The failure of Anjan Dutt's Bada Din based on the Anglo-Indian community made him direct Bow Barracks Forever which also deals with them 
By Bhavna Chopra, June 15, 2007 - 11:50 IST
There are films that you wish were a reality and there is reality, which you wish were just a film or a part of a drama. But one has to wake up
and smell coffee. How long can you live in a dream world of fantasies, in a world so fictional that at end of it all, it hurts to know it isn’t
real? But thankfully films today have changed, and along with it they have also changed the face of cinema. It is only through such
realistic cinema that we have come to understand our real world much better. And hope to know more.
But looks like you do not understand where are we getting at, do you? What men it is not as complicated as Rosy Aunty’s wine but as
simple as Peter uncle’s vodka shot. There, you still look lost on that one, so to make things a bit simpler and less complicated let’s put a
full stop to my bantering and come to the point.
The topic of our interview today is the recent but yet to be released realistic film, ‘Bow Barracks Forever’. It is a film that is being
made by Mr Anjan Dutt, the famous bong musician, singer-composer who is also a writer, director and an actor. With this film Anjan Dutt
has taken a keen initiative in portraying true story of a bunch of Anglo-Indians living in Calcutta. Through this film he wants to
communicate and voice out the serious problem of this very special, close to his heart community, with which he identifies and has great
affiliation. The film is being produced by PNC (Pritish Nandy Communications) and is based on true story and lesser known facts of Anglo-
Indian community that needs to come into the limelight. It is a story about people that needs to be told. It is a story about families that
need to be helped and what better way to showcase their worries and their actual essence of living than through a film projecting it all.
One may wonder what Bow Barracks is and why such a peculiar name for a film? Well, Bow Barracks is nothing but a very historic,
extremely cherished and an old residential area /building in Calcutta that houses 140 Anglo Indian families and for whom it is their only
home. But the grave matter of concern for this purely loved and nurtured area is that it is under the threat of getting demolished and
reconstructed into a newer and modern architecture. An architecture if built, will ruin each and every person’s life living there, will kill the
very essence of their presence, their survival and their basic aim to have stayed rooted to India for generations and generations to come.
On interviewing Mr Anjan Dutt, the actor who acted in Aparna Sen’s films like Mr and Mrs Iyer and Yugant, veteran director
Mrinal Sen’s films like Kharij and Ek Din Achanak, one realizes that he has come a long way (almost 40 years now) to pursue his
real passion, which is direction. Having completed his education in Darjeeling, he moved to Calcutta and being a hardcore cosmopolitan
city that it is, it offered him a wide variety of career options. From Advertising, journalism, rock music, theatre to acting in films, Mr Dutt has
tested them all. And in spite of the fact that his father was a famous lawyer, Dutt instead of choosing law as his obvious path, chose to
merely survive by doing things that interested him. As an independent director-writer, Anjan Dutt has some commendable films to his kitty
out of which his worth a mention films are The Bong Connection, Bada Din and a documentary Call Cutta. Though Bada
Din, a film again on Anglo- Indians, their living style, culture and colorful stories, is considered by Mr Dutt as his most embarrassing
subject, for he could not do proper justice to it, is a movie through which one clearly gathers that it is ‘the topic’ he is utmost passionate
about.
“The failure of Bada Din is one of the main reasons I have chosen to make a film on Bow Barracks Forever. Bada Din as a film has not
only disappointed me but also failed to project the true nature of the community I am so fond of. I have literally grown up being a part of
the Anglo Indian community. The reason I am so well versed with their lifestyle and culture is because my teacher, my girlfriend, my friends
were all Anglo Indians. I have grown up listening to their kind of music, eating their food and laughing at their jokes. But I never knew a
place like Bow Barracks existed in Calcutta, until I was invited there to screen Bada Din in order to raise funds. Once there amongst those
people, it was only then did I learn of their stories, their problems which is how I decided to make the film on the pertinent issue”, says
Anjan Dutt.
Moon Moon Sen so far has always been cast as a sweet little woman but can be equally
mean and vampish
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Bow Barracks Forever is a true story honestly told in every small little sense as it has not just been shot in the real location but also
portrays characters absolutely true to life. If in the movie Lillette Dubey is shown portraying a character of Mrs Lobo who makes excellent
cakes and wine then that is because there is a similar woman in the community well known for the art. “This lady makes wine for Rs 200 only
and all my European friends vouch for it saying it is the best ever quality they have tasted”, swears Dutt to prove his facts. Well and talking
of characterization in the film then surprisingly all of them have quite an evident dark shade, which is stark. “Such is reality”, quirks Anjan
Dutt. “They are people who abuse you but also love you with equal passion. They are people who are different from the rest, may be
distressed and depressed with life but when it comes to their home, they are like any other human, who will stand by and protect his home
when in danger. Though my characters are dark, the film is fun to watch for there is dance, music, humor and life”.
Question him on his unique casting in the film, and he defends saying all the actors are best suited to their roles. “All the actors cast for
the film whether it is Lillette Dubey or Victor Banerjee or for that matter Moon Moon Sen, all have fair understanding of the community as
each one or the other has had some Joseph or Jennifer for their friend”, justifies the content director. And in addition to that all actors
have gone through workshops and training to make them comfortable with the ambience and the peculiar Anglo Indian lingo used. Their
Hindi is very different from the regular Hindi spoken everywhere. They do not say tera – mera instead they refer to each other as
humko tumko like “humko kya tum paagal samjhta hai” absolutely Goan style of speaking. And while talking of actors, whose
work is to die for in the film, Anjan Dutt is very pleased with Victor Banerjee saying his work is the best till date and on the other hand quite
amused with Moon Moon Sen’s prowess saying that she is quiet a nasty actress if she wants to be. Moon Moon Sen so far has always been
cast as a sweet little woman but can be equally mean and vampish.
All said and done but is Mr Dutt not vary with the fact that making films that our regular filmy audience does not usually appreciate or
enjoy, would actually fail to elevate his cause for making Bow Barracks Forever. Making a film on such a peculiar subject that caters
to a niche audience, may not reach the larger section and in turn will not get the support he is aiming for. And to this Anjan Dutt
confidently contradicts and says that even though his film is a niche film, it will cater to every section of the society irrespective of the
English language and the offbeat subject. That is because any film when made from heart, when made truly and sincerely connects with the
audience in some or the other manner. And Bow Barrack is a film he will stand through thick and thin and one with which he does not have
any regrets whatsoever. He is very confident that the film somewhere will connect with the audience, even if they do not know the ABC of
Anglo Indians. And he is quiet gregarious in pointing out that one does not have to go to New York to understand a film like ‘Taxi Driver’ or
be in the mafia to understand The Godfather’. I as a viewer do not know much about down south and Tamil way of living but could connect
more with Mani Ratnam’s Roja than Bombay, further explains Dutt the director. And moreover today the audience has started
enjoying sushi too along with Chinese, in turn reflecting the changing taste of Hindi cinema goers who have become more adaptable to
newer concepts and subjects.
Confident and content Anjan Dutt is with his film Bow Barracks Forever but along with it he also very positive in receiving a good
response as he feels that if Anurag Kashyap’s film, Black Friday can get released and acknowledged then the audience is also ready
to receive mine with an open mind!
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