Tapan Das in and as Dinabandhu

Guwahati, Oct. 15: After wowing audiences with some great plays over the years, Abahon Theatre is ready to carry its stage success to the screen.

Abahon, whose Lady Diana was a megahit, has forayed into films with maestro Bhabendranath Saikia?s story Dinabandhu. It is the first mobile theatre group of Assam to produce a film.

Dinabandhu depicts the travails of a clerk in a government office, giving an insight into the life of a salaried man who has to struggle to make both ends meet.

The film will be premiered at Pathsala?s Sharma Talkies and Mayapuri Cinema Hall. Birinchi Mohan Sharma, the publicity consultant of Dinabandhu, said the film was shot in Pathsala, which is the headquarters of Abahon.

Incidentally, the stage version of Dinabandhu is counted among Abahon?s most successful productions.

?We thought organising the premiere in Pathsala would be the best way to pay a tribute to Saikia, whose contribution to Assamese cinema has been tremendous,? Sharma said.

Krishna Roy, the producer of the theatre group, said ?Saikia Sir? had asked him to make the film. ?I managed to gather finance somehow and decided to make this film in his honour,? he said.

Saikia himself made seven films in Assamese and all of these won the Rajat Kamal award for the best regional film ? Sandhyaraag in 1978, Anirbaan in 1981, Agnisnan in 1985, Kolahal in 1988, Sarothi in 1992, Abartan in 1994 and Itihaas in 1996. Saikia also won the national award for best screenplay for Agnisnan.

?Each of Saikia?s films are masterpieces, near-perfect in their cinematic qualities. Though he did not have any formal training in filmmaking, his films are literature on celluloid,? Roy said.

Dinabandhu has Tapan Das in the lead role and Nishita Goswami in a major role. Popular artiste Zubeen Garg has not only composed the music for the film, but acted in it, too. This is Zubeen?s third role in a film.

Das described the role of Dinabandhu as a ?challenging? one. ?It felt good to have acted in a film based on Saikia?s story.?

The budget of the film was Rs 30 lakh.

If Dinabandhu strikes it rich at the box office, Roy intends to make another film based on one of Saikia?s famous stories.