'I had to unlearn everything': Netaji actor says evidence in The Bose Files changed everything he believed

Besides Gupta, the event was attended by the lead actor Yatin Karyekar, who portrayed Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in the film.

Both Gupta and Karyekar talked about their journey, research and censorship challenges that they had to go through in the process of filming and releasing a film of such national importance.

The film is likely to trigger dialogue in the field of history by questioning existing theories on Netaji’s death, backed by officially declassified files and evidence.

“The Bose Files” follows the story of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, taking into account the years of research by Anuj Dhar and Chandrachur Ghose into making a film which sheds a new light on the mystery of the death of Bose.

Official film poster for 'The Bose Files'. Photo: PR Team

Reflecting on his extensive research, Gupta said he browsed through 7,000 documents and pieces of evidence to properly back the filming process without any discrepancy.

"The censor board and the Madhya Pradesh government are officially on our side," said Dhar, talking about the present status of the censorship board and how the film might be received by the audience.

In an interaction with IBNS, Rajesh, reflecting upon the censorship challenges, said, “Our censor board is still living in the past, the audience have become more sensible now."

He talked about the requirement of modernization in the rules of the censorship board to be aligned with the changing mindsets of the Indian audience and how, after multiple hurdles, they were finally able to convince the board to allow the film to be released.

“Cinema is a combination of all forms of art. Some people who couldn't relate to the book, I am sure they will be able to have a more interpretive perspective through the film,” said Dhar, elaborating how visual art in the present time reaches a wider audience and communicates more than text.

Drawing the line between factual performance and creative freedom, Rajesh told IBNS, “The dialogues which we have used in the film were the real dialogues to make it more authentic. Even though we took the creative liberty in the film, all facts remain unchanged.”

One of the biggest challenges for lead actor Yatin Karyekar was not filming, but the mental preparation of understanding the truth and disengaging with years of beliefs he had over Netaji’s death.

Karyekar told IBNS, "When I was offered the role, I felt it as a fiction and not history. It was a culture shock. I had to unlearn years of my knowledge to accept this. My own belief system was shattered as I read the proof and evidence."

The film releases on July 30 across all major theatres across India.

(Reporting by Swastik Sarkar, Photos by PR Team)