Shooting for Film on Controversial Mahalaya Programme Begins

RBN Web Desk: Shooting for the film on the controversial Mahalaya programme, aired from the Kolkata station of All India Radio (AIR) in 1976, started in the city today. The story of the film reportedly centers around the popular rejection of the programme broadcast that year.

Mahisasuramardini, the iconic radio programme which was aired uninterruptedly since 1931, was not broadcast in 1976 as AIR wanted to modernise the show. Bengali matinee idol Uttam Kumar was roped in for narrating the Chandi. Popular singers like Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, Manna De, and Sandhya Mukhopadhyay rendered the songs. The show was rechristened as Durga Durgati Harini.

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But the modernisation idea hopelessly backfired, and a year later, AIR returned to the original programme which was scripted by Bani Kumar with Birendra Krishna Bhadra narrating the Chandi. Music for Mahisasuramardini was composed by Pankaj Kumar Mullick.

Mahisasuramardini has since been aired every year at daybreak on Mahalaya.

But Durga Durgati Harini was not entirely discarded. It was broadcast at daybreak on Durga Sashthi for several years.

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Tentatively titled Mahalaya 1976, the film is being presented by Prosenjit Chatterjee. Actors Jisshu Sengupta and Subhasish Mukhopadhyay have been roped in to play Uttam Kumar and Birendra Krishna respectively. The film will be helmed by Gulab Gang director Soumik Sen, while Debojyoti Mishra is in charge of the music.

Prosenjit shared a photo of the first day’s shoot on Twitter a few hours ago.