A decade after the Nandigram and Singur land stir rocked Bengal, politician-turned-director Shankudeb Panda is making a Bengali film on those turbulent times.
"Comrade" (friend), which stars veteran actor Kharaj Mukherjee, brings back some of those incidents alive, including police firing, lobbing of tear gas at protesters and the stand taken by major political groups.
"Singur and Nandigram are milestones in West Bengal's political history, it gave new direction to the country's land movement. My film will reveal hitherto little known facts on this agitation. But this being a feature film we won't directly name any party," Panda, who had covered the twin movements in 2006-07 as a channel reporter and then joined Trinamool Congress, told PTI.
Panda, who had once headed TMC students' union, did not occupy any post in TMC since December 2015.
He said as a reporter he was privy to certain information not publicly known so far.
"I have also shot in different areas of West Midnapore where many political incidents took place but we won't sensationalise."
"Comrade" will be a mainstream genre feature film with song, dance and action scenes with real-life incidents weaved in between, he added.
The release date has been fixed on July 21.
Incidentally the Trinamool Congress observes July 21 as the 'Martyrs' Day.'
"I am not taking sides in the film but the audience has the right to take sides as the film will tell them who stood by the masses during that defining moment in Bengal and who did not," Panda said.
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