Exclusive | ‘It is the responsibility of a filmmaker’: Sudipto Sen on bold new film Charak

Sudipto Sen

Sudipto Sen is known for choosing subjects that unsettle audiences and spark debate, and with his upcoming film Charak, he dives into one of the most disturbing themes yet, child sacrifice carried out in the name of faith. The filmmaker says the story is rooted in the centuries old Charak festival, observed during Chaitra Mahina between mid March and mid April. He previously directed The Kerala Story.

Sudipto Sen details the reason behind his film's title Charak

"Charak for us is that festival which happens during Chaitra Mahina, and it has to do with an encircling bar, where people get hanged and rotate around the whole crowd," Sen explained. "It has been said that whatever you have done, you go to Charak, it will be redeemed, and your unfulfilled wishes will get fulfilled." He added that this belief system has kept the festival alive for more than a thousand years, tracing its origins back to the period of Buddha.

While calling it "a happy time of the year" when agricultural produce is harvested and communities celebrate before summer, Sen stressed that there is another side. "When we say it is very close to heart, it has another aspect also, and that is the aspect of obscurantism or celebration of faith and beliefs," he said. He spoke about occult practices associated with certain Tantrics and Aghoris. "All these arrangements of occult practices, the human sacrifice, all these things have been parallelly celebrated," he remarked, adding that such acts challenge "our civilization, our education, our scientific understanding."

Highlighting a recent case, he said, "In the world of AI, when we are celebrating our position through Artificial Intelligence Conference, just 200 km away, a child has been sacrificed." Calling this contradiction dangerous, Sen stated, "You have to decide in which world you live in. Which world is your comfort zone."

His take on making films that show mirror

He believes artists must confront such realities. "If you are disturbed by the news of a child sacrifice, then you are disturbed. And if you are disturbed, there is no shortcut but to challenge that practice," he said. "It is the responsibility for a filmmaker to tell the story."

Sen is unapologetic about causing discomfort. "I make my film to hurt some people only. I don't mind if you get hurt because you are on the side of the problem, and I am making the film on the side of the solution," he asserted. "Some people will get hurt by my film. This is what I want. Then I feel I am successful."