Forever, a film on Anglo-Indians, has run into
controversy for alleged portrayal of the community in poor
light. The film, directed by Anjan Dutta and produced by Pritish
Nandy Communications, portrays the joys and angst of Anglo-Indians
living in Bow Barracks in central Kolkata, which had been
constructed to house American soldiers in the city after the
World War II.
Barry O' Brian, the nominated MLA from the Anglo-Indian
community, has demanded that the film be banned unless it
carries a statement that the story is a work of fiction. "The
Anglo-Indian community has been shown in a poor light. The
storyline about land sharks trying to grab Bow Barracks is
far from truth," O'Brian said. He said the Christians
and the Anglo-Indians have been portrayed as an idle community,
but many of them work in the IT and corporate sectors.
Dutta, whose affinity towards the community is well-known,
tried to play down the controversy. "The story of Bow
Barracks is fictional. I have celebrated the love and affection
for the Anglo-Indians in the film," he said.
Taj glory celebrated by Mughal bahu
When Taj Mahal was named one of the seven New Wonders of the
World, Sultana Begum—the 54-year-old great granddaughter-in-law
of the last Mughal Emperor
Bahadur Shah Zafar—whooped in joy at her residence in
a Howrah slum near Kolkata. "It was one of the happiest
moments of my life. I stayed up till late in the night to
watch the telecast of the results from Lisbon," an ecstatic
Sultana Begum said, sitting at her 66 sq ft dingy room at
Foreshore Road in Howrah. Sultana's husband, late Mirza Mohd
Bedar Bukht, was the direct descendant of Bahadur Shah Zafar
and crown queen Zeenat Mehal.
"Taj will always remain among the top draws and it doesn't
require any fresh voting to validate its standing in the world.
When some television channels reported that the monument was
slipping out of the race, I was very much sure that it will
surely figure in the list prepared by the New 7 Wonders Foundation,"
she said. "I wish I could celebrate the occasion with
friends, family and neighbours. But I can't celebrate in a
way I wish to. It's impossible for me to afford all that with
Rs 400 monthly pension I receive from the central government,"
Sultana said. Sultana used to run a tea stall at a stone's
throw from her house. Later, she gave her shop on rent to
a scrap dealer, but that, too, folded up and she lost her
second source of income.
Hema Malini in aid of Kolkata street
dogs
The stray dogs in Kolkata now have Basanti to care for them.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Hema Malini's
heart bleeds for the stray animals in Kolkata as she chose
to donate Rs 2,00,000 from her MPLAD fund to People For Animal
(PFA), Kolkata which runs the dog pound of Kolkata Municipal
Corporation (KMC) with efficiency and sans cruelty. Since
Hema Malini is a resident of Mumbai, the fund would come through
the collector of Mumbai Suburban district. Kolkata Municipal
Corporation (KMC) commissioner Alapan Bandopadhayay, who would
be the executing authority, confirmed the news. "The
money would be spent in the right manner when we receive it,"
he said. “We are happy to know that our work is recognised
by Hema Malini. We thank her for the care and concern for
Kolkata street dogs,” Debasis Chakrabarti, Managing Trustee,
PFA’s Kolkata unit said.
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