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The Print
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
How Saba Azad became the accidental voice of Bengal's language protests
The internet doesn't forget. Old clips are dug out to fight new narrative wars, and good art is pulled back into relevance to counter bad politics. Poetry becomes protest, prose and songs turn into battle cries as art takes on new meanings. Bengalis are hurt over a statement by the Delhi police calling Bangla a 'Bangladeshi language' and the lines Azad sang have unwittingly become protest music in Kolkata now. Actor Saba Azad had no way of knowing that a 2022 clip of her singing a few lines from the hit song from the 1969 Satyajit Ray film Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne would give voice to hurt Bengali sentiment in 2025. Bengali, Bangladeshi, Azad(i) A letter from Delhi Police dated 24 July to the Banga Bhawan guest house in New Delhi's Chanakyapuri area, referred to Bangla as 'Bangladeshi language' and triggered a major political row. The letter was written by Inspector Amit Dutt from Lodhi Colony Police Station to the officer-in-charge of Banga Bhawan, requesting a translator to decipher documents seized from suspected Bangladeshi nationals. The letter said that the police needed an interpreter 'proficient in Bangladeshi national language' to translate documents for a case involving eight persons 'strongly suspected to be Bangladeshi nationals residing illegally in India'. A major political row broke out between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC), with the latter calling it a 'deliberate attempt to strip a constitutionally recognised Indian language of its identity and demanding an apology'. The BJP hit back, accusing the TMC of shielding illegal Bangladeshi settlers. But outside the political arena, the controversy united otherwise argumentative Bengalis to fight for their mother tongue and take to social media to express their ire. Sharing a copy of the letter on his Facebook, popular Bengali filmmaker Srijit Mukerji wrote: 'That's not Bangladeshi language, morons, that's Bangla or Bengali, the same language in which your national anthem was originally written and one of the 22 official languages of India.' Academic Ajay Chakrabarti wrote that there is no such language called 'Bangladeshi language'. 'All Bengalees speak Bangla. The Bangladeshis also speak Bangla. Of course, there are several dialects,' Chakrabarti posted on Facebook. Even as the outrage showed no signs of abating, a 2022 clip of actor Saba Azad crooning some lines from the famous song Maharaja Tomare Selam resurfaced on social media. Crudely translated, the lines mean: 'Your majesty, salutations, salutations, salutations/ From Bangladesh we have come / We are simple, down to earth and travel various nations / Your majesty, your highness / Except ours, we have no other elocution'. Also read: One Bengali film a day in Bengal's theatres. 'Step against arm-twisting Mumbai companies' Old notes, new meanings It's been three years since Saba Azad sang these lines and 56 years since Satyajit Ray composed the song and playback singer Anup Ghoshal sang it. Recalling scenes from Ray's funeral procession on 24 April 1992, actor Soumitra Chatterjee had said: 'I remember a few young men suddenly started shouting a slogan. Initially, I couldn't make out what they were saying, but then it was loud and clear: 'Maharaja tomareselam!' This can only happen in Calcutta, in appreciation of a great artiste.' Even in 2022, when Saba Azad posted the cover, it hadn't gone unnoticed. In an article headlined 'Hrithik Roshan's rumoured GF Saba Azad sings 'Maharaja Tomare Selam', The Telegraph wrote how her cover got love online. 'Actor-director Konkona Sen Sharma too reacted to the post, appreciating Saba's Bengali pronunciation,' the article reported. But now, with a raging controversy over the Delhi police's use of 'Bangladeshi language' for Bangla, Azad's clip has found a life of its own. Entertainment journalist Anindita Mukerjee told ThePrint that not just in West Bengal but from Maharashtra to Karnataka, the language war has divided people across the country. 'It is at such times when the shrill of heated arguments almost deafens us that Saba's clip brings peace to the ears. She is so effortlessly sincere in her singing, so comfortable with a tongue that's not hers,' Mukherjee told ThePrint. Azad's 2022 clip has also found fans across the border in Bangladesh, where they are both amused and angry at the controversy. 'What your police said only goes on to prove how Bangladeshis are looked at in India. Not only are we targeted by the locals and the law in India, even our language, which we share with Bengalis of West Bengal, is now a foreign tongue in India,' Bangladesh Nationalist Party youth leader Sheikh Eklas Audy told ThePrint. Bangladeshi actress Rafiath Rashid Mithila, who had shared Azad's clip on her Facebook story recently, said there is no language called the Bangladeshi language, and Azad has sung beautifully. Not everyone on this side of the border is blaming the Delhi police. Musician and podcaster, Neerajan Saha, said that in the Bangladeshi version of the Bengali language, many Bangla words have been replaced over the years with Arabic and Farsi words and the process is happening in full steam. 