"Had the government not changed, I wouldn't have had the courage to make a film about 'Abhaya'," the producer declared unequivocally.
A change of guard in the state—is that the very reason behind the plan to bring the R.G. Kar incident to the big screen?
"Had the government not changed, I wouldn't have had the courage to make a film about 'Abhaya'," the producer declared unequivocally.
"Had the government not changed, I wouldn't have had the courage to make a film about 'Abhaya'," the producer declared unequivocally.
It has been nearly two years since the rape and murder of a doctor took place at R.G. Kar Hospital. Yet, the legal proceedings regarding this incident are still ongoing in court; meanwhile, much water has flowed under the bridge in the political arena. 'Abhaya's' mother contested the elections on a BJP ticket—and emerged victorious. A political transition has taken place in the state; for the first time, the Bharatiya Janata Party has come to power in West Bengal. And now, that very tragic incident at R.G. Kar is set to be portrayed on the silver screen! A new film titled 'Abhaya Shakti' is on the way, directed by BJP leader Shankudeb Panda. This movie is being produced based on the events that unfolded at R.G. Kar. The film is being produced by Rana Sarkar.
Why a film about the R.G. Kar incident? With a change of regime in the state, is that the reason behind the plan to bring the R.G. Kar incident to the big screen? The film's producer, Rana, says, "Many people suspect that this film might be propaganda! That is absolutely not the case. If it were propaganda, it should have been released before the elections. I certainly wouldn't have done it after the polls. Shankudeb Panda approached me with this film project quite a long time ago. He already possesses prior experience in film direction. However, during the tenure of the Trinamool government, I simply did not have the courage to produce this film. Had there not been a change of power in the state, I truly would not have found the courage to undertake this production. There is no need to reiterate—as it is already well known—what Swarup Biswas would have done in such a situation. However, artistic freedom has now been restored in the state. People can now express themselves and speak about art much more freely, in their own distinct voices." Did the director and producer meet with 'Abhaya's' mother?
After deciding to produce this film, did they meet with the parents of the doctors who were killed at R.G. Kar Hospital? Rana Sarkar states, "Yes, we did. There are no copyright issues involved with this film; we simply went to meet them out of our own volition. There are many details regarding the incident that even Abhaya's parents are unaware of. Shankudeb has conducted extensive research on this subject. A great deal of previously unknown information has surfaced, and we felt it was imperative to bring these facts to the public eye. Naturally, when making a film based on a real-life event, one must inevitably infuse it with a certain cinematic flair. Nevertheless, we are striving to portray the actual events as faithfully and unaltered as possible."