Freedom is the Ability to Create and Express a Perspective of My Own: Delzad S. Hiwale on his role in ‘Chittagong’ and Current Plans

From Tehsil Sumoor to Thiruvananthapuram, the 79^th Independence Day was celebrated with gaiety and joy less than a fortnight ago. If you are interested in the Indian Independence Struggle – and, you should be – you know this privilege was not for us to experience a century ago. No unfurling the National Flag and no singing the National Anthem. Seems unbelievable today, right? Freedom from colonial rule did not come easy to India.

Millions of heroes fought valiantly for the motherland. People across ages, gender, and social strata put aside their differences to confront and defeat the enemy and free the country from its clutches. Countless lives were lost. Indian independence is woven with many strands of selfless sacrifice, valour, and dreams of freedom.

The Teacher- Revolutionary of Chittagong

One such deeply inspiring story is that of revolutionary Surya Sen of Chittagong (Chattogram) affectionately known as Master Da. With strong nationalist ideals and an unwavering commitment towards India’s independence, Master Surya Sen set ablaze the hearts and minds of the youth with his motivating speeches and ideas. In 1930, the revolutionary teacher led the Chittagong Armoury Raid against the British rule in India.

The plan was to disrupt British communication lines, seize weapons from the police, and auxiliary force armoury, and then use these weapons to launch an armed struggle for independence. 

In line with the plan, Sen and his group of young revolutionaries attacked the armoury and took control of it though they fell short of securing the entire ammunition. This bold act was, nonetheless, a direct challenge to the might of the British empire and forced the administration to sit up as it shook the roots of colonial rule in the country.

Master Da went into hiding with the other revolutionaries but was eventually caught in 1933 and executed in 1934. He was only 40 when he sacrificed his life for his beloved country. Surya Sen’s story of courage and defiance will forever inspire every generation to fight for freedom and whatever it denotes to each one of us.

In Conversation

Delzad Sanjay Hiwale, who played a crucial role as the young Subhodh Roy (Jhunku) in the highly-acclaimed film Chittagong (2012), speaks to Camongo about the film and his current plans.

• Camongo – What does Freedom mean to you?

Delzad S. Hiwale – Freedom for me is the ability to create and express a perspective of my own. Restriction or bondage can be as intense in the mental space as in the physical. To be able to think objectively and perform from an independent standpoint is increasingly becoming a challenge in today’s times due to echo chambers created by social media algorithms. For instance, I can go ahead and create something that resonates with my core group and the way social media functions it will be duly circulated within my own hub and all’s well with that.

But, what about the other side that may not agree with what I create? Is it possible to reach out and express yourself to core groups that may not necessarily match with yours? I think that’s unlikely as things go in today’s world. 

So, there are millions of such groups being formed with their own purposive viewpoints. The hijacking of perspectives is the worst kind of attack that I can imagine and the deadliest assault on a person’s freedom.

To be able to think freely, to create perspectives that may be starkly different from those around you and be able to express them, that’s ‘Freedom’ for me.

• Camongo – Did you, at any point, feel overwhelmed by the big names starring in the film?

Delzad S. Hiwale – To be completely honest, Manoj Bajpayee and Barry John were big names, no doubt.  The other prominent names – Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Jaideep Ahlawat, Rajkummar Rao, Vijay Varma, Dibyendu Bhattacharya – were on the verge on breaking out to a wider audience at that point of time.

I was nervous but because I was so young there was very little inhibition. I had oodles and oodles of self-confidence and this little voice inside that kept telling me,” Yes, this is YOUR film. YOU’RE going to act. YOU’RE going to kill it!”

When you are that young, I guess it’s natural to be innocent and naïve, at times even to the level of being pompous and delusional! But, believe me, this in itself, is a superpower. It helps you infinitely as you don’t overthink and obsess unnecessarily over details. You just give your all to acting.

Even today, I pursue this kind of a delusional state on purpose because it gives so much conviction about your performance. I dare say, you’ll find this a lot in many young performers.

• Camongo – What kind of research did you do for this historic film, considering you were barely in your teens?

Delzad S. Hiwale – I have been incredibly lucky that the character of Jhunku Roy was explicitly explored through the story and the film. From being inclined towards Britishers and even questioning Master Da about the evident risks that he is going to take on to seeing the fault lines of the colonial rulers, realizing that things are going horribly wrong for Indians to the point when Jhunku understands Master Da’s ideals and turns into a revolutionary himself, every complexity, every nuance was examined and studied in detail.

I took it one day at a time. If the shoot’s demanded that I spend a day with Magistrate Wilkinson and Mrs. Wilkinson, I was seeing things from their perspective, enjoying English culture, trying to find out if Wilkinson could help me become a magistrate myself.

The next day, if I was shooting the Jalalabad sequence wherein a handful of revolutionaries fought against thousands of British military personnel, it would be about the violence, the bloodshed, and goriness that Britishers were inflicting upon Indians.

As a kid, I refused to let myself be confused with a single, overarching stand on what was right or wrong. Rather, I permitted my mind to be modulated as per the requirement of the particular day’s shoot.

• Camongo – What about your future plans?

Delzad S. Hiwale – I have always been keenly interested in writing and direction. Now that I have completed my graduation in Film Making, I am looking at the entire film making process as a whole. As a film maker, you have to be involved in your film right from its birth to post-production and distribution – everything. It is both challenging and exciting.

Thanks to my continued interest in writing and direction, so it’s been a rather smooth transition in my evolution to a writer and director.

I believe a director should make a film when he really wishes to tell the story. As of now, my first film Hantu has premiered at the Jagran Film Festival. When will I be this excited about another film again? Let’s see.

I certainly intend to continue my journey as an actor. I have completed a film with Mr. Honey Trehan. Hopefully it will be out soon and you will know the details for yourself; it has been my most challenging part till date.

I have also done an independent project, Kamela, by Vasudha Rungta. This apart, I have done some films with independent and FTII film makers. All of which will be out soon; some of them are having their festival rounds.

Really excited and waiting to see what the future holds.  

inputs by Neha Karmakar