As protests continue to mount against the rape and murder of a doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, several personalities from the field of culture, particularly cinema and the arts, are joining their voices to the cries for justice. The Trinamool Congress leadership has made it into an “us versus them” battle urging actors and cinema stars close to the ruling party to protest against attempts to “defame the State”.
Popular Indian playback singer Shreya Ghoshal had her “All Hearts Tour” scheduled for September 14 in Kolkata which she postponed and wrote on her social media handles that she is “deeply affected by the gruesome and heinous incident that recently took place in Kolkata”.
Ms. Ghoshal also wrote on August 31, “This concert was highly anticipated by all of us, but it is absolutely imperative for me to take a stand and join you all in solidarity. I sincerely pray for the respect and safety of women in this world, not just our country. I am hopeful my friends and fans will accept and understand our decision to push this concert.”
Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh shared his appreciation for the singer and wrote on his social media site X (formerly Twitter), “I appreciate Shreya Ghoshal’s stand. She is also as worried about R.G. Kar as the rest of us. This rape and murder are a societal issue that needs protests from all walks of life. This is not an issue specific to Bengal.”
This was a rare show of appreciation by Mr. Ghosh for an artist who stood for the R.G. Kar rape and murder issue.
‘Us versus them’
On August 29, the Calcutta High Court allowed the release of the movie Diary of West Bengal. A group of petitioners had filed a petition where they argued in court that the movie was communal in nature and portrayed Bengal in a bad light. The movie’s trailer was first released in May 2023 on YouTube when Kolkata police served a legal notice to the director Sanoj Mishra for the movie’s communal content.
But the Calcutta HC on Thursday (August 29, 2024) said that if people want to watch the movie, they can watch it, if not then they can opt out because it is a democracy, and healthy criticism is welcome in such a State.
Trinamool’s Kunal Ghosh posted about the movie’s release and criticised the Bengali film fraternity for staying silent when an allegedly “malicious” movie was being released in the theatres promoting a “narrative in BJP’s favour”.
He reacted to the release of the movie and posted it on social media on August 31 and said, “I have protested against the Hindi film that defamed Bengal, but did not mention its name. I have seen that a CPI(M) doctor has sent me much advice. Supporting cease work at government hospitals and then practicing medicine at private hospitals, nursing homes, chambers, is it ethical, I ask?” This came after Mr. Ghosh faced much backlash on social media when he made multiple posts against Bengali movie stars and singer Arijit Singh on August 30.
He had shared his views on social media along with a poster of the movie, “The release of this film today is to spoil the image of Bengal. False narrative, slander, communal innuendo, incitement. Will the Tollygunge industry, especially those associated with our party, not protest? The film is released today. They will sit in silence today? Bengal industry will not protest?”
He had questioned the stance of the Bengali film industry stars for not taking a stand.
Mr. Ghosh had also lashed out at singer Arijit Singh just 24 hours before he showed appreciation for Shreya Ghoshal when Mr. Singh released a song titled “Aar Kobe?”. Mr. Singh had said, “We try and pay tribute to the courage of ‘Abhaya’, the young doctor who perished and stand in solidarity with all women who face the horrors of gender-based violence.”
This did not sit well with the Trinamool leader and he shared multiple posts on social media handle X (formerly Twitter) criticising Singh for his “selective” protest against the R.G. Kar issue. He wrote, “Arijit Singh is a great singer. A great guy too. I support his song asking for justice for Tillotoma. But the problem is, why does conscience work only in Bengal? Maharashtra’s Badlapur incident doesn’t get Hindi songs, or for Sakshi Malik. Because that is your main workplace, Hindi belt, work, money, career, that’s why the silence?”
Setbacks from many sides
The Mamata Banerjee run West Bengal government, Paschim Bango Natya Academy had granted theatre groups ₹50,000 for their work. The Malda Samobeto Prayas, a popular theatre group has decided to give back the grant money in solidarity with the R.G. Kar victim.
Multiple Durga Puja committees of West Bengal have also decided to reject their Durga Puja honorarium granted by the State government in support of the R.G. Kar movement. Some of the notable clubs to return the grant were Uttarpara Shakt Sangha in Hooghly, Highland Park Utsav Committee in south Kolkata, Bethuadahari Town Club in Nadia, Santosh Mitra Square in north Kolkata among many others.
