Relive the Chittagong Uprising

Surjya Sen's story might have been lost, like so many others, for lack of well-documented records. Amar Chitra Katha's newest title and Ashutosh Gowariker's, Khelein

Set in 1930 Chittagong, a comic book and film will focus on an uprising that rocked the British Empire, when a band of 64 young revolutionaries orchestrated a series of attacks. Led by schoolteacher Surjya Sen (played by Abhishek Bachchan in the film), both mediums try to bring to light the lesser-known facts about this historic rebellion.


Amar Chitra Katha's title, Surjya Sen

"He was a lesser documented hero. There were only two books that we could get our hands on," reveals Reena Puri, Editor, Amar Chitra Katha, of the challenges of working on the latest title to come out of the ACK stable -- Surya Sen. "There were almost no photographs.

Most of the people with him were killed. Kalpaka Dutta, whose daughter-in-law wrote the book Do or Die has also passed away. There was also no information of his childhood." The entire process was an effort from the entire team at ACK. Reena adds that it took the team one month to work on the script, another month for illustrations, colour and layout. Arijit did a fantastic job, and in record time. Our colourists and design person did the rest."

This is the first time that Amar Chitra Katha has tied up with a Bollywood movie. Naturally, the excitement is palatable. Arijit Dutta Chowdhury, illustrator says, "I was lucky to know about the history of Surjya Sen from an old Bengali film. I was only 7-8 years old. After so many years I got lucky again with a chance to work on this title. Initially, I was reluctant to work on it, but soon enough, I got involved. Today, I have to admit that it's been a rare experience. As I drew, I felt as if I was re-living those days. In the 35 days of drawing the comic, I entered into every character."

Ashutosh Gowariker's film will hit screens on December 3 and has been adapted from Manini Chatterjee's book, Do or Die: The Chittagong Uprising: 1930-34. Surya Sen, Amar Chitra Katha, Rs 50; Available at leading bookstores.