Sudipto Sen had a successful 2023 when his controversial film The Kerala Story broke bank and ended up as the most profitable Indian film of the year. Within a year, the filmmaker was back with his next – Bastar: The Naxal Story. The film, which stars Adah Sharma, was released this Friday. The filmmaker talks about its making and the public discourse around the polarising film.
Talking about the quick turnaround between the two films, Sen says, “I encountered both stories around the same time, years ago. Both films evolved together and I was mentally prepared to make both. Coincidentally, The Kerala Story was made first.”
The filmmaker calls Bastar a personal story. “I was born in 1968 and since I was able to understand the world, I have followed what is happening in Naxalism because it is close to where I live. My sister, brother-in-law were involved in it. I saw the evolution of this movement as it moved from north Bengal to Bihar and now Jharkhand and eventually down south,” he recalls.
Like his previous film The Kerala Story, Bastar has also faced allegations of being agenda-driven and called propaganda. Sen says these claims do not faze him. “Some critic told me he did not watch the film but reviewed it,” he says, while talking about The Kerala Story.
Talking about how he deals with the films’ critics, Sen says, “Vipul ji (Vipul Shah, the two films’ producer) was also angry with me when I responded to Naseeruddin Shah after he criticised the film without watching it. I said ‘you abuse me, call me anywhere but watch it first’. At IFFI in Goa, when we were walking the red carpet, two-three young boys and girls were showing placards protesting the film. I asked them if they watched it and they said no. I told them to watch the screening and then make their mind up. But they refused to watch because they said they were told the film is propaganda.”
Bastar: The Naxal Story released in theatres on March 15 to divisive reviews and polarising audience reactions. The film has managed to earn only Rs 2 crore in its opening weekend, far below the Rs 35 crore The Kerala Story had managed.
