Emperor vs Sarat Chandra: Srijit Mukherji on bringing banned novel to screen

Filmmaker Srijit Mukherji's Emperor vs Sarat Chandra dramatises the ban on Pather Dabi and the world around its author. The film frames the clash between colonial power, literature and revolutionary imagination through Sarat Chandra and Tagore.

In Short

• The film traces how fiction and anti-colonial politics collided in Bengal
• Srijit Mukherji conceived the script after discovering letters between two icons
• Tota Roy Choudhury was cast for his striking resemblance to Sarat

What happens when a novel becomes so politically potent that the British government decides to ban it? Srijit Mukherji's Emperor vs Sarat Chandra brings that explosive chapter of Bengal's literary history to the big screen. The historical drama, which releases on October 15, is among the biggest Durga Puja releases in Bengal this year. Set against the backdrop of the British administration's ban on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's 1926 novel Pather Dabi, the film explores the intersection of the writer's real life and the revolutionary world he created on paper.

Tota Roy Choudhury plays Sarat Chandra, while Abir Chatterjee takes on the role of Sabyasachi Mallick, the fictional revolutionary at the centre of Pather Dabi. Mimi Chakraborty plays Sumitra, while Sanjoy Nag portrays Rabindranath Tagore.

For Srijit, the film began not with a grand historical event but with two letters. "The idea or the concept of this film came during 2021 when I stumbled across a letter written by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay to Rabindranath Tagore and the reply to that. So these two letters kind of ignited the idea of Emperor versus Sarat Chandra," the filmmaker told India Today Digital.

The casting of Sarat Chandra, meanwhile, came naturally to Srijit. He saw an uncanny resemblance between the author and Tota Roy Choudhury. "I think Tota's face, the facial structure, bears an uncanny resemblance to Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, and I think because of that, the casting was kind of inevitable. That is how Tota came on board. As far as Abir is concerned, I mean, he's the one-stop shop for all larger-than-life Bengali heroes," said the director.

In Pather Dabi, Sabyasachi Mallick is a fiercely committed revolutionary who believes there is no middle ground in the fight against British imperialism. Armed with multiple degrees, a global network and a willingness to take the fight to the British, he becomes the face of the rebellion in Sarat Chandra's novel.

For Abir, playing Sabyasachi was also an opportunity to channel the real-life revolutionaries who inspired the character. "I think people who have read Pather Dabi, they know who Sabyasachi Mallick was. From the description in the book itself, we know that he could fire with both hands. That's why his name Sabyasachi was so apt. He was a rebel. Not 'I think' he was a rebel, because in his opinion, British imperialism could be fought only when we declare war against them. There was no midway, no other way. He actually kind of became a globetrotter because he reached different countries, started to make allies so that he could get the required ammunition, so that the revolution could start from every corner of the country."

However, Sabyasachi was also inspired by several revolutionaries of the time. According to Abir, the character carries impressions of Raj Behari Bose, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Masterda Surya Sen and Dr Jadugopal Mukherjee. For the actor, that made the role particularly significant.

"I am very fortunate that I have played a character through which I can pay tribute to these immortal rebels, because of whom these people dreamt of a free India. That's why we're enjoying all this comfort today. It's our duty as a Bengali to reinforce the fact of how important the Bengali freedom movement was in India's freedom," he said.

For Tota Roy Choudhury, meanwhile, playing Sarat Chandra came with a different challenge: portraying a man whose real life was almost as extraordinary as his fiction. He said his first reaction was one of amazement and disbelief.

"I try to portray larger-than-life characters on screen, but in real life he was way, way larger than life. He led such a colourful, adventurous life. He's travelled to places. He lived life on his own terms. He possibly, to date, is the most successful novelist born in India, and yet he had the courage and the spine to protest," the actor said.

That tension between literature and power lies at the heart of Emperor vs Sarat Chandra. The film also brings together Sarat Chandra and Tagore, two towering figures of Bengali literature, while exploring the circumstances surrounding the ban on Pather Dabi.

The film also marks Srijit's debut as a composer. Timir Biswas lends his voice to the defiant first track, Shoite Shoite, while Shreya Ghoshal features on the soulful Dil Ka Daag. Poet Joy Goswami lends his voice to Rabindranath Tagore's dialogues, while Sanjoy Nag plays Tagore on screen.

- Ends
With inputs from Julekha Nasrin.