'Taliban' author cannot escape controversy

Bitter wrangling has marked the commercial launch of a controversial Indian film last week in Kolkata, the English version of which has been titled Escape from Taliban.

It is not the title though, but the treatment of some characters in the film that has aroused tempers. At loggerheads is the author, Sushmita Bandopadhyay, on whose novel the film is based, and the director of the film, Ujjal Chattopadhyay.

The film is based on a real life story of a Kolkata-based Sushmita (the author herself) who fell in love with an Afghan, Janbaz, in this city, married him and finally went to a place near Kabul to live over five years with him.

The novel depicted the rigid and conservative lifestyle in Afghanistan.

It also portrayed her tortuous existence when husband Janbaz left her behind in Kabul. Sushmita made a couple of abortive attempts before she finally succeeded in escaping from Afghanistan and landed in Kolkata.

It may be noted that Kolkata had a fairly steady flow of Afghans and Pakhtoon refugees for decades. Many of them shuttle between Afghanistan and Kolkata. Many are settled in Kolkata and work as money lenders.

The gripping accounts in the novel enjoyed a popular readership in Kolkata. Sushmita's experience was serialised in a local newspaper first and then a book was published in 1997.

Her life in Afghanistan spanned five years from 1989 to 1995. The original book was titled The Bengali wife of an Afghan.

However, it was a couple of years ago that Mumbai-based film director, Ujjal Chattopadhyay got interested in the real life story of Sushmita and struck a deal with her for a film to be based on her novel.

He also persuaded Manisha Koirala, the popular Bollywood star, to play the role of the protagonist.

Several other characters were chosen from the Mumbai cinema world. The shooting was carried out in Leh, Rajasthan and Kolkata.

But as the shooting got underway, the two fell apart and the bitterness dragged both the author and the director to court.

After several months of legal battles, they reached an out of the court settlement. The film director later complained that the author had been arm-twisting money out of him in excess of the amount already agreed upon for the script.
As the movie in two versions – one Hindi and the other in English – hit the city's screens simultaneously last week, the author once again objected to the "distortions" in the portrayal of her Afghan husband.

"Janbaz has been cast in a bad light which is not there in my novel," she complained. "This might put my husband off and he might even go for a talaq," she feared.

But informed sources in the city said that Janbaz and Sushmita are not known to be staying together any more, even if they might not be separated.

Chattopadhyay has vehemently denied any deviation from the script that he claimed was sanctioned by the author.

A desperate Sushmita Bandopadhyay has finally announced that she is launching a solo stage performance based on her novel.

It will be a token of protest, she said and added that it will give her the opportunity to project her Afghan husband in the proper light.