Director Riingo Banerjee is all set to begin work on his debut Hindi film Blackgold, starring Shiney Ahuja. Ahuja returns to the silver screen after his last film Ghost in 2012.
Banerjee’s film is based on the malicious practice in rural Uttar Pradesh of sending elderly people to tiger reserves to be killed so that younger members of the family can claim the compensation that the government gives for tiger attacks.
In an interview with The Times of India newspaper, Banerjee elaborated, “Such horrifying incidents reportedly took place in Uttar Pradesh, where elderly people were left in the forests to be mauled to death and the families would dump their bodies in nearby fields.”
In the film, Ahuja essays the character of a freelance journalist who, on his quest to find stories, stumbles upon a groom’s party on the way to the wedding. Soon, the questions of dowry and the huge amount of money involved in it give way to a bigger racket that attracts Ahuja’s interest.
Banerjee also stated that the film will attempt to discard the notions around tiger being killers. “Men kill men and pass the blame on tigers,” said the director. He said the practice of earning money on the elderly people’s death is “done deftly and families argue that while it’s the parents duty to give comfort to children, they do so by sacrificing their lives.”
Banerjee will start shooting for the film by the end of May at the Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal. He said it was difficult to shoot in Uttar Pradesh as the local people were not ready to discuss the matter. However, he plans to shoot some portions of the film in Madhya Pradesh and Odisha as well.
Apart from Ahuja, Blackgold will star Ashish Vidyarthi and Subrat Dutta in important roles.