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The attack on Writer’s Building, the seat of British power in Bengal on December 8, 1930, by three young revolutionaries and the resulting shooting that lasted for hours, has now been captured on celluloid in a Bengali period film. Arun Roy, the director of the film, told PTI that he named the film 8/12, which recounts in detail the eventful moments 91 years ago when the three revolutionaries – Benoy Krishna Basu, Badal Gupta and Dinesh Gupta – broke into the Writer’s Building dressed in European costume and shot Lt. Col. NS Simpson of the then IG (Prisons).
Simpson had gained notoriety for his atrocities and the physical torture of freedom fighters and his murder sparked panic and sent shockwaves through the halls of power, Roy, who had resumed filming of the film, told PTI on Sunday. after years of research.
As Simpson collapsed to the ground on this hectic day, a shootout ensued. Although the British managed to overpower the trio, the men refused to surrender. Badal Gupta immediately ingested potassium cyanide, while Benoy and Dinesh shot each other with their guns. Benoy breathed his last in a hospital on December 13, 1930, while Dinesh survived. He was then hanged to death after being convicted by the British justice system at the time.
The significance of the date of 8/12 in 1930 has been forgotten, which is very unfortunate. We remember dark dates like 9/11 or 11/26 which have terrorist associations, but not a single young person of this generation will be able to speak about 08/12 – the glorious phase of the Indian freedom struggle Roy said.
My intention is to relate in the language of cinema the sacrifice of these three young men. Their sacrifice paved the way for our independence, ” said Roy, who had directed period films like ‘Egaro’ (on Mohun Bagan AC’s historic club victory over the British in 1911).
Roy, who previously made a biopic on one of the pioneers of Indian cinema Hiralal Sen, said the footage was filmed at the location of the Writer’s Building event which has largely retained the 1930s facade.
“Many parts of the building are in ruins, so our art department had to do work that included VFX technology to replicate that era,†he added.
Emphasizing that the film had been based on research for some time, Roy said, “ We wanted to explore what was going on in the minds of these three young men in their early twenties that they took such a risk. He was asked if the film would be able to answer these questions, he said, “we tried but it’s up to the audience to decide. We thought it was important to talk about an important part of the Bengal freedom struggle that was not portrayed so much in a previous movie.
Roy said the film was not a documentary or documentary per se, but a feature film based on real-life stories of an important saga of the Bengal freedom struggle in which the role of the revolutionaries who took the way of armed revolution has been highlighted.
When asked, Roy said the script also explores the past of the three people – their family, friends and surroundings. The area where Writer’s building is located was renamed BBD Bagh by Independent India in honor of the three revolutionaries of the old name – Dalhousie Square.
Kinjal Nanda (Benoy), Arna Mukherjee (Badal) and Remoo (Dinesh) starred as three protagonists who also starred seasoned actors Saswata Chatterjee and Kharaj Mukherjee, among others. Arna Mukherjee, a stage actress, said “ we were in a trance while filming the shooting sequence in particular. I had read the exploits of Benoy, Badal, and Dinesh in the history books, but it was a cathartic experience as I became Badal on camera. When the director said ‘Cup’ we were all crying. It took me hours to get back to my normal self. The film will tentatively hit theaters by January next year.
(This story was not edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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