A century after Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's seminal novel Pather Dabi was banned by the British Crown for threatening an empire, National Award-winning filmmaker Srijit Mukherji brings the historic standoff back to the silver screen with his period drama, Emperor Vs Sarat Chandra. While rooted in the tempestuous climate of India’s freedom movement, Srijit’s adaptation looks beyond the historical archive to explore a far more enduring conflict: the battle between systemic authority and artistic expression.
In this candid chat, Srijit Mukherji dives into why the suppression of dissent remains as urgent today as it was in colonial India, how the story mirrors modern cancel and ban cultures, and what it took to bring literature’s ultimate act of resistance to life. Excerpts:
What does the film talk about? Do the creator and the created meet?
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s struggle while writing Pather Dabi, his journey as an author, and his shift from social and romantic novels to patriotic novels has inspired an entire generation of nationalists. Emperor Vs Sarat Chandra juxtaposes these two journeys. They intercut, and the film weaves these two struggles: the creator fights the British because they banned his book, and the novel’s protagonist fights against the British for Independence.
What made you choose Abir Chatterjee as Sabyasachi Mallick, and Tota Roy Choudhury as Sarat Chandra?
Over the years, I think Abir has embodied the character of a quintessential good samaritan, the perfect noble ideal Bengali, which is why he got so very well accepted as all the Bengali icons we have seen in films, be it Byomkesh, Feluda, or even Samiran (Syata) Bose in Shah Jahan Regency. And of course, there is his larger-than-life image because Sabyasachi is technically the first superhero in Bengali literature, and he is a master of disguise. Sabyasachi is an amalgamation of various revolutionaries whom Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay admired.
So, I thought Abir would be the best fit. And Tota was an obvious choice because of his startling resemblance to Sarat Chandra. Besides, he is one of the most delightful actors to work with, very hardworking, very intelligent, and I have a lovely chemistry with him.
How do you think Pather Dabi is relevant today?
Beyond Pather Dabi’s historical merit, what makes it perpetually relevant is the underlying act of banning it. Look at today’s landscape—cancel culture and bans are everywhere. As long as authority exists, any book, film, or piece of art that dares to challenge the status quo will be vulnerable to censorship. The freedom struggle forms the backdrop of Emperor Vs Sarat Chandra, but the real story nested inside it is the defence of free expression. And that is a conversation we are still having today.
With Pather Dabi, you are debuting as a music composer as well. What was in your mind when you started composing the music?
I obviously briefed myself. I mean, the ‘director me’ briefed the ‘composer me’.
The first song, Shoite Shoite, is the musical spine of the film, capturing the entire journey of both Sarat Chandra and Sabyasachi. It was a liberating experience because I could express myself directly musically and lyrically rather than through a verbal brief.
How has your musical upbringing and training been?
Apart from learning tabla and Hawaiian guitar, I was brought up in a very musical ambience because my father was Sudhin Dasgupta’s student and my mother was Vidushi Kalyani Roy’s student. So, my mornings used to start with a sitar recital every day.
The legendary singer Arati Mukherjee is my pishi (paternal aunt). I used to sit on her lap and listen to all the chartbusters, all the iconic Bengali film songs. So, that’s how I grew up, and then my father, a huge music enthusiast, had this huge LP collection starting with everything from Bob Dylan to SD Burman, from Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Sahib to The Beatles, Hindi and Bengali film songs, Hemanta Mukherjee, Manna Dey, Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi— literally everything.
Then obviously a lot of my hands-on training came from the music directors I worked with. They were my gurus in that sense. Starting with the legendary Kabir Suman, whose Tomake Chai, in fact, inspired my overall filmmaking process, I’ve worked with people like Debojyoti Mishra, Anupam Roy, Rupam Islam, Joy Sarkar, and Indraadip Dasgupta.
In fact, the people I’ve given a break, too, taught me something or the other. People like Sanai, Tamalika, and Souptik, who’s also the associate music director in this film, and has arranged my compositions.
I think they all have been the primary influences.
Did you think of anyone to compose the message?
I thought of taking up this challenge myself, because it would give me the bandwidth to express myself musically and lyrically. It’s a new adventure. I‘m always up for challenges and adventures.
What is the next challenge that you want to throw at yourself?
VFX and AI. Working on and learning that right now. And line producing, maybe!
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