Apart from South Indian cinema, Bengali cinema too seems to be going pan-Indian as Bengali cinema superstar Dev’s much anticipated film, the biopic ‘Bagha Jatin’ based on the revolutionary freedom fighter has released its Hindi trailer.
Featuring some state-of-the-art quality production, the trailer is visually stunning and has some very emotional and well written dialogues. In more ways than one, ‘Bagha Jatin’ seems to have a very identical similarity with the Telugu blockbuster film ‘RRR’ which is also combined with some flavour of the Sunny Deol-starrer-blockbuster film ‘Gadar 2’.
The trailer kicks off with Bagha Jatin’ son telling him that he too wants to kill a tiger just like his father did. However, smiling at him, the fighter says that it was a mistake to do so and he had little choice as it is wrong to kill an animal.
The trailer then shows several scenes ranging from personal family drama to gathering partners, division of Bengal, and training with weapons, other shots include bloody scenes of British brutality, and the undying patriotism as well as the dark end that the legendary freedom fighter knew awaited him.
With some very high production quality, the film has some brilliant practical effects as well as VFX which features polished gun fights, violence, and much like ‘RRR’, a brilliantly designed CGI tiger.
The sets are also done extremely well showcasing a dedication to making the whole environment look exactly like the early 1900’s British India.
Dev and his co-stars have all done some great acting and delivered some very hard-hitting dialogues, such as upon addressing his wife’s question as to why only Bagha Jatin must sacrifice himself, he says, “The path that I have chosen can only lead to death. But you all have your whole lives to live.”
Other some very poignant dialogues include, “There is no point to a life which can’t be used for the nation” which is said by the freedom fighter Kshudiram Bose, and the ending line where while fighting the British, Bagha Jatin states, “When we die, then our motherland will awaken.”
Directed by Arun Roy, ‘Bagha Jatin’ focuses on the life of the titular protagonist who was born Jatindranath Mukherjee. As he had killed a tiger upon being chased by one, the man earned his legendary nickname ‘Bagha’ which in Bangla means tiger.
Other aspects that the movie aims to cover are his spiritualism which was influenced by the ideologies of Swami Vivekananda, as well as his own ideologies of armed revolution.
The real life Bagha Jatin was born in 1876 in the Nadia district of what was back then United Bengal and in present day is part of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
Jatindranath Mukherjee had received support from the German Crown Prince during World War I, who gave him a whole consignment of weapons and ammunition.
Motivated by a revolutionary mindset and striving to create an Independent India, and during the War, Bagha Jatin was targeting British lines to cut off their access points and ambushing them.
Though preparing to create a full armed revolution through his dacoit activities, Bagha Jatin and his team’s conspiracy was leaked out to British intelligence who blocked the exit points from Noakhali and Chittagong to block their escape to Odisha or Assam.
In the forests of Mayurbhanj in Odisha, a 75-minute gun battle ensued on October 9, 1915 which killed several British Indian police officers as well as one of Bagha’s associates. Himself mortally wounded, Bhaga Jatin died of his wounds on October 10, 1915.
‘Bagha Jatin’ brings to the big screen yet another one of the several hundred untold stories of various freedom fighters from different regions of India, who today find little mention in history books.
The movie stars Dev, Sreeja Dutta, Sudipta Chakraborty, Samiul Alam, Sajal Mondal, Kallol D, Rohaan Bhattacharjee, Carl A. Harte, and Alexandra Taylor. The movie will release in both Bangla and Hindi, with the former hitting theatres on October 19, and the latter coming out on October 20, 2023.
