Stars celebrate film on Bengal’s cult figure

Tthe cinematic depiction of a historical event is naturally a big draw for industry insiders as well as the audience. So, the premiere of Mahalaya saw the who’s who of Kolkata in attendance. Though Jisshu U Sengupta was greatly missed, the event saw celebrities such as Gargee RoyChowdhury, Goutam Ghose, Kaushik Ganguly, Srijit Mukherji and Rituparna Sengupta, along with the cast and crew members of the film.

Based on the Uttam Kumar-Birendra Krishna Bhadra episode on Akashvani in 1976, the film required a lot of research. “It took me almost two years to find the facts. There are some references but we got most of the information by speaking with the families of the legends,” said Soumik Sen, the director of the film.

Playing Birendra Krishna was no mean task either. Guests at the do were all praise for Subhasish Mukhopadhyay’s acting. “Playing such a cult figure in Bengal is a matter of pride for me,” he said.