Football, for Kolkata, was never just a sport. Before other sports rose in popularity and found followers, football was irrefutably an integral part of the social structure of the city. The city was almost divided into two broad categories based on the fan following of its two main football clubs — East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. And the debates surrounding the game were serious and strong. Such was the scene in the 70s, 80s and 90s Kolkata.
July 29 is observed as Mohun Bagan Day that celebrates this day in 1911 when an all-Bengali team of players (Mohun Bagan team) won the Indian Football Association Shield for the first time, playing against the teams of English regiments. This The Telegraph exclusive shoot celebrates Mohun Bagan Day, with one of the club’s most revered and renowned players — Subrata Bhattacherjee. Subrata, along with son Shaheb, was a total sport as the father-son duo got into outfits by Sharbari Studio, at the brand’s Broad Street address.
During the shoot, Shaheb recounted to us how he became aware of his father’s glory years through stories he heard at the make-up rooms of his shoots and parties he attended or even on the streets of Kolkata. “These stories keep coming to me from others. The fandom is not there for football right now. Those were different days, they were revered as Gods. These stories gave me the idea of the huge stardom they shared through their game,” he says. Subrata Bhattacherjee was the hero and still is for many football fanatics of the city. Such was his aura. One such fan of his is designer Amalin Datta, the man behind Sharbari Studio, who has been a football fan since his younger days. He put the father and son in regal outfits from his menswear brand. An album...
Subrata Bhattacherjee’s career as a player spans 17.5 years and in all these years, he played on several fields. His favourite? “Mohun Bagan math,” he tells us. Talking about his mentors, he mentions Pradip Kumar Banerjee and Amal Dutta. Amalin Datta, his die-hard fan, joins the chat and recalls his most memorable Mohun Bagan moments. “Firstly, the 1977 IFA Shield final at Eden Gardens, then the 1978 goal at Mohun Bagan math, the 1977 Bengal match with Punjab at Mohun Bagan ground in the finals where it was a draw on the first day but we won the match on the second day and also the Ararat match where Shyamal Banerjee won Man of the Match but Subrata Bhattacherjee played a brilliant match; in the Kolkata Derby League Subrata had eight or nine stitches on his forehead and Mohun Bagan won the match with one goal,” he recounts.
Shaheb warns us about his father’s waning memories these days. But when asked about his most memorable moments from his days at Mohun Bagan, he quickly recalls with exact dates, “ Pele had played with us in 1977 on September 24, that was a memorable match. In 1977, we won a match against East Bengal which is very memorable. The match we won against East Bengal with my head goal at Salt Lake Stadium was also appreciated. I have played 165 matches over 17 years and five months, so there are many….”
Taking a stroll down memory lane, he tells us a few more stories of his glory days and a room full of us, some fans and some of us who never had the opportunity to see him on the field, listened to his stories like curious children. “During those days, the attraction towards football was a lot more. Doesn’t matter who scored the goal, be it me or someone else, we did it for the club... the club won. Looking back makes us realise what the standard of the game used to be back in those days,” he says and his face droops a little as he utters the last sentence.
Shaheb joins us in the chat and surprises us by sharing his earliest memories of the grounds. “Strangely we were absolutely prohibited to go to the ground because in the late ’80s and early ‘90s the crowd started becoming violent. Other than Durand Cup in Delhi and Rovers Cup in Bombay, even my mom hardly went to the ground. By the time we understood the whole emotion of football and everything, dad had left the sport as a player. He left in 1991, but the same rule applied when he started coaching but by then we became rebels! My father used to coach and we used to sneak into the grounds. When he started coaching for East Bengal, it was a huge thing back then and we went to watch the match. But I feel I am like a bad omen for everyone. So, whenever I go the team loses! My sister usually doesn’t allow me to go and watch my brother-in-law’s (Sunil Chhetri) matches. She allows me to stay only till half time, if the team is losing she sends me back home! It happened so many times! (Everyone starts laughing) By the halftime of that game, East Bengal was at 3-0 and people started telling me ‘What’s up? Your father’s team is losing it seems.’ My friend and I left the ground and immediately East Bengal scored three goals. With one final goal, Mohun Bagan won the match. It was a unique thrill for us to sneak into the grounds and watch the matches,” remembers Shaheb.
In the room filled with football fans, stories built upon stories. Going back to his memories of the Mohun Bagan matches, Subrata recalls, “Back in those days, film artistes and singers used to watch our matches. After our match in Kashmir once, Rajesh Khanna had told me, ‘You couldn’t win here, but you will win the Rovers in Bombay’. He had come to watch the game and we won the Rovers Cup. Rahul Dev Burman and Sachin Dev Burman used to watch our matches. Kishore Kumar also used to come... their presence on the field used to inspire us a lot.”
