Naxalism of the 60s subject of Goutam Ghosh`s next film

Kolkata, Jan 12: Rallies, agitations, street violence, student unrest, processions .... Bengal has seen it all and is still seeing them. But what was it like in the tumultuous 60s and early 70s, and does it have any relation with today`s Nandigram and Singur? Eminent film-maker Goutam Ghosh wants to explore the truth in his next venture `Kalbela` which is based on a novel of the same name on the violent Nalaxism of those days.The feature film, produced by NFDC and scheduled to premier on January 16, is based on the academy ward-winning novel of eminent Bengali writer Samaresh Majumder which is one among many written on those uncertain days. The film seeks to present the then Bengal in the grip of Naxalite movement by tracing the principal characters from the sylvan, but simmering Dooars forest to the political cauldron of College Street, Presidency College campus and university, recapturing the saga of the failed movement, imprisonment and police torture. "In a sense I feel the film is more relevant today in the Kolkata of new milieu, of new priorities, new values and new perspectives which is re-witnessing agitations, movements and violence, on a smaller scale though. The student violence these days remind me about the days of our youth," Ghosh told reporters here. Bureau Report