Bengali film on chit funds hits screens

In the wake of the Saradha Group chit fund scam that has rocked the state, a Bengali feature film on shell companies, their working and how they trap gullible investors hit the screens Friday.

"Kagojer Nouka" (Bengali for paper boats), directed by Parasathi Joardar, brings to the reel real life trials and tribulations of people ensnared in the net of chit fund schemes and the intentions of the promoters.

"It is a film that shows how these agents hoodwink people into investing. It is a xerox copy of what is actually happening. It also shows what the common man is facing and their problems from such fake schemes," Joardar told IANS.

Starring industry heavyweight Soumitra Chatterjee as the owner of a chit fund company and Victor Banerjee as an idealist, the film is a result of "extensive research" on the background of bogus companies.

"The film was shot in three months last year starting August. I researched the topic for three months. We have shown exactly what happens," said Joardar.

Actors Bidita Bag, Rajesh Sharma, Piyali Munshi, Anusua Majumdar and Priyam are also part of the story written by Ashok Basu.

Music for the movie has been scored by Sachaita while singers Kunal Ganjawala, Javed Ali, June Banerjee and Nilanjana Sarkar have lent their voices to the songs.

The chit fund scam exploded last month after Saradha Group's companies went bust and downed shutters across the state as they were unable to repay lakhs of depositors -- mostly from rural areas and small towns -- who had parked their hard-earned money lured by the huge interest rates promised by the company.

The collapse of the group has resulted in several agents, depositors of Saradha and similar chit fund companies committing suicide, while there are allegations of a small ponzi firm owner being murdered.

Irate depositors have attacked and ransacked offices of Saradha Group and other such companies.