Bikas Mishra’s Pagla Ghoda shows why Badal Sircar is still relevant

The web film, produced by Nandita Das and Subodh Maskara, also features Vikram Kochhar, Ravi Khanvilkar, Gopal K. Singh and debutante Chitrangada Chakraborty.

Chauranga fame director Bikas Mishra has come up with a new web film Pagla Ghoda, an adaptation of late playwright Badal Sircar’s popular play.

Anshuman Jha plays one of the pivotal characters in Pagla Ghoda.

“This Badal Sarkar classic has always intrigued me. The four distinct tales which make Pagla Ghoda are poignant. The love is forbidden, and the end is inevitably tragic. The men are total losers who hide their immense sense of loss behind a mask of regular life. However, what intrigues me the most about the play is why on earth I don’t hate the four absolute sons of bitches who have nothing better to do in life than to get drunk and play cards over the dead body of a young girl who they don’t even know much about,” said Bikas Mishra.

“Strangely we don’t! And, that’s where lies the power of Badal Sarkar’s magnificent writing. It’s not a usual stuff about Heros and villains. The master playwright won’t leave it at just scratching the surface. These four pathetic men are the mere representatives of a system that makes them who they are, and that brings death upon the women who are eloquently present throughout the narrative by their powerful absence. The real villain of Pagla Ghoda is patriarchy. And, the men of Pagla Ghoda are as much the perpetrators as the victims of the wretched system,” added Mishra.

Its lead actor Anshuman Jha says the film is relevant in the current scenario of Indian politics.

“It was Bikas Mishra’s decision to adapt the play. The original play was for more than three and a half hours. But that much duration wouldn’t have worked for the film as it would be too long and boring. So, he adapted the script to two hours. Also, he changed the language for the film, which is set against the backdrop of Bengal in 1989, whereas the play was set in 1960s,” said Anshuman.

“Badal Sircar is a renowned playwright and we all have grown up watching his work. Somehow, the film is very relevant in today’s times within the socio-political system in the country now -- how both men and women suffer due to patriarchy,” he added.

The web film, produced by Nandita Das and Subodh Maskara, also features Vikram Kochhar, Ravi Khanvilkar, Gopal K. Singh and debutante Chitrangada Chakraborty.

Pagla Ghoda is streaming on Hotstar Originals from Tuesday, May 30.

(With inputs from agencies)