Sourav Chakraborty: ‘Rajneeti’ lands hard-hitting punches on the state of ethics, deceit and morality in politics

Starting from Harold Pinter to Krzysztof Kieslowski, almost every visionary filmmaker has one common perception about a political drama – ‘it's often difficult to make political drama dramatic’. Sourav Chakraborty whose new web series ‘Rajneeti’ will soon start streaming believes it to the core and insists that the political environment only forms a background in his series. Starring Ditipriya Roy, Arjun Chakrabarty, Kaushik Ganguly, Koneenica Banerjee, Aniruddha Gupta, Shyamal Chakraborty and others in key roles; ‘Rajneeti’s trailer has already grabbed everyone’s attention.

Making political thrillers is indeed a risky business, especially in today’s time when controversies are almost regular in Indian cinema. Sourav is well aware of the fact and that’s why he insists that the series has nothing to do with real-life political confrontations and neither it want to spark controversies. “This is a political thriller that shows how a game of power, greed and ambition can turn and twist the equations in a family and how the turmoil massively affects the geo-political scenario of an entire area. Another thing is it can be public or personal, but what I believe is the game where the hunter becomes the hunted and the surprise elements of a prey turning into the predator, can also be termed as politics. As you can see the title of the series clearly suggests what you can expect from it. I didn’t create the show following any particular political party, it’s an original story whose background is politics, explains the director.

When asked if ‘Rajneeti’ is the reflection of his own political ideology Sourav shares, “I am not a supporter of any particular political party but yes, I have my own political ideology since no one can escape the implications of politics in real life. Rajneeti has been made from these thoughts, these ideological differences. But it doesn’t hurt any individual political party. You would find politics everywhere – whether it’s our daily life, office or even inside a family. The story concerns of ordinary citizens, like sex, family, and money, than political intrigue. Frankly speaking, I am more interested in stories that expose the limits of political ideas and ideologies.”
Speaking about the intriguing storyline he adds, “The plot follows a young lady Rashi who has lost her memory after a car accident, but she soon realises that the accident was the result of a major political conspiracy. More threads will begin unraveling as she’s desperate to find out more about her past life. Not only it’s a story of family but also ‘Rajneeti’ raises many questions about our current political scenario. It will land even more hard-hitting punches on the state of ethics, deceit and morality in today’s politics.”

While there are a host of experienced and talented actors in the cast, Sourav admits that directing Kaushik Ganguly was the trickiest job. “It’s indeed a tough job to work with so many actors in a single project but yes, directing Kaushik Ganguly was initially tough. Initially I was a bit nervous even though Kaushik da really liked the script. But as we started shooting things became much more smooth and easy. He’s so humble and jolly and the way Kaushik da saw the entire unit like a one big happy family it made things easier for me to direct a powerhouse actor and National award-winning director like him. There’s so much to learn from him. After we ended the shoot I felt no one could have played the character better than him. In fact, not only Kaushik da but the way Ditipriya slipped into her character it’s so impressive. Also Shyamal da, Arjun, Koneenica – everyone excelled in their role,” shared an excited Sourav adding that ‘Rajneeti’ will be a pure entertainment for those who love political dramas.

The series will premiere on May 26 and ahead of the big day the recently released trailer has only added to the excitement among cine buffs.