Chattagram Astraghar Lunthan (1949)
Director: Nirmal Choudhury; Writer: Dulal Dutta; Producer: Satyadeb Narang; Editor: Ardhendu Chattopadhyay; Cast: Dipti Roy, Banani Choudhury, Smriti Biswas, Aparna Devi, Kalpana Roy, Manorama, Dipak Mukhopadhyay, Goutam Mukhopadhyay, Sunil Dasgupta, Dhiraj Das, Manik Bandopadhyay, Debu Mukhopadhyay, Indradeb, Hussain, Purnendu Mukhopadhyay, Amar Chattopadhyay, Bhaben Majumdar
Duration: 02:08:11; Aspect Ratio: 1.333:1; Hue: 167.512; Saturation: 0.021; Lightness: 0.241; Volume: 0.185; Cuts per Minute: 9.315; Words per Minute: 71.514
Summary: The film is based on Charu Bikash Dutta’s epic story on the attack on the British Armory at Chattograam, which provided the first sparks to the fiery battle of independence. The film documents the incidents leading up to the attack and the consequences that each member of the revolutionary group that was led by Masterda Surya Sen had to face. However, their attack was a fitting reply to the brutal assault on innocent Indians at Jalianwallahbagh. The capture of Surya Sen was the final nail in the coffin for the revolutionaries but it marked the beginning of militant nationalism in India.
Release date: 27 November, 1949 (Minar; Bijoli; Chhabighar)
censor certificate
The title credits are accompanied by a song, written by Rabindranath Tagore, about the various glorious natural gifts that make up the land, what renders it rich and exquisite. Singing praises of the glorious past and the natural possibilities of the country was an intrinsic part of the Indian National movement, frequently used to inspire the revolutionaries. The rousing rendition of the song sets the perspective and the context of the historical events the film is going to document - the raid of the Chattagram (Chittagong, in present Bangladesh) armoury of the police and auxiliary forces by armed revolutionaries of the Indian Republican Army on 18 April 1930. The event, also called the Chittagong Uprising in official documents, was short-lived but is looked upon as an important event in the freedom struggle that went a long way in inspiring later armed revolutionaries.
The animated sequence, an unique narrative trope adopted by the film, is meant to provide a short history of colonialism, the British rule and the freedom struggle in India by way of context of the events about to transpire. The sequence of shots mimics the apparent turning of the pages of a history book, which is what the intension probably is, just to acquaint oneself with the facts and figures that led to that particular moment in history. The lesson also succeeds in connecting the armoury raid almost in a causal relationship with the crucial events in the history of colonialism in the Indian subcontinent, and crucial figures like Sirajudaulah, Nandakumar, Tipu Sultan, Rani Laxmi Bai, Bahadur Shah Zafar, later, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Surendranath Dutta, Khudiram, Sri Aurobinda, Mahatma Gandhi. The end seems to underline the fact that all the events that have been recapitulated have come and crystallized in this particular incident almost by way of natural progression. Besides, the narration too is important in the way it mimics the radio broadcast of the 'Mahisasuramardini' on the day of Mahalaya which marks the beginning of an extremely auspicious period.
One thing that ought to be mentioned is that the film refers very closely to the documents preserved from the time of the raid to be as historically accurate as possible. The first shot of the Berhampur college and the sweeping corridors full of students effectively foregrounds the fact that the armed revolt was predominantly a student movement, marked as it was by the impatience and zeal of youth. Surya Sen too had been inspired to join the freedom struggle during his study at the collge.
Surya Sen spent most of his revolutionary career in his native place Chittagong, concerned as he was predominantly with localised, precise acts of rebellion to hurt the British simultaneously in multiple ways.
The duties to the rebelion and the ideology and the duties that call one back home have always been the two extremes that have defined the representation of literary figures, be it in fiction or cinema. A crucial way of heightening dramatic tension at key moments, this trope is also successfully used to establish character graphs, especially in a historical drama like this film.
