Emperor vs Sarat Chandra: Srijit Mukherji Brings Pather Dabi Ban to Screen
Srijit Mukherji’s Emperor vs Sarat Chandra explores the British ban on Pather Dabi, bringing Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Rabindranath Tagore and the novel’s revolutionary world to the big screen.
Srijit Mukherji’s Emperor vs Sarat Chandra explores one of the most striking chapters in Bengal’s literary history—the British government’s ban on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s 1926 novel Pather Dabi. The film releases on October 15 and features Tota Roy Choudhury as Sarat Chandra, Abir Chatterjee as fictional revolutionary Sabyasachi Mallick, Mimi Chakraborty as Sumitra and Sanjoy Nag as Rabindranath Tagore.
Mukherji said the idea began after he discovered letters exchanged between Sarat Chandra and Tagore in 2021. The filmmaker also felt Roy Choudhury’s appearance closely resembled the celebrated novelist.
Sabyasachi, the revolutionary at the centre of Pather Dabi, is portrayed as a determined opponent of British rule. The character draws inspiration from several real-life revolutionaries, including Raj Behari Bose, Subhas Chandra Bose, Surya Sen and Jadugopal Mukherjee.
Roy Choudhury described Sarat Chandra as a larger-than-life figure whose adventurous life matched the spirit of his fiction. The film also brings Sarat Chandra and Tagore together while examining literature’s relationship with colonial power.
The project marks Mukherji’s debut as a composer, with songs featuring Timir Biswas and Shreya Ghoshal. Apparently, even a century-old literary controversy still has enough drama for the big screen.
