Bengali series on Jadavpur University ragging to stream soon

KOLKATA: Almost 10 months ago, the nation was shaken by the tragic death of a 17-year-old student from Jadavpur University, allegedly due to ragging by seniors. The incident led to the arrest of 13 students, with investigations still ongoing. Now, director Sayantan Ghoshal’s Bengali web series ‘Bijoya’ draws inspiration from this horrifying event. Actress Swastika Mukherjee will be seen playing a mother of a victim in the web series, which streams from July 5 onwards.

In the infamous Jadavpur University ragging case, which happened on August 10, initial reports indicated that the student fell from the second floor of the University’s main hostel. However, further investigation has raised the possibility that the fall could have been caused by an accident or a deliberate attempt to push him off the balcony, allegedly involving senior students. The probe, however, is still on.

Swastika, an alumna of Jadavpur University, recalls her disbelief and shock when the horrific incident occurred. “It was not the university I knew and like everyone else, I was shaken to the core.”

As someone who believes her “work is a form of protest”, Swastika immediately agreed to do ‘Bijoya’ when she learnt it was based on ragging. “The JU case is still fresh. Not everything may make the headlines, but incidents of ragging persist in educational institutions. In ‘Bijoya’, I portray a mother’s journey and the lengths she will go to seek justice for her son,” she said.

In fact, during the making of ‘Bijoya’, every crew member harboured the hope that the streaming of the web series could expedite the case and prompt the administration and legal system to deliver justice to the parents of the first-year undergraduate student from the Bengali department at JU.

“If ‘Bijoya’ can bring attention back to ragging and help the parents of the 17-year-old JU student get justice quickly, that would be our victory,”

said Swastika.