A series of rapid shots, some superimposed over each other, to denote a passage of time when Surya Sen was teaching at the National School, Nandankanan , Chittagong, and his simultaneous involvement in organisations like the Anushilan Samity, one of the first extremist groups that operated under the guise of suburban fitness clubs. The sequence ends with Surya Sen getting married, having succumbed to family pressure, and the final shot of a close-up of his eyes denotes his ambivalence and unease about the incident.
The security of stable married life has begin to sit heavy with Surya Sen, especially when they are at a time where armed rebellion is a very real possibility. Mention of books like, 'Desher Katha, 'Anandamath', 'Sikher Balidan', the works of Swami Vivekananda are important. They were some of the most significant literary texts that were involved with the National movement.
Surya Sen's admission that his marriage was a mistake because it is directly in contest with the life of a swadeshi revolutionary is hardly surprising since it was one of the dominant points of view among the rebels at the time. 'Sanyas' or a strict vow of celibacy was one common criteria among the youth groups of the time to ensure all investments of the body and mind be directed solely at the freedom struggle.
The suggestion that he conduct his marital life on the lines of Sri Aurobindo is important. Aurobindo marriage to Mrinalini Debi, his involvement in the Nationalist movement, his assertion to his wife that only through his ideals can they ever find some sort of companionship, and her subsequent early death, these are all events that will be uncannily repeated in Surya Sen's life too.
The conversation between a swadeshi revolutionary and his mostly-abandoned wife is an interesting episode. While his assertions that being a freedom fighter it is unseemly that he be held back by domestic concerns are valid, her accusations regarding what is her part in all this is also poignant in its anger, sorrow and pathos. It is one of the central debates in the film and is referred to often.
This long sequence is different from the animated episode though it would appear to have originated from the same impulse. While the earlier one had been mostly instructional, this sequence has an added charge because of the documentary aesthetic that is evident throughout. A series of dissolves and superimposition of shots lay out the scenario of the unrest in different places like Bombay, Calcutta, Amritsar along with footages of marching soldiers. All this reaches a crescendo with the depiction of Jalianwallah Bag and the shooting down of the unarmed men present. This combines with the voice-over narration, an external narrative technique, to give a decidedly propagandist charge to the sequence.
A crucial moment in the early 1920s when the Extremists participate in the Non-Cooperation movement following the call of Gandhi, despite the reluctance of many armed revolutionaries as becomes evident here. The scene is a classic exposition of the Moderates vs. Extremists debate. We also get a glimpse of some of the major figures of the movement: Loknath Bal, Nirmal Sen, Ananta Singha, Ganesh Ghosh, Charubikash Dutta, and Rajen Das.
The song, written by Tagore again, is a firm affirmation of the ideals of armed freedom struggle. Again a series of superimposed shots are used, with scenes of marching protestors and the spinning symbolising the Non-Cooperation movement.
The next scene is set presumably a year later, in 1922, when Gandhi had withdrawn the Non-Cooperation movement after Chowri Chowra. The rebels resume their training and the recruiting of students.
Pushpa has been reading the correspondences between Sri Aurobindo and his wife to understand her own husband's life. Her comment, on how all men are the same, however ironic, opens up possibilities of asking questions about the largely gendered nature of the Indian National Movement and the role of women in it, whether revolutionary or not. Pushpa is caught between two contrary impulses - the impulse for domestic bliss and contentment and the impulse to give everything up for the nation.
Caught between these two contending impulses, Pushpa attempts to kill herself. The shot itself resonates with her internal tension - the closeup of her tear-stricken face as warring emotions cloud over, the shadow of the noose-like length of rope ominously falling over her face, the voice-over narration of her conversation with Surya Sen, and the rousing background score. It becomes obvious that no matter the explanations or the nothing really makes esne to her except for the rejection she perceives from her husband.
Almost as a perfect foil, the tension in Surya Sen's domestic life is offset by gathering of men and fervent preparations for their rebellion. Also, the fact that the revolutionaries often resorted to robberies in order to procure money raises interesting questions regarding the moral dimensions of revolutionary and freedom movements of similar nature.
