With dialogues like “Marbo ekhaney, porbi shoja shoshaney” [I will hit you here, you will fall straight in the crematorium], the trailers of Mithun ‘Disco Dancer’ Chakraborty's newest Bengali movie can make you double up with laughter.
But the Election Commission, which is leaving no stone unturned to ensure the polls in West Bengal are free and fair, is not amused.
Because Mithunda's new film is called MLA Fatakeshto, and the posters say, ‘Vote for MLA Fatakeshto’.
In a bid to capitalise on the poll fever that West Bengal is firmly in the grip of, the makers of the film have timed the release of the film to coincide with the state elections. The story is about a gangster who turns politician.
One Election Commission observer — from another state — could not get the joke, and ordered the removal of the posters of the film from Itindaghat in North 24 Pargana district.
Fatakeshto literally means ‘Broken Keshto’ (Keshto is a common rural Bengali name). There was a legendary underworld operative in Bengal by the name of Fatakeshto, and there is also a very famous Kali Puja in north Kolkata which is called Fatakeshto's Kali Puja, after the rather Robin Hood-esque gangster.
Many Bengali criminals have names like, say, ‘Kata’ Tapan (Severed Tapan) '- which might indicate that the person in question had his hand or a finger or some part of his anatomy chopped off in a gang war or while making a peto, (homemade bomb).
Recently i was in Kolkata , and i do agree with the election
commissioners views. Bengol is a vast and beaultiful state , neednot to
be ruined by petty party politics of 3 decaded. Change should come .
this maoist movement is slowly but surely making inroads, if nothing is
done mow our country will move towards anarchy - this is the time for
the govt to take ‘ramboistic’ action to put this down