Kolkata, Jan 22 (PTI) Actor turned West Bengal minister Bratya Basu said that a film directed by him may have featured incidents of a real-life gangster of the 1990s during the Left Front rule in the state, but the reference to the relations between politicians and criminals in it has nothing to do with his political inclination.
Basu, a senior leader of the ruling Trinamool Congress, was talking about 'Hubba', a Bengali film on Shyamal Das known as ‘Hubba Shyamal’ who was killed in a gang fight in June 2011 in Hooghly district, his base. The movie was released last week.
"My political orientation did not influence the references made in the film. My intention has not been to target the then-ruling party in the state. I just touched on the issue," the education minister told PTI.
The acclaimed theatre personality said many Bollywood gangster films follow a pattern showing the politician-underworld nexus.
"I don’t believe in such a formula. If you watch international gangster films like Brazilian work 'City of God' or a South African film the name of which I cannot remember at this moment, there is no reference to any such nexus. Hubba followed that tradition," he said.
Basu said the idea to make a film on 'Hubba Shyamal' struck him when he read a book by IPS officer Supratim Sarkar, in which he had narrated the incidents of real-life criminals whom he had come across during his career.
"I read that book in between the shoots of my earlier film 'Dictionary' and decided to make a film on the life of Hubba - his rise, his family life. Though violence has been figured to a great extent in this film, that is not all," he said.
Hubba Shyamal was involved in the real estate business and he was not directly associated with any political party, said Basu who had met many people for his research on the project with the help of police sources.
Basu said he thought about casting Bangladeshi superstar Mosharraf Karim in the role of the gangster immediately after he decided to do the film.
"Mosharaf Karim is a versatile actor who delivered a power-packed performance in 'Dictionary'. I thought he would fit for the role," Basu said.
'Hubba' was also released in Bangladesh and is getting a good response there, as well as in West Bengal, he said.
It is an encouraging sign for film producers in both countries in the wake of the rising popularity of Bangladeshi actors like Karim after OTT came in a big way during Covid time, Basu said.