Political lines blur as fans, families, Tolly members bid their final farewell

Kolkata: Admirers, relatives and people from various walks of life gathered to bid their final farewell to film-maker Anik Dutta, who died on Wednesday after a fall from the terrace of his residence, on a rain-soaked Friday afternoon.The adman-turned-film-maker’s mortal remains were kept at NT 1 Studios and Nandan.The funeral procession started from Peace World and ended at NT 1 after a brief halt at Nandan. Colleagues, actors and film-makers from Tollywood paid their last respects to the ‘Bhooter Bhobishyat’ director at NT 1 between 11.30 am and 12.30 pm.Many felt that the pit stop at Nandan—only one among Dutta’s seven films could be screened in Auditorium 2 at the state film centre—“ironic” that his body was taken to the place, where most of his films were denied entry. Dutta’s films were banned at the theatre complex after he questioned the presence of then chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s posters, plastered across the compound, during a film festival. On Friday, Dutta’s portrait claimed the centre of the Nandan foyer.Actor Sudipta Chakraborty called the setting an “irony”. Actor and Left leader Debdut Ghosh, who featured in an early advertisement directed by Dutta, echoed the sentiment: “I welcome this move. It is nice to see that he got the respect at Nandan, where his films were barred entry.”Actor and BJP Shibpur MLA Rudranil Ghosh told TOI it took him three sleepless nights to organise the Nandan send-off. “I spoke to our chief minister, who said everyone should be able to pay their respects to Anik Dutta. I personally spoke to his family and am glad we could finally make this happen,” he said.BJP state general secretary Locket Chatterjee, who worked with Dutta at the beginning of her career, viewed the gathering as a necessary shift in the cultural landscape. “This is the change we wanted. We have always wanted a healthy work environment. Anik-da’s films never got screened at Nandan,” she said.The memorial across Nandan and NT 1 Studios brought together his childhood friends, technicians and producers. The crowds at the studio blurred political lines as Left functionaries Biman Bose and Satarup Ghosh stood near BJP MLAs Agnimitra Paul, Roopa Ganguly and Papiya Adhikari. Politicians spoke of tolerance, some lamenting this inclusion arrived only in death. Industry peers gathered in silence, from Abir Chatterjee, Jeet, Srijit Mukherji, Haranath Chakraborty, Kamleshwar Mukherjee, Sudeshna Roy, Chaitali Dasgupta, Utsav Mukherjee, Aparajita Das, Bidipta Chakraborty and Chandan Sen to Sauraseni Maitra, Ekavali Khanna, Firdausul Hasan and Joy B Ganguly. At the corner sat actor Jeetu Kamal, remembering the man who gave him his defining role in ‘Aparajito’.Before the final leg of the journey to the Keoratala crematorium, voices united to sing ‘Aguner parashmoni’ and ‘Purano shei diner katha’. Political lines blurred again as Left supporter Ushashie Chakraborty and BJP MLA Rudranil Ghosh stood beside Goutam Ghose, Lagnajita Chakraborty, Shamik Sinha and Sudipa Chatterjee. Mourners recalled memories of another day, remembering the shooting of a party scene at the exact space for his debut, ‘Bhooter Bhobisyot’. Even as a recording of Debabrata Biswas singing ‘Achhe dukkhho achhe mrityu’ played, the hearse bore Dutta away to the crematorium, where his daughter, Raai, performed the last rites.