'Satyajit Ray never replaced Bengali words with words from foreign languages in his songs or films. Given the attack on the minority Hindu population in Bangladesh today, the concerted attempt to make Bangladesh Hindu-free, the debate over language on this side of the border is laughably irrelevant,' Saha said. The anger in West Bengal over the Delhi police's seemingly unwitting mistake of referring to Bangla as the Bangladeshi language has not lessened. Social media feeds are filled with vitriol against this attack on Bangla. This language is the reason why East Pakistan became Bangladesh in 1971, and a majority of people in West Bengal hold it very close to their hearts. At such polarising times, Saba Azad's 2022 cover of Maharaja Tomare Selam has become both a song of solace and rage. Deep Halder is an author and journalist. He tweets @deepscribble. Views are personal. (Edited by Theres Sudeep)
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Alipore Museum to exhibit Satyajit Ray photographs by Nemai Ghosh
The Alipore Museum, in collaboration with DAG, is set to host an exhibition showcasing photographer Nemai Ghosh's extensive documentation of Satyajit Ray KOLKATA: The Alipore Museum, in collaboration with DAG, will host photographer Nemai Ghosh 's decades-long documentation of the esteemed filmmaker Satyajit Ray , featuring both black-and-white and previously unseen colour photographs starting Friday. The exhibition, titled 'Light and Shadow: Satyajit Ray through Nemai Ghosh's Lens', will be open to the public until September 13, 2025. It will present a detailed portrayal of Ray, one of India's most celebrated filmmakers, and offer insights into his life and creative process through numerous iconic and rare images. These photographs include actors, scenes, sets, and locations from Ray's films, as well as the director at work. While primarily recognized for documenting Ray's films and the filmmaker himself, the exhibition also highlights Ray's extensive documentation of his cinema that is less widely known. This collection serves as a tribute to Ray, showcasing Ghosh's photographs as a testament to Ray's extraordinary life and his storytelling through the lens. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata 'Ray's dedication to his craft led Ghosh to follow him like a shadow and conditioned him to the exacting demands of the maestro. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Is it legal? How to get Internet without paying a subscription? Techno Mag Learn More Undo Over the course of a 25-year association that began on the sets of Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, Ghosh remained steadfast in upholding the values that defined Ray's artistic vision. In Ray, Ghosh found not just a filmmaker but a mentor and friend; no other director's set quite measured up. With Ray's encouragement, what began as a passion evolved into a profession, and Ghosh was eventually credited as 'Unit Stills Photographer'," said DAG chief executive officer and managing director Ashish Anand. Nemai Ghosh's photography extended beyond Ray's film sets into his personal life. Ghosh frequently visited Ray's home and often captured him playing the piano, working at his drawing board, or conversing quietly with friends and family. He photographed Ray in moments of deep reflection, whether at home, in his studio, or on location, portraying him akin to a meditative yogi. Through solitary walks, lighter moments during shoots, and silent contemplation in open fields, Ghosh created a nuanced and human portrait of the filmmaker. These candid images form a significant part of Ghosh's visual biography of a man he viewed as both extraordinary and grounded. Ghosh's photography explored Ray's multifaceted talent in every aspect of filmmaking, including scriptwriting, set and costume design, camera operation, editing, music composition, and directing. Ray was known for crafting psychologically complex stories, favouring naturalistic dialogue and often casting non-professional actors. His direction emphasized spontaneity and subtle emotional depth, frequently requiring minimal takes while maintaining a meticulous artistic vision, influenced by his painterly background from Santiniketan to create visually and emotionally resonant films. Deeply influenced by neo-realism, particularly De Sica's Bicycle Thieves, and Jean Renoir's humanistic storytelling, Ray's cinema exhibits a lyrical quality that transcends time and place. The photographs not only document Ray's cinema but also reflect the profound understanding between Ghosh and Ray, enabling Ghosh to place his camera precisely yet unobtrusively within the action.
