A Herculean task to save heritage buildings of Kolkata
Painter Subhaprasanna, social entrepreneur and curator Nandita Palchoudhuri, Hercules director Sudeshna Roy, its lead actors Parambrata Chatterjee and Saswata Chatterjee along with Sidharth Pansari, Managing Director, Primarc Projects Pvt Ltd, participated in the discussion.
The topic of the interactive session was “Saving Heritage- A ‘Herculean’ Task” that focused on preservation of old buildings that are still standing in almost dilapidated condition in the heart of Kolkata.
“Today we Kolkatans have changed our tastes , we have become obsessed with shopping malls. But the poor old home that has become almost dilapidated, we ignore them, we don’t even repair and ultimately it goes into the hands of the promoter, who either bring out a multistoried building or a shopping mall as soon as possible, not even caring about the aesthetic value of that locality,” said Sudhesna Roy.
Subhaprasanna said, “If Kolkata wants to preserve its heritage buildings then it must first come in touch with the colonial era of Kolkata and value its importance, just as the way the Britishers are aware of the history of their city. Some innovative measures should be taken to repair and renovate the old buildings.”
In the middle of the chat Sudhesnna Roy explained the plot of her next film ‘Hercules’, which is about a common man Haru (Parambrata) who loves his aboriginal house.
In this age of promoting and promoters where one is not let to breathe if one possesses such a strip of land in such a location, Haru fights for his home like Hercules.
Parambrata, who seemed to be very passionate about heritage buildings, said, “ I feel very unfortunate that I never got the chance to grow up in an old house. It is my request to the audience that please try to love your city, if the present engulfing situation prevails than you will be nowhere. So think about yourself as a part of the city and do something for it.”
The interactive session was coordinated by Sudhesna Roy.
Hercules is set to release next month.
(Reporting by Shubhashree Hom)
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