Kolkata: It was solely after a few matches that we actually understood what this was all about, says Jamshed Nassiri close to the midway mark of the documentary “Shotoborshe East Bengal,” to commemorate the membership turning 100.
Gautam Ghose, who directed the documentary “Shotoborshe East Bengal” with chief minister Mamata Banerjee and state sports activities minister Aroop Biswas in Kolkata on Thursday. (East Bengal)
The 12 months was 1980 and Nassiri was a part of an East Bengal aspect whose roster had been severely depleted. But, like Shyam Thapa who spoke of a hilsa being given to him on the pitch throughout East Bengal’s historic 5-0 win in opposition to Mohun Bagan within the 1975 IFA Protect last, what Nassiri remembered was how fiercely the followers beloved the gamers who wore the red-and-gold shirt. With PK Banerjee as coach, East Bengal, using primarily on the exploits of Nassiri and Majid Baskar had been joint-winners of the Federation Cup and the Rovers Cup that 12 months.
That, in essence, was what the documentary directed by celebrated movie maker Gautam Ghose sought to convey. That, for his or her skill to defy the chances, East Bengal turned an emotion, a totem for a displaced individuals. A temple, says the actor Soumitra Chatterjee within the movie. One whose “mashal” turned greater than a torch after it was lit in protest in opposition to the Indian Soccer Affiliation (IFA) when Bengal’s apex physique had tried to stall East Bengal’s promotion to the primary division. The “mashal” turned a beacon of hope for the marginalised.
It was the place these uprooted from their moorings, first by Partition after which by the wars in 1965 and 1971 felt at residence, stated Kalyan Majumdar, the membership’s long-time former secretary. The documentary is devoted to the “homeless people of the world.”
So, it match that Jyotish Guha, the overall secretary for 28 years spanning the Bengal Famine, World Struggle 2 and mass migration from throughout the West Bengal border, would tackle state chief minister Bidhan Ray and refuse to vary the title of the membership. A reputation that, the documentary says, was taken from a defunct indoor sports activities membership in the home of the liberty fighter “Deshbandhu” Chittaranjan Das.
Tales like this fill the early a part of the documentary launched on Thursday within the presence of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, a lot of former gamers, East Bengal’s Indian Ladies’s League (IWL) profitable staff and present males’s staff coach Oscar Bruzon. The thought of utilizing footage from Bangla cinema (“Ora Thakey Odhare” 1954) to convey what East Bengal meant to individuals discovering their ft in Kolkata was a very good one as was exhibiting Uttam Kumar taking part in carrying the membership’s shirt (“Saptapadi” 1961) apparently on the insistence of his heroine within the movie, Suchitra Sen.
It was additionally good to see and listen to lots of those that have died – Banerjee, Chatterjee and Chuni Goswami amongst them.
Incidents of gamers being saved in protected homes earlier than they signed for the membership, a convention in Kolkata from the 1960 to the Nineteen Nineties, are recalled by way of interviews as are the membership’s well-known wins in India’s blue riband competitions, most of which at the moment are defunct.
Of the interviews although there are too many and the tempo slackens with one former participant speaking after the opposite. There are additionally factual inaccuracies reminiscent of Emeka Ezuego taking part in within the 1986 World Cup when he did that eight years later and the 5-0 match being performed at Eden Gardens when it was on Mohun Bagan floor. The English subtitles had a lot of names spelt wrongly and the membership’s wealthy custom in hockey is talked about as an afterthought. And if sport is all about timing, the discharge practically 5 years after East Bengal turned 100 is odd.
However as a result of the documentary archives the storied historical past of one of many extant golf equipment in Asia and as a enterprise is a uncommon factor in Indian sport, it, warts and all, makes for worthwhile viewing. In a rustic the place archival footage is uncommon, and even more durable to supply, Ghose and the membership deserve credit score. Their effort might not be constantly memorable however monumental it definitely is.