The film is to be produced by a Dubai based alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University, Irfan Izhar. Mahesh Bhatt is the creative consultant behind this project and Imran Zahid, an ex-Delhi University student is to reprise the role of Chandrashekhar Prasad or Chandu. The news has initiated mixed reaction from the JNU students and their concerns were voiced in a leading national daily.
Making a movie on a real life character is always fraught with danger, especially on one whose life and death is still fresh in the collective memories of his friends and contemporaries. Add to this the vested interest of political parties and campus politics, and it becomes a veritable minefield. CPI (ML) will not want their party image to be tarnished. Shahabuddin might be the killer of Chandu, but the lack of collective responsibility on the part of CPI (ML) harks back to the idea of politics being just that: Politics.
Chandraprakash’s mother has been quite vocal against CPI (ML) “The party made full use of me during the two-three years after my son’s murder. The CPI (ML) has been thriving on the politics of dead bodies.” Kaushalaya Devi (Chandu’s mother) had to complain to the party general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya to install the statue of Chandu for which she was forced to “donate” Rs. 40,000. She says “The statue was installed by the people who didn’t even pay for a funeral shroud when his body was brought for the cremation.”
JNU student politics has been in a slum after the Lyngdoh Commission. The current scenario is a far cry from the campus politics meets real life politics reminiscent of Chandraprakash’s days as student leader. This movie is a chance to reinforce the essence of radical student’s movements which is unique to JNU.
The director’s portrayal of Chandraprakash is crucial. Without the human element, this will become a propaganda movie and to hold the attention of a diverse movie going crowd, Mahesh Bhatt has to bring something extra to this movie as a creative consultant. From a small town in Bihar, this is the story of an exceptional young man. For people like us, grinding in a 9-6 existence, Chandu’s life seems even more radical. Very few people will opt out of NDA and to become a fulltime activist.
Controversy and Mahesh Bhatt have always gone hand in hand. Taking into account the recent Maoist attacks, excessive glorification of the Leftist-Marxist movement might lead to political roadblocks. But the Hindi film industry is no stranger to political umbrage (read fracas about the release of My Name is Khan, promotional posters for Kurbaan showing Kareena’s bareback, reference to Mumbai as Bombay in Wake up Sid... the publicity stunts are endless!).
But Mahesh Bhatt is a shrewd filmmaker and knows very well that he can’t please everybody. If he can successfully navigate the political concerns and make a movie out of this amazing slice of life, then it will certainly be worth a dekko.