KV Vijayendra Prasad, the screenwriter of the recent blockbuster RRR, has been roped in to pen 1770 – Ek Sangram, the upcoming film adaption of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s 1882 Bengali-language novel Anandamath.
The announcement came on the 128th death anniversary of the novelist on Friday. Acclaimed author turned award-winning filmmaker Ram Kamal Mukherjee and Sujoyy Kuttiy, former head of Zee Studio, will helm 1770 – Ek Sangram.
Published in 1882, the novel is set against the backdrop of the Sannyasi (monks) rebellion in the late 18th century, which saw people wrecked by the lack of food and hunger and driven to the brink of cannibalism. The novel was published in the Bangadarshan magazine.
What also makes Anandamath important in Indian history is that the song ‘Vande Mataram’ was composed by Chatterjee for the book. The song triggered the Swaraj movement and its first two stanzas eventually became the National Song of India. The upcoming year also marks the 150th anniversary of ‘Vande Matram‘. “I am excited to recreate the magic of Vande Mataram on screen,” said Kuttiy.
1770 – Ek Sangram will be made in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. The big-budget film will be produced by Shhailendra Kkumar of SS1 Entertainment and Suraj Sharma of PK Entertainments. It will be shot in Hyderabad, West Bengal, and London.
“When Sujoyy approached me for Anandamath, I was a bit taken aback,” said Prasad. “I had read the novel many years ago, and frankly speaking, I didn’t feel that today’s generation would be able to connect with the subject. But, when I met Ram Kamal and he shared his vision for Anandamath, he had a completely different take on the novel. It was commercial and resonated with human emotions. After a couple of sessions, I am now excited to work on the subject with a completely fresh perspective. It will be a huge challenge for me to recreate the magic of Anandamath.”
Speaking about working with Prasad, Kuttiy said, “I have worked with Vijayendra sir in Manikarnika and also worked closely with him on a couple of other projects as well. When Ram Kamal approached me with 1770 – Ek Sangram, I immediately thought of Vijayendra sir, owing to the film’s scale and structure.”
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Kuttiy also mentioned that once the first draft of the screenplay is ready, they will start finalising the main leads for the film.
Mukherjee, meanwhile, called 1770 – Ek Sangram his dream project, and added, “I will be working with India’s celebrated creative team, and we’ll make sure that it’s a visual treat for audiences. I feel that this is the right time to tell the story of Anandamath, the story of Sannyasis who fought against the British Raj and sowed the seed of independence.”
The makers plan to release a teaser poster by the end of May and expect to begin the shoot in October. “We will need 120 days of pre-production. This is a mammoth project, and requires a massive budget to mount. It will take almost a year and half to make this film,” added Mukherjee.