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Vivek Agnihotri's 'The Bengal Files': Who is Gopal Mukherjee aka Gopal Patha; why is his family angry with the filmmaker
According to reports, Gopal Patha, born Gopal Chandra Mukherjee, was a significant figure during the tumultuous period of the 1946 Great Calcutta Killings and the events surrounding India's partition. During the Great Calcutta Killings of 1946: He emerged as a prominent figure, organizing Hindu youths and arming them to defend Hindu localities and families against attacks from Muslim League-led mobs.
His nickname 'Patha' (meaning goat in Bengali) was derived from his family's goat-meat shop on College Street in Calcutta (Kolkata). He was a businessman and a wrestler by profession.
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According to a story published in NDTV, Mukherjee's role in Calcutta's history rose to prominence much ahead of the Partition. He met with force the Muslim League's agenda to snatch Calcutta by force. Armed with sticks, spears, knives, guns, or whatever his men could arrange, he led an army that stood like a wall against surrendering the city.
Why Gopal Patha's grandson filed an FIR against Vivek Agnihotri?
Gopal Mukherjee's grandson has filed an FIR over his portrayal in Vivek Agnihotri's The Bengal Files. Agnihotri says the film portrays Mukherjee as a hero. History has been divided over Gopal Patha, who organised Hindu resistance against Muslim mobs who went on the rampage during the Direct Action Day of 1946 in what is known as the Great Calcutta Killing.
A story published in India Today says, 'With these arms I saved the women of my area; I saved the people. I will not surrender them,' Gopal Patha retorted when asked to lay down his weapons at the feet of Mahatma Gandhi in August 1947.
The film is accused of disrupting the legacy of freedom fighter Gopal Mukherjee. The film referred to him as ' _Kashai Gopal Patha_'. This his family found to be insulting. His grandson filed a FIR against Vivek Agnihotri alleging the makers in misrepresenting his grandfather's role in history. The trailer was cancelled by the authorities in Bengal.
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WATCH the trailer of 'The Bengal Files' here:
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