Basu speaks with Atri Mitra about his latest film, why he chose to portray the gangster’s life and how he has been able to juggle time between politics, administration, and filmmaking.
What inspired you to make Hubba?
It was a small depiction of the 10 cases written by Supratim Sarkar (the current ADG of South Bengal). One was about the famous underworld don from Hooghly, Hubba Shyamal, which was covered in 27 pages. But the 27 pages haunted me for the socio-political scenario and the tussle between the cops and goons. This inspired me to make a film on Hubba Shyamal.
How did you learn about the criminal?
I gathered a lot of information on Hubba Shyamlal. I first read about him in a newspaper article following his arrest from a multiplex complex in 2005. But at that time, the name did not register in my mind. Later, I came to know about him in detail and his activities from Supratim’s book. I gathered a lot of information from public domain, from websites, internet and from reporters.
How did you choose Mosharraf Karim for Hubba’s role?
Mosharraf Karim is a very lovable actor. Before the Covid pandemic, I watched his performance in a Bangladeshi film on OTT. When after a gap of 10 years, I returned to filmmaking and chose two short stories of Buddhadeb Guha, and told my producer that the main character of Makar Kranti Chatterjee, Mac Chatterjee, should be played by Mosharraf Karim. My producer was unaware of Karim. He first acted in my 2021 film Dictionary. The film got an international award, and I liked his performance. Also, the actor-director chemistry was fantastic when Mosharraf Karim acted in Dictionary.
How is the nexus between criminals and political party portrayed in Hubba?
It was a small nexus between the criminal and the political party ruling in West Bengal then. But Hubba is not only about it. He is the seed of this kind of nexus. I tried to portray the socio-economic conditions. From a small container, an IPS officer can also come, a poet can also come, and an anti-social person too. If you go through the famous gangster films of the world, you will see there is no nexus between the underworld don and political leaders like On The Waterfront, Scarface, Gangs of New York, The Godfather. It (gansgter-political nexus) is a particular creation of the Bombay film paradigm. So, in my film, there is a small nexus shown, but Hubba is beyond that.
Why did you choose Hubba Shyamal for making the film when there were other contemporary gang leaders or criminals?
Because of his charismatic character. How he was captured in a cinema hall. Have you ever read an anti-social or a goon being caught in a cinema hall? It was a rare instance; unprecedented. He (Hubba) was fond of cinema. So, this kind of charisma, I liked. The flamboyance, the post-globalisation factor, loss of values, crony capitalism, common man can be a millionaire, these kinds of feelings came into our society.
How satisfied are you as the maker of Hubba?
I am very much satisfied with the response I got. It has been released in India, Bangladesh, the Gulf, the UK, USA, Canada, Australia. I am happy.
You are the education minister. How did you take time out to make the film?
That is an enigmatic question for me. Till now, I am trying to make more time so that I can make more films. I cannot answer this in black and white.