Babul Supriyo to play 'integral part' in Srijit Mukherji's film on Netaji

Kolkata, March 7 (IANS) National Award-winning filmmaker Srijit Mukherji on Thursday announced that singer-turned-politician Babul Supriyo will play an "integral part" in his upcoming film "Gumnami", which is based on the life of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

A man who led the life of a reclusive Hindu sant in Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh in the 1970s and 80s came to be known as the "Gumnami Baba". Those who met him claimed that he was none other than Subhas Chandra Bose, whose reported death in a plane crash in 1945 has been doubted by many.

"Finished off the 3 day recce outside the city with a gargantuan feast of mutton at a dear friend & colleague @SuPriyoBabul's place. Like Uma and ShahJahanRegency, he is an integral part of 'Gumnaami'. And we will find out soon in what capacity," Mukherji wrote on his Twitter handle.

Speaking about Mukherji's surprise visit, the BJP leader and Union Minister wrote: "Let the topic we spoke about remain 'Gumnaami'." 

Supriyo has shown his acting prowess in Bengali films such as "Shah Jahan Regency", "Chander Bari" and "Uma".

Earlier, Bose's grand nephew Chandra Kumar Bose had said that it was a "criminal offence" to term "Gumnami Baba" as Netaji in disguise without any documentary or photographic evidence.

After the criticism, Mukherji had said, "To answer your threat to gag me, (Chandra Kumar) Bose, I will stay in my country and make this film. If you drag me to court, I will borrow production design ideas from the court setting and make this film. If you put me in jail, I will write a few more drafts of the script, fine-tune it and make this film".