Short film on ‘RG Kar incident’s surrounding circumstances’ to release on Oct 2

KOLKATA: The RG Kar Hospital incident affected not only the people of Kolkata, but also drew attention worldwide. Over a month and a half later, protests continue to fill the streets, demanding justice for the young doctor who was raped and murdered in the hospital. A pandal in Hyderabad was inspired by the RG Kar case during Ganesh Chaturthi, and now a short film based on this incident is set to stream on YouTube on Mahalaya.

The 12-minute Bengali short film titled ‘Agomoni: Tilottamader Golpo’ features Rajanya Haldar, a leader of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) students’ wing, in a leading role, with direction by TMC leader Prantik Chakraborty. According to Haldar, the film will depict the story of anyone—whether a woman or a man—who has been a victim of harassment. “There’s a Tilottama in every one of us. We have all faced suffering at some point in our lives,” said Rajanya, a resident of Sonarpur in South 24-Parganas district and also the TMCP district unit vice president.

Rajanya also mentioned that the RG Kar case has revealed a lot of negativity in society. “We need to cleanse our souls first before cleaning up the society. At the protests, we’ve seen men who are predators themselves walking with candles. We’ve also witnessed celebrities who claimed they wouldn’t return to the festival later participating in films and advertisements released during Puja. Our conscience must be clear first.

There has also been a lot of fake news surrounding this issue, exposing the hypocrisy of people,” said the young TMC leader. Since the Supreme Court is currently hearing the RG Kar case, the filmmaker will not directly portray the events that occurred at RG Kar. Instead, the film will focus on the ‘surrounding circumstances.’

The fact that both Rajanya and Prantik, associated with the ruling party, are making a film about the RG Kar incident has sparked controversy. To this, Rajanya said that both she and Prantik are artistes first. “Before entering politics, I was an artiste, and I will continue to be one. Prantik has been involved in filmmaking since his college days, and I have a creative mindset, which is why we’re making this film.

Politics is our profession, but it is separate from our artistic pursuits. If someone else were in my position, no one would question it. Our political identities are linked solely to our professional lives, not this film.

This is an unbiased representation,” said the Presidency University alumnus.