FTII chief’s new avatar as Jana Sangh founder

In a sparsely furnished room of a rajbari (palace) with a large picture of Bharat Mata on a lion in the background, the director calls out ‘Action’.

“ Agar Apni maa ki rakhsa karna atanki harkat hai to main atanki hoon ,” (If protecting my mother is an act of terrorism, then I am a terrorist),” thunders an impressive figure in spotless white.

Actor Gajendra Chauhan, best known for his role as Yudhishtir in the teleserial Mahabharat , steals the scene as founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Syama Prasad Mookerjee.

Tuesday is the last day of shooting for the bilingual film Danga (Riot), and director Milan Bhowmick is a little nervous as shooting starts late. It usually takes the actor about three hours of make up to look like Mukherjee.

The actor and more recently, controversial chairman of Film Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, told The Hindu, “I am very excited. It is my good luck that I got the role. I was initially apprehensive whether my looks will match the character and I had to go for a look test in Bombay.”

Both the actor and director emphasise that the film will is aims to create awareness about the contributions of the late rightwing leader.

“Who does not know about Syama Prasad Mookerjee but there is a regret that where he was born [Bengal] the ideology he propagated did not prosper much. But the silver lining is a party with his ideology has got people’s support and is ruling the country,” Mr. Chauhan said.

According to Mr. Bhowmick, Danga promotes communal harmony. The film depicts the three months period leading up to August 16, 1946 when riots engulfed the city for three days.

The film is scheduled for release in September in both Bengali and Hindi.