Bengali filmmaker and poet Buddhadeb Dasgupta has raised concern over the country ‘being unsafe in the hands of an omnipotent autocratic party.’ He was speaking at the ‘In Conversation’ session with director Kamal K.M. at the 23rd International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) on Sunday.
“For quite some time in this country, the State has been the omnipotent authority. When this happens, your rights can be curbed. Even if you are a very simple person, the State is threatened by you and this can put your life in danger. India is much threatened by a so-called omnipotent party. The State is making the young powerless,” he said.
‘Not in safe hands’
He said young artists were threatened and silenced and made to submit before the power.
“I come from a State under autocratic rule, where one person monopolises power. That person believes only in autocracy. What is very sad in Bengal is that the poets, painters, and filmmakers are bowing their hands to the power. Our country is not in safe hands. This makes me scared. I think any creative person will have a political belief which will never go hand in hand with power,” he said.
Mr. Dasgupta stressed the effectiveness of poetry and how it can help a filmmaker realise the power of images. He said his films transcended reality. “My films are not realistic. Reality for me is very boring, repetitive, and predictable. But if you extend the reality, you can discover the magic of unreality. This is a kind of a form which is very personal,” he said
His film Flight was screened at the festival on Sunday.