Having already carved a niche for herself as a film historian, founder and managing trustee of the South Asia Research Foundation (SARF), editor of the online South Asia Archive and joint editor of the journal of South Asian History and Culture (Routledge) and the Routledge South Asian History and Culture book series, Sharmistha Gooptu has shifted gears slightly to tap into the genre of fiction writing with her latest book Menoka Has Hanged Herself. At the book launch session that took place on January 7 at The Saturday Club in association with t2, the author was in conversation with actor Arjun Chakraborty and Nilanjana Chakraborty.

From aspects of the book and the characters to minute observations about the largely male-dominated, power-hungry, manipulative and exploitative world of the Bengali film industry in the 1930s, the session was informative with insights from Arjun Chakraborty, based on his journey in the film industry. “It’s film history in a narrative style, talking about the polarisation in the film industry — Romola, the elite lady and Rajbala, a poor girl who gets pushed into the making of sex films,” said Sharmistha.

The discussion also touched upon the idea of adapting the book into digital media. “I have read the book and I feel that it’s a saga on exploitation, criminal activities, dark side of the mind and of the film industry of yesteryear’s helplessness and creativity conglomerated with each other. The film industry was the focal point where girls could be exploited in the name of creativity, in the name of art. So in that way, this book is very pertinent. Budding writers like Sharmistha Gooptu are coming up with very good and honest subjects that are very impressive,” said Arjun. t2 caught up with Sarmistha Gooptu for a brief chat after the session.

What’s the subject of the story and how did the characters visit you?

The story is set in 1937 when two kinds of women were coming to the film industry — very elite ladies, from high caste families like Tagore’s grandneice Devika Rani, who treated cinema as a form of art and a larger number of women came from the kothas — the courtesans. There was an underbelly of films where a lot of sex films were being made. The character Rajbala gets pushed into making such films, highlighting a huge social divide — girls from performing background versus the elite ladies. In the book, these two women from very different social backgrounds actually form a friendship.

The book opens on a jarring note, it opens at the close...

A heroine of great repute, Menoka, kills herself and yes, the book opens on this jarring note. Menoka is present throughout the book as a metaphor for what is happening to these girls in studios in Tollygunge because we talk about sexual exploitation now, but there wasn’t a term for it back then, and it was more a way of life. One woman saving another woman while transcending social class barriers forms the crux of the story.

How has the transition from being a film historian to a fiction writer been?

I still continue to be a film historian, but it’s a different kind of writing, meant for a general audience when you’re writing a popular book. What had to change was the style of writing while the research process remained the same. I’m hoping people will like it and I’m in the process of writing a sequel.

What is the relevance of the subject matter of the book, especially in the context of the changing face of the Bengali film industry?

While the story is set in 1937, the main topic of sexual exploitation is still prevalent. It’s so much in our public discourse now with the #MeToo movement. The book is about mind games in the name of love. “I love you and I will help you become a big heroine but will you do this for me? Will you go through this humiliation for me?” is commonly heard. It’s basically mind games that people have started talking about now, but it was happening then, and back then it was only helplessness, because there was no forum for redressal. Now at least people take it seriously.

What do you have coming up next?

There will be a sequel to this book. The book ends where the villain is very much around and he’s going to do some horrible things to more girls. He’s a sexual predator and we’ll see something bad happening to the villain.

What would the lasting imprint from the book for you be?

My takeaway from the book would be this friendship between the women, even though they are very different socially, they form a friendship and they end up not allowing this horrible man to do what he wants to do to this girl. We say that women are their own worst enemies but here is the case where women across class divides become friends.