Why Again a Film on the Bhawal Case, I Had Asked Srijit: Aparna Sen

RBN Web Desk: Veteran actress Aparna Sen had expressed her doubts when director Srijit Mukherji offered her a role in his upcoming film Ek Je Chhilo Raja. Why was he making a film on the Bhawal case again, she had questioned him.

It may be recalled that director Pijush Bose’s 1975 film Sanyasi Raja was loosely based on the same incident where a probable imposter claiming to be the second prince of the Bhawal estate, returns a decade after being presumed dead.

Speaking to the media recently, Aparna said, Srijit clarified that his film is based on historian Partha Chatterjee’s book ‘A Princely Imposter’. This got her interested in the project as she had read the book a number of times. Also, Sanyasi Raja was a largely watered down and romanticised version of the events involved in the lengthy legal battle that unfolded in the courts of Dhaka, Kolkata and Lodon, Aparna added.

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The actress revealed that she and her daughter Konkona Sen Sharma had their eyes on Chatterjee’s book to adapt it into a film.

Aparna said that she, Anjan Dutt and Srijit had brainstorming sessions regarding the film. She was convinced that what Srijit is trying to show in his film, is different from what has been done so far, Aparna added.

Ek Je Chhilo Raja has Jisshu Sengupta, Rajnandini Paul, Sreenanda Shankar, Anirban Bhattacharya, Jaya Ahsan, and Rudranil Ghosh in major roles. Aparna and Anjan play opponent lawyers in the film.

Ek Je Chhilo Raja opens on 12 October.

Image: Times of India