Travelling back to his favourite memory of seeing Subrata for the first time on the field, Amalin says, “This is a memory I really cherish. It was March 20, 1974, I was 10 years old and my grandfather had passed away that day. I couldn’t bear the sorrow and went to my maternal uncle’s house to spend the next day. I opened Ananda Bazar Patrika in the morning and saw a list printed with the names of players who signed for Mohun Bagan. That’s where I first noticed Subrata Bhattacherjee’s name. In those days, Mohun Bagan was losing games and the gallery used to remain empty. Next year, I thought of going to the gallery to watch a match as it used to mostly remain empty and I saw him on the field. A young and fresh player. I heard someone say on the field, ‘Leave him. You can’t do anything to him. He is unbeatable’. He joined just a year back and had already gained the confidence of his club. In 1977, we won the Shield, Rovers and Durand and we got the triple crown.
Subrata became the superhero to his fans as he was the captain.”
We know of Shaheb the actor, but has he ever played the game? “There was this interesting match that happened between Artiste Forum 11 and Ex-players 11 and everybody asked me to play... I used to play cricket and was into sports. For the first 20 minutes of the game, I was sitting on the bench and thought I had no chance of playing. But the moment my father got on the ground, I was asked to join and everyone asked me to tackle my father. I was very charged up. And there was the first ball, he jumped and I slightly went under him. He looked at me and told me, ‘Barabari koro na beshi’. (Don’t act too smart) (Laughs) I immediately started asking for a replacement... that was the first time I played with him,” he says.
Sharing with us his experience of being an East Bengal fan in a house full of Mohun Bagan fans, Shaheb says, “Just when I started having a sense of what the game was all about, East Bengal was a strong team back then and obviously the stronger team attracted me. My mom and sister used to pray in front of God and every time Mohun Bagan would lose, I used to tease them a lot. It went to a point where my mother started complaining to my father when he did not win matches! It was good fun in the house.”
Speaking about the glorious days of football in our city, Subrata comments, “The Mohun Bagan East Bengal success was there… be it me or Monoranjan Bhattacharya... it was either him or me... there was success but there has been lots of ups and downs too. The club has been suspended, players got into fights with the audience, and that attraction towards the game that we saw is getting lost these days and we need to bring it back to the game. Football has to be made more popular among people... over the years, in the matches we had played, the number of players who played from India were all from the zillas (districts) and now footballers from the zillas are less. People associated with the game need to think how to bring that back and structure it accordingly so that zilla players can again be accommodated.”
Even though an East Bengal fan, being the son of one of the most popular players of Mohun Bagan, Shaheb admits most of his memories are with this club. “My dad has been a Mohun Bagan player and coach. So all our best memories are with Mohun Bagan and so are some of our nightmares! I have very vague memories. But that tent and the whole ground… and there’s Kaju da’s canteen, which is very famous for mutton stew and toast. I knew all the maalis by their name. I have very fond memories of the ground,” he says.
What’s watching football now in his father’s company like? “When baba watches a football match, his coach personality stays at the forefront. He predicts when there will be a goal or a back-pass... we can basically see the future of the match because his match reading is so good. In fact, it is good to a point where he can predict the results also…,” says the actor.
Do they discuss fashion? Shaheb says, “We have never discussed fashion. His clothes are bought either by me or my mom. He has a very particular choice of colours. It is either blue or maroon. He will never wear a very funky colour. But back in the day, he used to be very fashionable. I have heard stories. A few years back, I found a trunk in my father’s room and I found many old jerseys and interestingly there were retro jackets that was a trend back in those days and there was a whole stack of those! There were Ray-Ban sunglasses that I wore for the longest period of time. I think sports people have always been fashion conscious because of the kind of attention they get from people.”
Was it too difficult to get him to agree to do the shoot? “I don’t think he has done this in the last 20-25 years. It was really difficult. I told him this would come out on the day his autobiography is coming out, titled Sholo Ana Bablu: Bitarkita Atmajibani (by Subrata Bhattacherjee and Supriyo Mukhapadhaya, published by Deep Prakashan). He was so chilled out and posed and everything but I was tense the entire time,” he says.
Expressing how he feels about his dream-come-true moment, Amalin says, “He has always been an idol to me. I had never imagined a fashion shoot. But I always hoped for him to come to my house once. But it was Kanaklata’s idea to do a shoot.”
Pictures: Pabitra Das
Styling: Pinky Kenworthy
Hair and make-up: Sumit Samanta