Anjan Dutt to make trilogy on Sarat Chandra's 'Srikanto'

Filmmaker Anjan Dutt is set to make a movie trilogy on Bengali litterateur Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's masterpiece novel 'Srikanto'.

Shooting for the first movie of the series is slated to begin January next year, Dutt told PTI.

The first movie will be set in the backdrop of the Naxalite period in the 1970s and narrate the journey of protagonist Srikanto's adventurous friend Indranath, he said.

'Srikanto' was a four-part novel written by Chattopadhyay between 1917 and 1933.

"Srikanto is a political novel which can be set in the 70s Naxalite period. The novel is timeless as it has touched upon certain issues that are relevant even today," he said.

While two Bengali movies based on the novel had hit the screens -- 'Rajlakshmi o Srikanto' (1958) and Iti Srikanto (2004) -- another film by director Pradipto Bhattacharya on the novel is slated to hit the screens soon.

"I am intrigued by a character like Indranath, who does not care about untouchability or casteism, eats beef and visits nautch girls," Dutt said.

The filmmaker said he is not bothered about getting trolled for touching upon casteism and beef consumption.

Dutt said it is time that Bengali film directors return to base their films on literary creations.

"I believe we must go back to the literature. Movies of the yesteryear used to be based on novels but now, the present trend is to dish out manufactured stories to fool the people," he said.

Dutt said personalities like Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay and Rabindranath Tagore are relevant in contemporary times for their views.

"While Sarat Chandra was more attuned to the ground realities and brought forth the issues faced by middle-class, Tagore will always remain topical for his philosophy, he said.

Dutt said young actor Suprovat will essay one of the key roles in the film.