Satyajit Ray’s Topshe joins BJP

Kind of a children’s icon in 70s and 80s in Bengal, Topshe as he was known in films joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday.

Created by Satyajit Ray, Topshe’s real name is Siddhartha Chatterjee, but to a generation of young and old, he was known by his screen name.

Satyajit Roy made two thrillers for children in the 70s –

Sonar Kella (the golden fortress) and

Joi Baba Felunath (the elephant god) - and Mr. Chatterjee played the role of the young assistant to the private investigator, while Feluda was played by veteran thespian Soumitra Chatterjee.

Topshe was like ‘Dr Watson’ to Bengal’s very own Sherlock Holmes, Feluda. While the character, Topshe, appeared in each one of Satyajit Roy’s stories featuring Feluda, the director made only two thrillers with Feluda as the hero. Mr. Chatterjee was featured in both the films.

A stock market consultant, who also runs one of the popular Bengali food chains, Mr. Chatterjee joined the BJP with Barry O’Brien, the quizmaster, and footballer Sasthi Duley.

Soon after joining the party, which is slowly becoming a trend in the erstwhile base of Communists, Mr. Chatterjee said that he would like to ‘grow with the party in Bengal’. The BJP has grown enormously over the last few years in the State. In the last Lok Sabha elections, the party got nearly 17 per cent votes – highest ever by a party that advocates the idea of Hindu nationalism.

Since the Lok Sabha elections many, including erstwhile supporters of the Left parties, have joined the BJP. Now, the city’s intellectuals and professionals have started making a beeline to the BJP office in central Kolkata.