top of page

By:

Prithvi Asthana

20 August 2025 at 5:20:30 pm

‘Just the beginning of the new revolution’

Gen Z says their next target is Nitin Gadkari and Nirmala Sitharaman Mumbai: Dancing on the tunes of ‘Zinghaat’, the Gen Z at Dadar, was celebrating Dharmendra’s Pradhan’s resignation. The ‘Tiranga’ rally called up by Thackeray brothers on Thursday for protesting was turned into a celebration rally after Pradhan’s resignation. ‘The Perfect Voice’ went on ground to know the real reaction of the Gen Z at the rally. A NEET student who gave the NEET and re-NEET exams this year, said that she...

‘Just the beginning of the new revolution’

Gen Z says their next target is Nitin Gadkari and Nirmala Sitharaman Mumbai: Dancing on the tunes of ‘Zinghaat’, the Gen Z at Dadar, was celebrating Dharmendra’s Pradhan’s resignation. The ‘Tiranga’ rally called up by Thackeray brothers on Thursday for protesting was turned into a celebration rally after Pradhan’s resignation. ‘The Perfect Voice’ went on ground to know the real reaction of the Gen Z at the rally. A NEET student who gave the NEET and re-NEET exams this year, said that she feels very happy that he has resigned now, and today all the students have won this battle. “I felt quite devastating when I heard about the paper leak. After the leak it was very tough to study again because I am in 12th standard as well. I was de-motivated and did not want to study again but I had no other option. I was continuously studying for seven months. It took a lot of toll on my mind, I was not able to focus on my 12 th standard. ” Talking about the results she said, “ I was not satisfied with the marks I got in re-NEET, and will take a drop. Looking at the sad state of Indian education system, I will go to study abroad.” A commerce student, present at the site, said, “ Now they know what will happen if they continue to repeat mistakes like this.” New Revolution A law student, Pranjal Khatu, said that this resignation will act as a deterrent for the government. She said, “This movement has established fear in government’s mind. This punishment given by the Gen Z will now actually send a message that the ministers should work responsibly, while listening to its public. I want to say thank you to PM Modi, because of him people from all religions have come together to hate someone.” Saying that this is just the beginning. This is just the beginning of the resignations, we are going to demand more resignations, the new revolution has just begun.” Sampada More, a graduate, said that it will definitely establish fear, but the government should have listened to us earlier, they should not have stretched this matter so long. “The next number is of Nitin Gadkari and Nirmala Sitharaman,” she said. A MBBS doctor in Nutraceuticals, joined the rally as well. She said, “He was supposed to resign way before. The government has clearly failed, because as Gen Z we were standing with the Truth, we are standing for what India’s stands as democracy. This is the reason we won the and the government lost. We are going to demand resignation of the Punjab minister responsible for Pharmacy exam paper leak. We will also demand the resignation of corrupted ministers like Nitin Gadkari and Nirmala Sitharaman next.” Fighting for Justice A class seven student rallying with his parents said, “We have finally got justice. I am very proud taking part in the rally and standing for my future. I supports this movement because when I grow up, I do not want any paper leaks happening at that time. I want to see some better minister who actually also focuses on the security of the examination system.” Another student currently in fourth year engineering said, “ This was the tipping point and we actually tried protesting before this as well but we were supressed a lot of times, but this time the government was not able to supress us because it was large. The CJP has done a commendable job in uniting youth of this country, and I am glad that he has taken the accountability and resigned.” Jay, a MBBS student said, “This is a celebration of togetherness, I have never seen such celebration in long time. This is a new sort of Independence.” Demanding more resignations, he said, “This will continue, the stars have aligned with us. This is Inqualab Zindabaad.”

Why Was Srijit's Film Excluded from Indian Panorama at IFFI?

Updated: Nov 12, 2024

Srijit

Mukherjee is among the top-ranking directors in contemporary Bengali cinema. He shoots different films almost simultaneously so that there are several releases under his directorial baton released within the same calendar year. He is also an extremely versatile director whose spans many genres ranging from historical fiction, re-interpreted and re-written remakes, thrillers, romances and so on.


He began his directorial journey in 2010 with Autograph, a reinterpreted version of Satyajit Ray’s Nayak still remembered not only for the masterful performance of Prosenjit but more importantly, for the magical songs and mood music the film was enriched with.


Though he has individually won five National Awards for his different contributions to Bengali cinema, Padatik till today, will be considered his best filmover his directorial career spanning 14 years. For the unitiated, Padatik is the name of a classic feature film made by Mrinal Sen himself in 1974. Srijit’s film has no link whatsoever with Mrinal Sen’s film though their titles are identical.


Srijit’s film traces the life of Mrinal Sen from boyhood till his death. The film opens with a partly fictionalised, Black-and-White clipping reiterating the huge processions following the passing away of Rabindranath Tagore when among the thronging crowds, a young man carrying the dead body of his infant baby, loses the baby in the stampede.


Tagore has no link with the film but it focusses on how the life of an ordinary man can get destroyed in a stampede gathered to pay their last respects to a great man.


Padatik means “foot soldier” a metaphorical title that suggests the unstable life of the runaway political rebel in Mrinal Sen’s original film forced to hide to escape police arrest. What kind of “foot soldier is he? Is he forced to keep running? Or has he chosen to keep running?


The answer to this is suggested towards the end of the film which leaves the question open for the audience to draw conclusions from. Srijit’s Padatik is a tribute to this great man who, in terms of his work as a filmmaker, had been a foot soldier all his life, never ever compromising to commercial demands even when there was no rice in the kitchen, with his wife, Gita, offering a strong pillar of support. Says Srijit of this film, “Actually interweaving the various aspects of Mrinal Sen’s life — his personal life, his upheavals, his work, his politics, Mrinal Sen as a father, as a husband, his relationship with his peers, his filmmaking style — all of it has been cooked together in the perfect proportion in Padatik. People are calling it my best film ever. It is very overwhelming.”


The latest news is that Srijit Mukherjee’s Padatik has been selected for special screening as Indian Panorama Feature Jury Recommends at the 55th International Film Festival of India, which will be held in Goa from Nov 20 to 28. The selection resolves the controversy regarding the film’s initial exclusion allegedly due to its Mrinal Sen association.


What “association”?

The firm belief that Mrinal Sen was a believer in Leftist ideology which goes against the Hindu Right evident from Goa IFFI’s choice of the film on Veer Savarkar as the inaugural film. But no one has ever expressed this in so many words.


Whilst discussing the exclusion of ‘Padatik’ from the Indian Panorama and its subsequent inclusion for special screening, Mukherji referenced Prasun Chatterjee’s ‘Dostojee’. The film initially wasn’t included but was subsequently added upon jury recommendation. I’m delighted this occurred with ‘Padatik’ as well,” Mukherji said.


Director Chandraprakash Dwivedi, jury chairperson, said, “Mrinal Sen was and remains an icon of Bharat and an inspiration for countless cinema enthusiasts worldwide who cherished his storytelling and admired his approach to social issues through films. I’m exceedingly pleased to see Padatik at the 55th IFFI through the jury’s collective wisdom and endeavour.”


(The author is a veteran film writer based in Kolkata. Views personal.)

Comments

bottom of page