‘I was not wearing my eyeglasses, so could not clearly see the documents’A day after reports surfaced that Madhabi Mukhopadhyay has joined a BJP-backed outfit of cine artistes and film technicians, the veteran actor on Wednesday said that she was not aware that the outfit — ‘Bongiyo Chalachitra Parishad’ — was backed by the saffron party.
“Film director Milan Bhowmick and one person had come to my house recently and asked me to sign on some papers to get associated with their organisation. As they said that the outfit was working for the interest of the artists, I agreed to sign the papers. I was not wearing my eyeglasses, so could not clearly see the documents. Later, I received calls from others asking me whether I had joined the BJP. I came to know that the said outfit is affiliated to the BJP. I will call them now and make it clear that I am no longer associated with their organisation,” the 77-year-old actor told mediapersons.
The critically acclaimed actress who has acted in films directed by Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen and others, said that she was duped by the members of the organisation.
“If they kept the identity of their organisation a secret, then it is right to say that I was duped. If this continues, then I will not be able to trust anyone. This is very unfortunate,” she added.
Madhabi is considered close to Trinamool Congress chief and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and is seen frequently at cultural programmes organised by the state government. She is also a regular at the Kolkata International Film Festival.
Meanwhile, Sankudeb Panda, the general secretary of the film outfit, was not available for comments.