The robbery sequence is a series of rapid shots that heightens the dramatic nature of the scene. also, much classic westerns, the scene is majorly a long shot of the highway, the carriage and the rebels hiding nearby all occupying the same tableau.
With the money now available the rebels make plans to acquire enough firearms to aid in their plans.
The police raid and the chase, much like most of the action-heavy scenes of the film, is accompanied by an elaborate orchestral score of staccato beats that highlights the pace and the rapidness of the superimposed shots of the scene. This then slowly tapers off as the intensity lightens and the rebels reach the safety of the mountains.
The ensuing scene revels that Ambika Chakraborty has been injured and the police have barricaded the escape routes. This is also a poignant scene where Surya Sen underlines the duties of a revolutionary and seeks to make a sacrifice by turning himself in if that would save the rest of his men.
The captured Surya Sen is put on trial and is successfully defended by Chittaranjan Das much like the latter defended Sri Aurobindo in the Alipur Bomb Case trial. This connection, though not co-incidental, that binds Surya Sen and the revolutionaries of Chattagram to the larger National movement is of course retrospective and instrinsic to the propagandist charge of the narrative.
The ordinance being discussed is the Rowlatt Act which extended the emergency powers of detention to prevent uprising in the colonies. The rebels answer by deciding to make their attacks and programmes more frequent. An important piece of information is revealed that the Anusilan Samity and Jugantar, two of the earliest armed revolutionary groups, have joined hands and that Ananta Singha and Ganesh Ghosh have been placed under arrest.
Driven by the ordinance, Surya Sen places Loknath Bal and Nirmal Sen in charge and goes away for organisational work.
Surya Sen during his travels; superimposed shots of peasants, sufferring people and places like Chattagram, Rajsahi, Jalpaiguri, Maimansingha, Assam, Dhaka, Barisal, and Calcutta with a voice-over recitation of the poem 'Ei Shob Murha Mlan Mukhe Dite Hobe Bhasa' ('We must give voice to these repressed silent faces') by Rabindranath Thakur. The superimposed close-up of Sen's tear-soaked face reflects his pain at the suffering he sees around him.
Surya Sen is apprehended a second time in Calcutta and jailed.
The hand-woven cotton sari with a red border is a typical swadeshi symbol of rejection of British goods in favour of indigenous produce. Also, the assumption that the sufferings of the families of revolutionaries was their way of contributing to the greater good, was also a dominant idea in the Nationalist ideology.
A sequence in the manner of a series of letters that Surya Sen wrote to his wife from 1925 to 1927, from various stints in prison like the Presidency Jail in 1925, then from various places he travelled to, like, Rajsahi, Ratnagiri, and Medinipur. The letters urge her to do whatever possible for her to support him and their cause with superimposed shots of Sen, the places he visits and Pushpa's fascinated reactions to her husbands words. The exchange of letters between husband and wife refer also to similar letters Aurobindo had sent to his wife Mrinalini Debi, something Sen had urged Pushpa to read.
Pushpa's death, in a way, severs the last grudging link Surya Sen had had to maintain with his family. As the camera pans from a close-up of Pushpa to his guiltridden face, her stilted admission that she has no desires and that he is a god brings the only personal element in Surya Sen's story to a close.
The narrative immediately shifts to focus on the gradual strengthening of the armed struggle with rapid shots of Netaji and the flag of purna swaraj in the context of the Calcutta Congress of 1928, which is also a crucial moment when the Moderates and Extremists debate thickened considerably.
The laundry which acted as a front for the rebels in Calcutta has a rather ironic name: American Laundry.
Sen refers to the contention within the Congress over the issue of purna swaraj and the quagmire of vested interests that marked the Nationalist movement during this time. The raid of the Chitagong armoury was in fact a direct consequence of these troubled time as it becomes evident here when the rebels decide to concentrate their strength on a local level in order to strike at the local roots of oppression and inspire rebels groups in every part of the country.
