From colonial buildings to rajbaris and engineering marvels, Bengal is home to many famous heritage sites. While Bengali filmmakers often feature these sites in their films, Bollywood movies like Piku and Barfi, among others, have also showcased Kolkata’s heritage buildings and sites. On World Heritage Day, we speak to a few Bengali filmmakers about their experience of shooting at such sites. From anecdotes from the floor, to a feeling of pride, here’s what they told us:
EACH FILM OF MINE IS A TRIBUTE TO BENGAL’S HERITAGE SITES: DHRUBO BANERJEE
Bengal is so full of heritage sites! All my films feature one heritage site or the other. You can call it my tribute to the amazing heritage properties we have in Bengal. In a way, I feel really blessed that each film of mine demanded a heritage location. From Guptodhoner Sondhane to Karnasubarner Guptodhon and Tiktiki, all were shot at heritage sites, which has also helped in documenting these amazing sites. We have shot in Simultala Palace and the Kashipur Rajbari in Purulia, which we literally rediscovered and documented.
WE MUST TRY TO PRESERVE OUR HERITAGE SITES AND HELP BOOST TOURISM IN THE STATE: SHIBOPROSAD MUKHERJEE
Ujjan Mukherjee, the character played by Prosenjit Chatterjee in Praktan, was a man who conducts city walks. So, in a way, we paid tribute to our heritage through the film. There was also a song in the film, Kolkata Kolkata, where we captured almost all the heritage properties of the city. Even in Posto, we shot at mandir dalan of Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan. We try to capture some heritage property in almost all our films so that they always stay in the audience’s mind. We must try to preserve these sites and help boost tourism.
I TAKE PRIDE IN THE FACT THAT I LIVE IN A CITY THAT IS A HOME TO SO MANY HERITAGE PLACES: ARINDAM SIL
I have shot Aschhe Abar Shabor and Eagoler Chokh at the iconic Howrah Bridge. I’ve also shot at Lalbazar for a lot of movies. If I recall right, when Dibakar Banerjee was shooting the Sushant Singh Rajput-starrer Byomkesh, I was the line producer. To pay tribute to Howrah Bridge, we did a flash mob using 19 cameras. It was a song sequence but it wasn’t a part of the film itself. It was a fascinating way to pay tribute to Kolkata’s heritage. I was also a line producer at an ad shoot, which paid tribute to 300 years of Kolkata. Ram Madhvani was the director. We shot at Victoria Memorial right through the night and the whole experience was something I can never forget. We have such wonderful heritage sites here! I really take pride in the fact that I live in a city that is home to so many historic and iconic buildings.
THERE ARE PARTS OF KOLKATA WHERE TIME STANDS STILL; IT’S AN ECHO OF THE PAST: SRIJIT MUKHERJI
I have shot at the Basu BatiNandala Bose ancestral thakur dalan, which has now been revamped into a heritage hotel. We shot Jaatishwar at Sovabar Rajbari where Antony Firingee had his duel with Bhola Moira, so that had actually happened at the Sovabazar Rajbari 150-200 years back. It was a very real experience shooting the same incident at the same place where it actually happened. We almost felt like we were being watched from above. Having said that, Kolkata is a very special place to shoot and it’s because of these heritage monuments. There are parts of Kolkata where time stands still; it’s an echo of the past. The opening monologue of my film Shah jahan Regency, which was based on the novel on Kolkata, Chowringhee, goes like... Kolkata is a city that’s like a reincarnation and a city which exists in various lives at the same time.
