Datta (2023)

Datta is a romantic story, influenced by the Victorian notion of ‘romantic love’. It dwells on the growing attachment, despite all odds, between an affluent Brahmo woman and an indigent but brilliant Hindu young man. This is Nirmal Chakravarty’s debut film.

Perhaps that’s the reason why Nirmal Chakraborty left the photojournalism profession! The interesting fact is that the story of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s ‘Datta’ has been filmed twice in Bengali. First in 1951. Produced by actress Sunanda Debi. She herself played the lead character, Bijoya, in the film directed by Soumen Mukherjee. However, Sunanda Debi’s performance in that film was not much appreciated. Anyway, ‘Datta’ was filmed for the second time by director Ajay Kar in 1976. Then popular actress Suchitra Sen played the role of Bijoya. The presence of Suchitra Sen created enthusiasm among the general audience for this film. This time, in the third edition, Rituparna Sengupta not only played the role of Bijoya but also took on the responsibility of producing the film. New director Nirmal Chakraborty may need some help. But will the film be successful at the box office? The question is about the production quality of ‘Datta’. First, the big question is how much the old story will appeal to today’s audience. Screenwriter Sumit Banerjee did not deviate that much from the original novel. That was necessary considering the current audience. Maybe the producer-director will say that they did not dare make any changes to Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s story. But in the current view, if the audience wants a new interpretation of the popular story, why would it be unfair? We have seen many new interpretations of Shakespeare’s plays and stories. New director Nirmal Chakraborty may need some help. But will the film be successful at the box office? The question is about the production quality of ‘Datta’. First, the big question is how much the old story will appeal to today’s audience. Screenwriter Sumit Banerjee did not deviate that much from the original novel. That was necessary considering the current audience. Maybe the producer-director will say that they did not dare make any changes to Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s story. But in the current view, if the audience wants a new interpretation of the popular story, why would it be unfair? We have seen many new interpretations of Shakespeare’s plays and stories.