Director Indira Dhar Mukkherjee’s Durga Puja video, Shakti, is set to release today on t2ONLINE. Through her directorial lens, Indira explores the concept of ‘Shakti’, which lies in the centre of this grand celebration. The video begins by featuring the story of Sabarna Roy Choudhury, who is credited for initiating Durga Puja in Calcutta. “I made this content to make the present generation aware of the person who started Durga Puja almost 450 years back. This content is all about Shakti as Durga Puja is the puja of Shakti. We start the video by showing that it was a young boy’s ‘shakti’ that initiated this Puja that the world is still celebrating. In the video, we explore what Shakti is today, after 450 years. I feel it is a power within all human beings. My special message in this video is on gender equality. I still feel there are people suffering because of this. Society needs to be more easily accepting of others,” said Indira Dhar Mukkherjee.

Indira interviews three people in the video after focusing on the history of Durga Puja in Calcutta. Pratyusha Roslin represents the female gender, Shaheb Chattopadhyay represents the male gender and Indroneel Mukherjee represents the third gender or a man who identifies as a woman. Highlighting their journey through their gender identity, Indira further spotlights the concept of Shakti.

Explaining her choice of choosing social media to release the video, she said: “I feel social media is the biggest platform. Most people don’t have the time to watch TV anymore but they always have their phone in their hands. I wanted to release it on t2ONLINE because the work t2 carries has a lot of meaning for me. I collaborated with someone who understands what I am doing. Prabir Bhaumik, a doctor who owns a hospital outside Calcutta that treats underprivileged children, supported our content. I wanted to bring together people who have a voice and would add meaning to the content. Let us celebrate the true meaning of Durga Puja, which is people of all religions and genders coming together and celebrating this grand festival.”