Satirical Spirit

“It is a strange case of life imitating art and art imitating life,” says director Anik Dutta, 58. The adman turned film-maker says he almost predicted the reaction to his recently released film Bhobishyoter Bhoot.

- Malini Banerjee

A clever play on the word ‘bhoot’, which can mean both past and ghost, the title could be translated as either ‘Ghosts of the Future’ or ‘Past of the Future’. “I did not expect the reactions to unfold in this form. I did not expect such stupidity,” he adds.

The film was “withdrawn unceremoniously without informing the producers” within a day of its release in West Bengal on February 15, and without any formal reason given. “No one is taking responsibility for or owning up to the fact that they have been instrumental in withdrawing the shows. Everyone is blaming an unknown, abstract higher authority,” he says.

The film, which Dutta insists is not a sequel to his debut, the runaway hit Bhooter Bhobishyot, is also about ghosts. In Bhobishyoter Bhoot, the ghosts are forced to take shelter in a refugee camp along with a politician after being rendered homeless. The allegorical satire has been beset with problems right from the start. One of which was posed by well-known producer Shree Venkatesh Films (SVF) which owns the rights to Bhooter Bhobishyot and, therefore, claimed to have rights to any sequels.

It bears repeating that this one is pointedly not a sequel, despite the similarity of subject matter.