Director Sudhir Mishra says his upcoming film “Daasdev” is not just another contemporary adaptation of Saratchandra Chattopadhhyay’s classic but a fiercely political film that talks about the protagonist’s addiction to power.”In the classic tale, Devdas was an addict. But we elaborated on that and used the term as a metaphor to equate it with the addiction to power in a broader sense,” the director said on the sidelines of the Kolkata Literature Festival.
The film features Richa Chaddha, Aditi Rao Hydari and Rahul Bhat of “Ugly” fame in lead roles.
At the inaugural session of Kolkata Literature Festival being held in the Kolkata Book Fair, Mishra recalled how he was initiated to the films of Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen and Satyajit Ray among others in his childhood.
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Friday 07March 2025
He said he first watched Ghatak’s “Meghe Dhaka Tara” at the age of 4 and the film stayed with him till this date.
“The woman’s character in ‘Meghe Dhaka Tara’ struck me, more particularly the line ‘Dada Ami Banchte Chai’ (Brother, I wish to live),” Mishra said, adding apart from Ghatak’s craft of cinema, he was much influenced by his sound design.
Mishra also named “Bhuban Som”, “Calcutta 71” and “Interview” of Mrinal Sen as films having cast indelible impression on him as a director.
“Our job is to confront when and where anyone is wrong, including left or right. We are not propagandists, we are filmmakers,” Mishra said.
To a question if there has been a dearth of political films, he said, “There is change in political scenario when the Berlin wall collapsed and communism failed.” Mishra said he will make a sequel of his “Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi” by 2018.
