It is an effort to translate into celluloid a dream young international award-winning Bangladeshi director Abu Sayeed, who won a special jury award for his previous film Nirontor at the International Film Festival of India in Goa in 2006, has been cherishing for the last three years.
The story of Eklavya is the subject of Sayeed's latest film Rupantor (Transformation) in which he seeks to show metamorphosis of political and military power through the centuries.
Through contemporary characters, Rupantor delves into a story from the epic. In the film, Arif, a young filmmaker, is set to make a movie on the story of Ekalavya and his guru dakshina to Dronacharya. Shaila is Arif's assistant.
According to Mahabharata, Dronacharya wanted Ekalavya's right thumb for his "guru dakshina", which ended the possibility of the latter becoming a formidable archer.
While shooting the film, Arif comes into contact with Santhals who tell him that the thumb is not necessary to be able to shoot an arrow. It is the index and middle fingers that are used in archery.
Then, why did Dronacharya ask Eklavya to sacrifice his thumb? Arif and Shaila become perplexed and go deep into the story and reach a new reality.
Actors Ferdaus and Sohana Saba will play the lead roles -- Arif and Shaila. Jayonto Chatyopadhyay will play Dronacharya, Bikram will don the role of Arjun and Mithun will be seen in the film as Ekalavya. The film also features Santali characters.
"I have transported the powerful story from Mahabharata to contemporary reality to show the metamorphosis of power. You may call it political or military power in a sense", Sayeed said over phone from the shooting location in Sherpur.
The director, whose non-didactic and detached treatment of the poignant story of a young woman turning to prostitution to sustain her lower middle class family in Dhaka in Nirontor earned wide critical acclaim, is a little worried about how his new film would take shape from visual point of view, given the challenge of bringing out the story on the big screen.
"It's a challenge, no doubt. I don't know how the story would come on the screen. But a number of people from different countries have appreciated the script after reading or hearing about it", the director said.
Sayeed is trying his best to recreate the setting of Mahabharata in the film, being produced by state-owned Bangladesh Film Development Corporation, despite budgetary constraints and infrastructure in Bangladesh.
The idea to make a film out of Eklavya's story had first struck Sayeed three years ago either by watching a film or reading a book. He says he doesn't remember exactly how. But it is a subject he has been holding close to his heart ever since.
