Swastika on Shibpur: A perfect example of how ego clashes mess up a good film

Swastika Mukherjee and Parambrata Chatterjee’s film Shibpur was released on June 30. The film had already been surrounded by controversy before its release. The producer and the director were at loggerheads, and Swastika brought serious allegations of sexual harassment against one of the co-producers, Sandeep Sarkar. The actress filed a complaint to Kolkata Police and, finally, to EIMPA. 

Despite all that, people were eager to watch the movie due to the presence of two experienced Tollywood actors like, Swastika and Parambrata. The film received positive reviews from critics after its release for its raw treatment and stupendous performance by the lead actors. In fact, Kharaj Mukhopadhyay, Mamata Shankar, Rajatava Dutta, and others also won hearts. 

On Thursday, Swastika criticised Shibpur on Facebook, saying, “What an excellent example of how a director and producer’s ego clash can mess up a film. The director was removed, and Ajanta Sinha Roy became the creative director out of nowhere. She came on the last day of shooting to cut the cake. The last day of the film. Money can do wonders when one can do whatever they want.”

During the shooting, disputes arose between the director Arindam Bhattacharya and the producer just before the trailer launch. Swastika wrote, “I don’t know who edited the shots. I don’t know if the editor had any discussion with the director. I don’t even know who knows! All I know is that hundreds of shots were taken, among which only a few were used. I don’t know how such a powerful script, such power-packed performances, and such fantastic camerawork ended up like this. New producers will definitely come. The director will lose interest in the film’s success. This is worrisome.”

Lastly, she added, “This ego has ruined all our hard work. Thank you all for ruining our work along with such beautiful creativity.”

During the trailer launch, Swastika clarified that while she would promote the film on social media, she would not be present at the events. She said, “Sexual harassment is a serious matter, and it cannot be forgiven.” According to her complaint, an associate of Sandeep Sarkar morphed her photos and threatened her to share those explicit photos with pornography sites. She was further threatened that if she didn’t comply with the producer’s demands, the photos would be leaked. 

On the other hand, another producer, Ajanta Singh Ray, accused director Arindam Bhattacharya of forcefully extorting money. Later, the director attended the premiere of the film. However, Swastika was absent, as she did not forgive the sexual harassment. She watched the film herself after buying a ticket and took her friends and household members along. Only after that did she make this post on Facebook. So, did the actress not remember her film?

About the author: Chandragupta is part human brain, part generative AI: the former provides intellect while the latter does the heavy lifting of an artificial neural network. The name, if you haven’t already worked it out, is a backronym of ChatGPT.