The declaration of Purna Swaraj in 1930 is accompanied by a choral performance of Kazi Nazrul's 'Chal Chal Chal', a vibrant marching tune that was one of the most famous songs of the freedom movement and was also the marching tune of the Bangladesh armed forces.
The song is interrupted by the news of a sudden explosion in one of the rebels' safe-houses, presumably from a wayward bomb. One of the injured is Tarakeshwar Dastidar.
The beginning of the civil-disobedience movement in 1930. A shot of the zilla committee's notice on the movement is superimposed on Surya Sen and his men as prepare for rebellion.
The rebels plan to use the diversion caused by the notice regarding the movement as a cover to prepare for an armed attack on the British. Surya Sen devised a strategy of capturing the two main armouries in Chittagong and then destroying the telegraph and telephone office, followed by assassination of the members at the 'European Club'. Also, in a turn of events, the rebels decided not to rob or raid for this long-dreamt mission of theirs, instead raising the money from among themselves.
Also, the mission had been restricted to Chattagram and surrounding areas because the rebels had learnt it the hard way that they did not possess the werewithal to aim for a nationwide programme when the factions within the Congress were not even seeing eye to eye. In fact, as Sen is seen pointing out here, the armoury raid had been an influencial event in the history of the Extremist wing of the Nationalist movement.
The next sequence is again a series of superimposed shots - a ploy the film uses quite liberally to maintain that quasi-documentary impulse in its historical scenes especially. The shots of the rebels's fitness camps are superimposed on the manifesto of the Indian Republican Army they set up on the ideals of the INA. The images of the young man working out superimposed over the cannons foreground the obvious masculine charge that one has always associated especially in the context of the armed faction of the Indian Nationalist Movement.
The entire mission had been divided among the six most senior members of the Army. Nirmal Sen and Lokenath Bal were to capture the headquarters of the auxiliary forces in Pahartali, the armoury of the Reserve Police Line was to be taken by Ananta Singha and Ganesh Ghosh, Naresh Roy was to attack the European Club, and Ambika Chakraborty and Upen Bhattacharya had to destroy the telephones and telegraph offices and the surface communication systems respectively. Surya Sen was the leader of the entire operation.
The image of the freedom fighter coming to seek the blessing of his mother before he marches proudly to possible death is a very well-known narrative trope used to underline the emotional intensity such acts of valour are meant to inspire. This image of the suffering mother of the freedom-fighter has often been used as a metaphor for the suffering nation in Nationalist accounts.
In fact, to emphasize the metaphor, the very next shot is that of the quintessential Bharat Mata in chains as reknowned Nationalist figures flank her on either side. The camera zooms out to reveal more images of Gandhi and Deshbandhu Chittaranjan, with Surya Sen staning tall in front of them. The tableau is carefully constructed, bringing various ideologies of the Nationalist movement under one fold with Sen as its vanguard.
The various componant scenes of the raid itself comprise of small shots, evenly paced, that gradually increase in tempo as the raid intensifies. Thus, the images of the rail lines being rigged to blow and disconnect Chattagram from Calcutta, are intercut with the shots of the rushing train. The scene ends with the explosion itself, with the tempo reaching a crescendo and then suddenly shifting to the next scene. This pattern is followed through the next few scenes with the shots becoming more rapid as the intensity of the raid increases. There is very little dialogue so as not to break the tenor of the sequence but sudden infrequent examples of jingoism do appear like in the sequnce where Ambika Chakraborty assures a terrified English woman that Indians never kill ladies because they are considered mothers and sisters. As the success of the raid sinks in, chants hailing the Indian Republican Army and the Bande Mataram begin.
Incidentally, the day had been Good Friday and most of the members of the European club headquarters had been home and they had raised an alarm which brought in swift defensive action.
The revolutionaries had successfully taken the arms but they had, in fact, been unable to find any ammunition in the armouries.
With one of their members, Himangshu, severely injured, Ananta Singha, Ganesh Ghosh and Ananda Gupta were sent to take him to a safehouse.
