দাবাড়ু (Dabaru) movie inspired by the life of Surya Sekhar Ganguly is out now on theaters
Indian films have a lot of movies based on sports, be it biopic or slightly fictionalized. However, one thing it lacked is a movie based completely around chess. দাবাড়ু (Dabaru) is the first movie in Indian cinema which completely revolves around chess. It is not a biopic of GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly. It is inspired by his life. Since it is the movie about Surya's life, he ensured that the technical aspects of chess is correct as that's the first thing chess players and enthusiasts look for any kind of discrepancy. Samriddhaa Ghosh and Arindam Mukherjee were the Chess Coordinators. They ensured the chess technicalities are correct. The movie released in various districts across West Bengal on Friday 10th May 2024. Check out photos and interviews from this Grand Premiere at Priya Cinema Hall in Kolkata, West Bengal. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
India's first movie centered around chess
I am what you would call a movie aficionado. I have watched over 500 movies completely and probably over 1000 but who is counting. So, when I got a call from GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly about Dabaru movie premiere on Friday 6 p.m. IST show at Priya Cinema Hall, it was an instant yes. Just like many other chess players and enthusiasts, I was also curious to watch this movie as it not only features a lot of chess players but also few of my friends and acquaintances. Surya has mentioned multiple times that this movie is not a biopic. It is based on his life with a lot of fiction added. So those who are familiar with his life will know which are facts and which are fiction. I have known him for more than quarter of a century. Our old stomping grounds were Alekhine Chess Club at Gorky Sadan in Kolkata. I grew up watching Surya da, Sandipan da and Neelotpal da. Back then internet was not available, so seeing Vishy Anand in person was out of question. As a kid we used to get to see top GMs only at Goodricke International GM Open, India's first and only GM tournament before 2000. That was also the only event where we got to see GM Dibyendu Barua once in a year.
It is quite difficult for me to recall the last movie I watched at Priya Cinema Hall. The last movie I had watched before this was probably Spiderman 3 in 2007. These days, I rarely watch any movie at a theater. Oppenheimer was the last one both me and Surya watched at a theater. Before that I watched Joker in 2019, in a pre-pandemic era. I arrived at around 5:15 p.m. and saw a large crowd in front of Priya Cinema Hall in Kolkata, West Bengal.
I found GM Deep Sengupta, IM Nisha Mohota, Samriddhaa Ghosh with her parents and Arindam Mukherjee, the Chess Coordinators waiting there. After a while, GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly arrived with his parents and his better half. Unfortunately his better half Sudeshna could not attend the Grand Premiere as both of their kids are very young.
The chess themed attire can easily help you identify and fathom the importance of the sport in their lives.
The above photo is perhaps the best photo I shot on that evening. It perfectly encapsulates the camaraderie between two childhood close friends who have known each other for the better part of their lives.
Windows Production, the production house of the movie, decided to felicitate the GMs present at the Grand Premiere.
After watching the 131-minute-long movie, I interviewed a few people, starting with Surya's friends and their thoughts of the movie.
Getting a hold of Surya was not easy after the movie got over as he had to attend the cast and crew of the movie. So I decided to take the above photo in front of the movie premiere poster. Samriddhaa Ghosh and Arindam Mukherjee were the Chess Coordinators for the movie. They ensured the technical aspect with regard to chess in the movie is correct.
I also got a hold of the Dialogue Writer of the movie - Arpan Gupta. Since the better part of my work involves a lot of writing and I am fascinated by the aspect of creative writing. I decided to pick his brains for a few minutes.
Finally got a hold of Surya and did a long awaited interview about his movie - Dabaru.
In case you still have not watched this movie yet, check out the trailer below and visit a theater of your choice.
Links
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Ten West Bengal players receive the Surya Ganguly Dabaru Scholarship
@ 16/07/2024 by Shahid Ahmed (en) |
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"You should never attack an unarmed king" - An Honest review of Dabaru, A movie based on the life of GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly
@ 31/05/2024 by Aditya Sur Roy (en) |
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The Surya Ganguly Dabaru Scholarship: Supporting ten young Chess talents from West Bengal
@ 10/05/2024 by Himank Ghosh (en) |