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Dharmajuddha trailer: Brave attempt at addressing rising communal violence

The film aims to show how marginalised people from lower economic backgrounds can be brainwashed into communal ideologies by fundamentalists.

Roushni Sarkar

The trailer of Raj Chakraborty’s Dharmajuddha (2020) clearly unveils the horrific face of communal hatred, resulting into bloody riots. Featuring Ritwick Chakraborty, Soham Chakraborty, Swatilekha Sengupta, Subhasree Ganguly, Parno Mittra and Saptarshi Das, Dharmajuddha promises to show how marginalised people from lower economic background can be brainwashed into communal ideologies by fundamentalists.

The trailer has both glimpses of both innocent lifestyles, filled with love and empathy, and violence, suggesting a wide transformation in the psychological state of the characters. It is also apparent that these characters are shaped by the circumstances. While some of them have their agencies and they stick to the spirit of humanity, going beyond religious fundamentalism; the others are quickly moulded by greater manipulative forces.

In the beginning of the trailer, both Ritwick and Soham’s characters, who belong to different religious faiths, seem to be asserting their harmonious attitude, considered to be normal for years in their locality. While Raghav (Ritwick) has taken the co-existence of blowing of conch in the early morning and azaan for granted, Jabbar (Soham) gets shocked when he is threatened with the address of a Pakistani as he is discovered to be selling beef.

The trailer also suggests female characters having crucial roles in the film. While Raghav and Jabbar gets manipulated easily and Munni (Ganguly) and Shabnam’s (Mittra) husbands turn into victims of their instigated communal attitude, the women continue be the voice of dissent, though in states of panic and horror.

Sengupta is mostly addressed as Ammi till the last scene confuses her religious identity. She remains the most neutral character and a voice conscience from the beginning till the end, as she recites two lines from a famous poetry by Mirza Ghalib.

Dharmajuddha promises to be a brave attempt by Chakraborty, considering the rise of fundamentalism in the current scenario of the country. Hopefully, the director will shed light into the ground reality that creates opportunities for the rise of hate politics.

Dharmajuddha is slated for release on 20 March. Watch the trailer below and let us know if you are keen to watch the film.

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