However, in the very next scene one learns that the three had not come back even after some time. After the raid, as shown here, the revolutionary groups gathered outside the police armoury where Surya Sen took a military salute, hoisted the National Flag, and proclaimed a Provisional Revolutionary Government. The revolutionaries left Chittagong town before dawn and marched towards the Jalalabad hill ranges, looking for a safe place to hide.
A poignant scene with images of soldiers sleeping in the Jalalabad hill ranges surrounded by rocks and bushes while a few stand guard.
The young soldiers sing Nazrul's 'Chal chal chal' again, to keep from losing their zeal as they remain in hiding.
With the informers not having come back and the men growing restless the rebels planned to attack the city at night again and capture the court. Nirmal Sen's comment also reflects the growing doubts among the men as they feel it is entirely possible that the informers might not have come back deliberately.
The train with the approaching military signals that the conflict is far from over and that their plans for further attack would have to wait. There is a bit of historical inaccuracy here. As mentioned before, the flag was hoisted at the auxiliary armoury itself and not on the hills. Nevertheless, the scene effective raises the dramatic tension since the shoot-out begins immediately. The ensuing gunfight is a series of rapid shots that alternate between the rebels and long-shots of the distant gunfire.
The first casualty was Harigopal Bal, Loknath Bal's younger brother.
Casualties for the rebels is immediately followed by a shot of the British flag breaking and toppling over, a virulent affirmation of the resistance of the rebels that succeeds in driving the forces back.
With no way to carry the bodies of the dead with them, the Army leaves them behind after giving them a guard of honour to mark their valour. The haltingly pans over the bodies, as their names are read out, highlighting the pathos of the scene.
While some of the rebels like Loknath Bal wished to travel and make connections with other rebel groups inspired by them, Surya Sen had decided to stay behind at his Chattagram headquarters with detailed plans of going about consolidating their victory.
Three crucial bits of information trickle in: of the dead rebels left behind Ardhendu Dastidar had been alive and had died in the hospital, Amarendra, the man Nirmal Sen had expressed immense faith on, had died fighting the poilice while out for information, and Ananta Singha, Ganesh Ghosh and Ananda Gupta have escaped to Calcutta. Sen's comment that a rebel has no option of surrendering anticipates the warcry of the Extremists during the Quit India Movement in 1942.
Consequently, Loknath Bal is sent to Calcutta to assist Ananta Singha, Ganesh Ghosh and Ananda Gupta in building up the organisation there.
Some of the revolutionaries had in fact managed to re-organize their broken organisation and on 23 September, 1932, attacked the Pahartali European club. The eight rebels involved had been finally led in the mission by Pritilata Waddedar.
The newsletter of the Indian Republican Army with news of their achievements in the raids and future plans.
This is in all probability Kalpana Dutta who, along with Pritilata Waddedar, was one of the first wave of women who joined the armed revolution.
Loknath Bal was involved in a gunfight with the police in Chandernagore on 1 September 1930 where his associate Jiban Ghosal died and he was arrested. He was sentenced to transportation for life on 1 March 1932 and sent to the Cellular Jail in Port Blair. Here, he is seen singing the famous Nazrul song 'Karar Oi Louha Kapat' ('Break down the iron gates of the prison'), which was a much venerated song during the freedom movement.
One factual inaccuracy that is quite glaring is the absence of Pritilata Waddedar from the raids and the battle at Jalalabad, though she was reported to have supplied the raiders with explosives in the latter and was part of the team that took the Reserve Police Line in the former. However, here she is seen to be asking Nirmal Sen to let her join the Army.
The rebels were mostly a close-knit group, something that has repeatedly been stressed on in Nationalist writings, with metaphors of a brotherhood who share a common goal of freedom. Here in an extremely ironic conversation they talk about a short vacation the younger man has taken to go visit his home. The candid comparison serves to throw their struggles and their fugitive status into sharp relief.
An intensely romanticised notion of martyrdom was a common feature of the Nationalist movement, both in nationalist doctrines and in other writings about the movement and in fact continues to inform popular struggles in different ways till today. Later representations of the freedom ovements, especially in cinema, have only perpetuated this notion.
