After waiting for almost two years ‘A Holy Conspiracy’ (Debotar Grash) will have its first Indian premiere at the 19th Pune International Film Festival starting from 2nd December in theatre. What’s interesting is the cast of this film. This is the first time we would get to see acting powerhouses Naseeruddin Shah and late Soumitra Chattopadhyay sharing the screen. This single fact makes Saibal Mitra’s film all too interesting! When two powerhouse performers, who have kept generations hooked to big screen, share the screen it’s surely a delightful experience for any cine-lover.
‘A Holy Conspiracy’ is an adaptation of the novel ‘Inherit the Wind’ by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E Lee. It also stars Biplab Dasgupta, Amrita Chattopadhyay and Kaushik Sen in key roles.
The story is set against the backdrop of Hillolganj, a township, where most of the inhabitants are from the adivasi community and are Christians by religion. There, Kunal Joseph, a science professor, doesn’t want to teach The Genesis of the Bible ahead of science. But it’s an unwritten rule at the college to teach The Genesis which Kunal refuses because Bible is beyond his jurisdiction. The management suspends Kunal eventually. Following this, communal tension starts in the area since Kunal is a Hindu and is jailed for offending the Christians.