Nirmal Sen's sudden comments on destiny and its infallible nature, and his slightly ominous words anticipate some sort of danger.
The sudden jump to the next scene could be because of some damage to the negatives at this point but it's only a short duration and it fits perfectly well because of Nirmal Sen's words in the earlier scene. They are attacked by the British soldiers and in the ensuing gunfight, Nirmal Sen is mortally wounded while trying to save Sen and Apurba.
Sen's admission to Pritilata that he has destroyed her whole life is perhaps a subtle refernce to what has already been a nascent suggestion in the earlier scene - that there might have been a personal equation to Pritilata Waddedar's and Nirmal Sen's relationship. Again, perhaps in an instance of artistic license, Pritilata is seen joining the Army now when she had actually joined the Indian Republican Army when Nirmal Sen had been alive.
The very next scene is again set a few months later, in September in fact, on the day when Waddedar led eight young revolutionaries on an attack on the Pahartali European Club. Also, the scene would perhaps make it seem that women as part of the freedom struggle was a late occurence when in fact women had been part of the Nationalist movement from the very beginning.
The scene dissolves in to the European Club, where a board apparently used to hang at the entrance stating 'Dogs and Indians Not Allowed'. Though one cannot adjudge the veracity of this annecdote, the Club was an important social space where British officials and other people working for the local government would meet. Originally, Kalpana Dutta was to have led the mission but she was arrested seven days before on a reconnaissance mission and Waddedar was given charge. Split into three groups the rebels attacked the club at around 10.45pm and in the ensuing shoot-out a British woman was reported to have died. Pritilata Waddedar had apparently suffered a single bullet wound before she took the cyanide she had been carrying.
A British notice declaring Sen as a fugitive and calling for a reward of 10,000 rupees for anyone who would help in his capture.
Immediately, we see a man reading the notice and almost ironically he mentions how he has not managed to procure money for an auction of his zamindari. In the very next scene he is seen at the police station informing the police about Surya Sen. This is in fact Netra Sen, the man who had informed the police about Surya Sen's whereabouts. Surya Sen had been hiding in the same village and accounts differ why Netra betrayed him - some claiming he did it for the money and some claiming that he was jealous because his wife idolised Surya Sen. Netra Sen was killed by an unknown revolutionary soon after.
Surya Sen's capture is superimposed over shots of the news of his capture and his deportation to Andaman soon after where he was to be hanged and where many of his colleagues where already incarcerated.
The scene in which Surya Sen is to be hanged is heavily dramatised with considerable bits of information glossed over or changed. In fact, Surya Sen had apparently been brutally tortured, his limbs broken and his teeth knocked out by a hammer, before being dragged unconscious to the gallows and hanged. One cannot really ascertain why the end was fictionalised but one explanation can perhaps be that it was done for the purposes of rounding of the propaganda aspect of the film. Thus, on his way to the gallows, in a curiously framed and obviously rehearsed scene, the guards and officials stop, a spotlight falls on Sen as everyone else fades into the background, and he delivers a long monologue on the freedom movement and the duties of revolutionaries even as the camera tracks in and picks up a hard close-up shot of his face. Throughout the scene the camera keeps changing the angle of the shot and begins to track out as he reaches the end of his speech and everyone starts walking again.
Surya Sen, along with Tarakeshwar Dastidar, was hanged on 12 January 1934. The hanging scene itself is accompanied by a return of the voice from the animated narrative in the beginning, reciting Rabindranath Tagore's 'Rakter Nadi Paar Hoye Jara Esheche Tomar Dware' ('Those who have come to your door having crossed rivers of blood'), set against a backdrop of the shadowy arches and the noose. The entire scene employs the careful use of light and shadow to underline the tragic execution and also highlight the glory of martyrdom through it.
Completely bringing the narrative a full circle, the voice deftly deifies the departing figure. Sen's silhouette is seen in the end walking across the sea towards the horizon as strains of the opening song resume
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